345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10154

212.407.4813

212.208.4496

Helen Gavaris
Partner

Helen Gavaris has a diverse, national litigation practice with an emphasis in litigating complex commercial real estate and creditors’ rights cases, as well as trust and estates proceedings in the Surrogate’s courts and other trial and appellate courts.

Ms. Gavaris’ clients include many of the leading corporate fiduciaries in the industry, including Bank of America, N.A., Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co., and U.S. Trust Company of New York. Ms. Gavaris has been successful in litigating and mediating a number of high-profile, high-stakes contested estate matters involving will contests; claims of fraud, undue influence, and lack of capacity; discovery, accounting, removal, advice and direction, and distribution proceedings; and various intestacy disputes. She has worked on a number of very substantial estates, including the Estate of Leona M. Helmsley, the Estate of Harry Winston and the Estate of Thomas Carvel.

Representative Experience

Representation of three of the five executors of the Leona M. Helmsley Estate, both as fiduciaries of the Estate and trustees of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, in connection with a variety of matters regarding the ongoing administration of this multi-billion dollar Estate, and litigation concerning executor compensation, the operative effect of decedent's mission statements and the trustees' scope of authority with respect to charitable grants
Representation of corporate fiduciaries in a multitude of contested accounting and related proceedings involving trust diversification issues and the valuation and sale of non-public companies
Representation of the widow of Thomas Carvel in multiple court proceedings regarding the administration and distribution of the estate and the charitable trust created by decedent, including the successful suspension and removal of the executors of the estate
Representation of the William Morris Agency in a $600 million antitrust and race discrimination action (Rowe Entertainment, et al. v. The William Morris Agency, Inc., et al.)
Litigated multiple cases involving real estate disputes, including lender liability claims (Better Homes Depot, Inc. v. New York Community Bank)
Defended numerous multi-million dollar fraud and stock valuation claims (Glick v. William Morris Agency; Yatter v. William Morris Agency; Sikora v. Merrill Lynch; Owen v. Soundview Technology Group, Inc.)
Representation of global insurance intermediary in numerous restrictive covenant, corporate raiding and theft of trade secret cases
Prosecuted novel breach of an oral lease claim against a prominent real estate developer (Borders, Inc. v. Millennium Partners, Inc.)

Media Mentions

Receiver Appointed in NY Office Building Foreclosure Suit By Natalie Rodriguez, Law360
Bank Pushes for Receivership on Manhattan Building By Eric Hornbeck, Law360

Affiliations

Member, American Bar Association
Member, New York State Bar Association

Brooklyn Law School, J.D., 1987, cum laude

Hunter College, B.A., 1984, magna cum laude

New York, 1988

U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, 1989
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, 1989

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