Overview
Monica Asher focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation and private client litigation. She has represented clients in partnership disputes, breach of contract, antitrust and trademark infringement matters.
Monica also has a broad range of experience in estate and probate proceedings and has represented clients in will contests, trust disputes and guardianship proceedings, among other matters.
Monica has significant appellate experience, having handled multiple appeals at the federal court level and to the New York State Appellate Division and Court of Appeals.
Results
- Represented the owner of a prominent New York City office building in litigation brought by the owner of the largest Picasso in the United States, which hung in the building’s lobby; successfully settled the case, which resulted in the Picasso being safely removed from the building, treated by professional conservators and moved to a New York City museum
- Served as trial counsel in a six-month will contest and guardianship proceeding in the New York Supreme Court for beneficiaries of an estate valued in excess of $100 million; successfully invalidated the challenged will, several trusts and other testamentary instruments that were at issue, and the client was awarded guardianship over the incapacitated testator and attorneys’ fees
- Represented a corporate claimant in an American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration before a three-member panel involving complex issues related to third-party marketing, use of soft-dollar payments and the application of various securities laws; the Firm’s client was awarded a multimillion-dollar arbitration award, plus attorneys’ fees
- Represented one of two trustees of a $250 million Alaskan legacy trust in an action for breach of fiduciary duty and violation of the prudent investor rule; the case ultimately settled in favor of the Firm’s client and was dismissed with prejudice
- Represented a beer brewer and obtained a complete victory in arbitration involving a fair market value dispute brought by terminated beer distributors
- Represented a trustee and beneficiary of multimillion-dollar family trusts in a dispute involving novel and complex federal estate tax questions, including in appeals up to the New York State Court of Appeals; successfully settled the case in favor of the Firm’s client
Credentials
Education
Brooklyn Law School, JD, cum laude, Carswell Merit Scholar, 2008
Brandeis University, BA, cum laude, 2005
Admissions
New York
Courts / Agencies
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
US District Court for the Eastern District of New York
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
