516-747-0300 x119
lgastwirth@meltzerlippe.com
Loretta M. Gastwirth
Partner of the Firm. Loretta has been admitted Areas of Practice:
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Graduated seventh in her class at Cardozo School of Law.
Loretta, a member of the Litigation Group, is a seasoned litigator primarily involved in commercial, intellectual property, Indian gaming law, trade secrets, construction, securities and employment litigation and arbitration. She has been admitted to the AAA's prestigious Commercial Arbitration Panel and Long Island Business News has honored Loretta as one of Long Island's Top 50 Business Women in 2005.
Loretta served as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Cardozo Law Review and was a member of its Editorial Board while at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. After graduating from law school, magna cum laude, Loretta clerked for United States District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer in Dallas, Texas. Loretta started her career on Wall Street at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, litigating large securities fraud matters and class actions. Loretta moved to a premiere entertainment litigation firm and represented such clients as Mick Jagger, Luther Vandross and Leona Helmsley. Returning to the practice of commercial litigation, Loretta left Manhattan and joined Meltzer Lippe in 1993.
While at Meltzer Lippe, Loretta has developed an expertise in the area of Indian gaming law, representing a developer and manager of an Indian casino in actions against an Indian tribe and a major gaming company. A number of important Indian gaming law decisions were issued in her cases. She has also litigated many cases on behalf of technology companies including telecommunications equipment manufacturers, an airplane parts manufacturer, chip manufacturers, computer software and online trading companies in areas of software copyright infringement, patent infringement, domain name, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition disputes. Her practice has taken her into various federal and state courts and arbitration before domestic and international panels of the American Arbitration Association and the NASD. Her commercial litigation experience is varied, encompassing actions involving breach of contract, trade secrets, construction matters, zoning law, equipment leasing, securities, licensing disputes, partnership and shareholder disputes, petroleum pollution, wetlands issues, employment matters, Indian gaming law and intellectual property litigation.
The firm’s clients are often confronted with employment issues and Loretta has counseled and successfully defended them before agencies, courts, arbitration panels and mediators. She is experienced in matters involving defamation claims, trade secrets, covenants not to compete or solicit, discrimination claims and compensation claims, including those of highly compensated employees.Loretta is a member of the ABA and Nassau County Bar Associations. She is also a member of the Cardozo Women's Steering Committee, the Red Ground Civic Association and the Executive Women's Golf Association of Long Island. The author of "Despite ADR Consent, IP Cases End Up In Court", "Beware of Ideas", "Preventing Inevitable Disclosure of Internet Company Trade Secrets," many of Loretta's cases have also been featured in the New York Law Journal and Long Island Business News.
Loretta, a native of Brooklyn, and her husband, a native of the Bronx, now live in East Hills, Long Island with their sons, Paul and Brian. Loretta's husband, Leonard Rogofsky, is a tax accountant. While Loretta no longer competes in gymnastics, she is still an avid fan.
