Problem solving—for sport.

For many, litigation is a sunk cost. A courtroom win is still a capital loss, and winning just means losing less.

For us, that is an unacceptable proposition. The process serves the client not the other way around.

In our view, litigation is a destination-driven vehicle in which the client is the passenger and counsel drives. We resolve conflicts through the lens of business continuity, capital preservation, and litigation ROI.

We leave the merits conversation to the podcasters, preferring instead to design operational environments that collapse optionality, expand exposure, and expedite resolution. See Representative Matters.

We make bad situations worse—for the other side.

  • Overview

    Lawson represents clients in high-stakes corporate disputes, executive compensation controversies, and commercial litigation characterized by sophisticated counterparties and significant financial exposure.

    As a former law clerk to the Honorable Andrea Masley in the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Lawson leverages behind-the-bench insight to build litigation credibility at the negotiating table. The Commercial Division is recognized as one of the country's premier business courts, specifically designed to resolve complex corporate and financial disputes where the financial stakes or damages total $500,000 or more.

  • Approach

    A specialist in rapid commercial resolutions, Lawson consistently short-circuits traditional litigation timelines to resolve complex disputes within 72 hours to 90 days. His approach centers on uncovering non-obvious legal exposure, activating proxy pressures, and inverting structural constraints to dictate settlement terms—routinely converting a $233,000 equity clawback into a $1.14 million settlement in 96 hours, engineering 228% severance increases, and leveraging statutory penalties to force staggering 20x multipliers on unresolved balances.

  • Representative Matters

    • Cross-Border Executive Severance: Secured a 228% increase in severance compensation for a private equity associate, raising the company’s initial $43,000 offer to $141,000 after uncovering legal exposure under U.S. and Italian law.

    • Commercial Defense: Defended Irth Capital against a $300,000 recruiting fee demand, successfully blocking a potential $120,000 account stated claim through pre-suit negotiations and narrowing the dispute to a single $60,000 breach-of-contract claim.

    • Executive Compensation: Engineered a $45,000 pre-suit settlement with Brooklyn Mirage within 12 days for a former Director of Premium Sales following a no-severance termination and a $60,000 dispute over an unmemorialized commission arrangement.

    • Landmark Decision: Leveraged New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act to expand executive liability in a case of first impression—forcing a staggering 20x settlement multiplier after the defense burned through three law firms and a failed motion to dismiss rather than pay an initial $1,500 balance.

    • High-Profile Wage & Hour Mediation: Secured favorable, confidential settlement terms for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in an employment mediation involving claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law.

    • Wrongful Termination Defense: Resolved a ten-count California FEHA wrongful termination lawsuit with just a $30,000 client contribution against a $110,000 settlement demand, securing the remaining balance from a co-defendant.

    • CIPA Privacy Defense: Obtained a complete voluntary dismissal of a California Information Privacy Act (CIPA) trap-and-trace lawsuit involving six-figure exposure and mandatory statutory attorney’s fees—achieved without settlement or payment

    • Turned a $233,000 equity clawback into a $1.14M settlement in 96 hours during a $10M merger.

    • Increased a private equity client’s severance from $43,000 to $141,000 by exposing U.S. and Italian legal risks.

    • Reduced Irth Capital’s $300,000 recruiting fee demand to a $60,000 lawsuit, blocking a potential $120,000 account-stated claim.

    • Secured $45,000 from Brooklyn Mirage in 12 days over withheld commissions, without filing suit.

    • Secured a confidential settlement at 13× the initial demand in a landmark case expanding executive liability under New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act.

    • Secured favorable terms for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in confidential FLSA and NYLL employment mediation.

  • Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP

    Olshan Frome & Wolosky LLP

  • Law Clerk, Hon. Andrea Masley, J.S.C.
    New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division (2017)

  • St. John’s University School of Law (J.D., 2016)

    Managing Director,
    Moot Court Honor Society

    Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

    Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition

    National Quarterfinalist, 2013,
    Second Best Brief, 2013

    National Finalist, 2014
    Best Brief, 2014

    St. John’s University
    (B.S., 2010)

  • State of New York

    U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

    U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

    U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York

September 2025

Lawson prevented an AI startup’s attempt to claw back $233,000 from a founding engineer just before a $10 million merger. The company dangled equity promises to secure a year of unpaid labor, then refused to honor the equity right before its merger. Taking on the board and outside counsel, Lawson defeated the clawback and leveraged the company’s malfeasance into a $1.14 million payment to the client —in 96 hours.

May 2026

On behalf of Irth Capital, Lawson successfully blocked a potential 120,000 account stated claim, and narrowed a $300K demand down to a filed claim for $60K—an 80% reduction.


December 2025

Lawson negotiated with the General Counsel of a $7B private equity boutique on behalf of a mid-level associate terminated for alleged “performance” reasons despite no documented record of performance issues and a 5 year streak of bonus payments. Lawson took the company’s $43,000 severance offer and negotiated a 228% increase—4.3x the industry average—resulting in a final amount of $141,000 plus 100% carry.

September 2026

Lawson secured a landmark decision of first impression in Yean v. Tulip Health. In a groundbreaking ruling, a New York supreme court permitted claims to proceed directly against a CEO as a potential “hiring party” under the NYC Freelance Isn’t Free Act—creating personal liability beyond the corporate veil.