Litigation Corporate & Commercial Disputes. When It Gets Serious. A shareholder wants out and won't accept the valuation. A former officer left with the customer list. An earnout is being calculated in a way nobody anticipated at closing. These fights are different from ordinary contract claims. The money is larger, the relationships are tangled, and the other side usually has a firm with letterhead designed to make you blink. We don't blink. We're small, we're direct, and we've been across the table from firms ten times our size.
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What's usually actually at stake:
→ Control of the company → The valuation someone gets bought out at → Whether a competitor keeps your people → Money already sitting in escrow → Whether the business survives the fight
The first ninety days set the terms of everything that follows. Emergency relief, document preservation and forum are decided early, and they're hard to undo.
What We Litigate The Disputes That Decide Who Owns What. Ordinary breach claims live on our breach of contract page. These are the ones where ownership, control or the future of the business is the actual question.
01 Shareholder & Member Disputes Oppression of a minority holder, freeze-outs, books and records demands, judicial dissolution, and buyout valuation fights under BCL 1104-a and 1118. The valuation date alone can move the number substantially.
02 Breach of Fiduciary Duty Self-dealing, diverted opportunities, undisclosed compensation, and officers or managing members who ran the company for themselves. Often paired with an accounting demand.
03 Executive & Officer Disputes Terminations that turn into litigation, disputed equity and deferred compensation, restrictive covenant enforcement, and departures where the customer list left too.
04 Business Torts Tortious interference with contract or prospective business, unfair competition, trade secret misappropriation, and defamation claims arising out of a commercial relationship.
05 Fraud & Misrepresentation Deals induced by numbers that weren't real. Fraud claims frequently survive the contractual damages cap that would otherwise limit recovery, which changes the value of the case entirely.
06 Post-Closing M&A Disputes Earnout calculations, working capital adjustments, indemnification claims against escrow, and breaches of representations that only surfaced after the wire cleared.
07 Emergency Relief Temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, attachment and receivership applications. When assets are moving or a competitor is actively poaching, speed matters more than anything else.
Where These Are Heard The Forum Shapes the Case. Which court hears a commercial dispute affects the timeline, the judge's familiarity with the subject, and how early you can get a real ruling. It's one of the first decisions in a case, and one of the least reversible.
NY Supreme, Commercial Division Judges who handle commercial matters exclusively. Monetary thresholds apply, and getting a case assigned there is worth pursuing when it qualifies.
Kings County Supreme Our home courthouse. Local rules, local practice, and judges we appear before regularly.
SDNY & EDNY Federal court on diversity or federal-question claims. Tighter schedules, heavier motion practice, different discovery economics.
New Jersey & Arbitration NJ Superior Court, plus AAA and JAMS panels when the agreement sends you there. We also litigate whether it validly does.
How It Runs What Actually Happens, and When. Most people have never been in commercial litigation and have no idea what the next eighteen months look like. Here's the shape of it. Timelines vary by court and complexity. A case that resolves at the pleadings stage can finish inside a year. One that reaches trial in a busy county can run three.
01 Assessment What the claim is worth, what it costs to pursue, and where the leverage sits. We give you a range before you commit, including when the honest answer is that it isn't worth it.
02 Pre-Suit Demand A well-built demand resolves a meaningful share of these before anything is filed. It also builds the record if it doesn't.
03 Filing & Emergency Relief Complaint, and where assets are moving or a covenant is being violated, a TRO or injunction application in the same breath. This is the fastest-moving part of the case.
04 Motions to Dismiss The other side will try to cut claims early. Surviving this stage often changes settlement posture more than anything that follows.
05 Discovery Documents, emails, depositions. The longest and most expensive phase, and where most cases are actually won or lost.
06 Resolution or Trial Summary judgment, mediation, settlement, or trial. We prepare as though it's going to trial, because the other side can tell the difference and it shows up in the number.
Either Chair We Bring These. We Defend Them. Knowing how a claim gets torn apart is what makes it stronger when you're the one bringing it.
If you're bringing the claim → We move on preservation and emergency relief before the other side repositions → We plead fraud with the particularity it needs to survive a motion to dismiss → We pursue the forum that suits your case, not the one that suits theirs → We tell you the realistic number, not the one that gets us hired
If you're defending one → We attack the pleadings early, where claims are cheapest to kill → We fight discovery designed to cost you more than the case is worth → We look hard for the counterclaim, because defense alone is a weak position → We keep the business running while the case runs
A claim you can't defend against isn't a strong claim. It's one nobody has pressure-tested yet.
Why Ainsworth Gorkin Small Firm. Bigger Fights.

Big firms bill commercial litigation by throwing bodies at it. Six associates on document review, a partner who appears at the hearing, and an invoice nobody can reconcile against what actually happened that month.

We run these cases with two partners and a tight team. Fewer people means less duplication, faster decisions, and a lawyer who has personally read every document in your case.

Shaya heads our litigation practice. Levi handles the corporate side, which matters more than it sounds: most of these disputes turn on an operating agreement, a shareholder agreement, or a purchase agreement that somebody drafted years ago. Reading those correctly is the whole case.

We'll Tell You When Not to Fight

Commercial litigation can cost more than the claim is worth, and a firm billing hourly has every reason not to mention that. We run the math with you at the start. Sometimes the answer is a demand letter and a settlement. We would rather say so and keep you as a client than take a case we don't believe in.

1
Partners Try Your CaseLevi and Shaya handle the matter directly. Nobody gets handed to an associate after the pitch.
2
Corporate Depth Behind the LitigationThese cases turn on governance documents. We draft those documents, so we read them the way a court will.
3
Fast on Emergency ReliefTROs and injunctions are won in days, not months. A small firm can move at that speed.
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Honest Cost MathWe tell you what the case is likely to cost against what it is likely to recover, before you commit.
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Not Intimidated by SizeWe've litigated against firms many times our size. Letterhead doesn't win motions.
★★★★★ 5.0 on Google Go Ahead, Ask Around.
★★★★★ "I hired Shaya to help defend a litigation matter. He was highly knowledgeable, responsive, reasonably priced, and efficient. I can't recommend him enough for all small business matters." — Leibel W.
★★★★★ "He's knowledgeable, professional, and always available to answer my questions. I feel confident in his ability to represent my interests, and I would not hesitate to recommend him to others." — Leah R.
★★★★★ "They demonstrated a solid understanding of the legal issues at hand and handled my case with professionalism and competence. Communication was clear, and they kept me informed throughout the process." — David G.
Read all our Google reviews → Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.
Questions What Owners Ask Before They File.
How much does commercial litigation cost?

Enough that it should be a business decision, not an emotional one. The range depends on whether the case resolves at the pleadings stage or goes through full discovery, and discovery is where the money goes. We give you a realistic range at the free evaluation, and we will tell you when the claim is worth less than the fight.

My partner is squeezing me out. What can I actually do?

More than most people think. A minority holder in a New York close corporation has real statutory tools: books and records demands, oppression claims, and in some circumstances a dissolution petition that triggers a buyout at fair value. The valuation date matters a great deal, which is why timing the filing is a strategic decision rather than an administrative one.

Can I get an injunction to stop this now?

Sometimes, and speed is everything. Emergency relief requires showing likely success on the merits, irreparable harm and a balance of equities in your favor. Money damages alone usually won't qualify. Where it fits, a TRO can be sought within days of filing.

Our agreement says arbitration. Does that apply to a fiduciary claim?

It depends on the clause's scope and how the claim is framed. Broad clauses often capture fiduciary and business tort claims that arise out of the relationship. Narrow ones may not. This is worth analyzing before you file anywhere, because filing in the wrong forum costs time you don't get back.

The other side hired a large firm. Are we outgunned?

Size helps with volume, not with merits. Large firms carry higher rates and more layers, which can work against them on schedule and on settlement economics. We've litigated against firms considerably larger than ours. What decides these cases is the documents and the record, not the letterhead.

How long will this take?

A case resolved on the pleadings or in early mediation can finish inside a year. One that goes through full discovery to trial in a busy county can run three. We'll give you the realistic horizon for your court and your claim rather than the optimistic one.

The first ninety days decide a lot. Don't spend them deciding who to call. Free case evaluation. A realistic read on what it's worth, what it costs, and whether to fight.
Get a Free Case Evaluation (212) 913-0217