William S. Gyves, chairman of the firm's Business and Commercial Litigation Department, concentrates his practice on the litigation of complex commercial and employment matters. In addition to defending and prosecuting claims in the traditional litigation context, Mr. Gyves has considerable experience in successfully resolving disputes through mediation, arbitration and direct pre-litigation negotiations.

Representing a diverse spectrum of clients -- ranging from the New York State Superintendent of Insurance and one of the world's premier jewelers to financial institutions and institutions of higher education -- Mr. Gyves has prosecuted and defended matters involving a correspondingly wide array of business disputes. In his employment practice, Mr. Gyves counsels and represents management in, among other things, restrictive covenant, breach of fiduciary duty, harassment, discrimination and retaliation matters.

On behalf of his clients, Mr. Gyves recently:

• secured summary judgment relating to a promissory note at the heart of a complex offshore reinsurance program, based on crucial admissions obtained during the defendant's deposition testimony that a federal judge found to "directly contradict" the defendant's earlier sworn testimony and documentary evidence;
  
  
• obtained the pre-discovery dismissal of a federal securities fraud case and defeated a related application for injunctive relief, successfully arguing that membership interests in a limited liability company do not constitute securities under the federal securities laws;
  
  
• secured the voluntary withdrawal of a $50 million finder's fee claim brought against a financial institution, based on the strength of a pre-answer investigation demonstrating the claim to be without factual or legal merit;
  
  
• obtained through mediation an expedited settlement on behalf of a group of hedge funds defrauded by a company's misrepresentations regarding its financial condition and prospects;
  
  
• convinced a court to compel a defendant to surrender monies shown to have been moved illegally to an offshore haven and then traced back to the defendant's principals in the United States;
  
  
• obtained injunctive relief precluding a former employee from competing with a client, demonstrating through a computer forensics investigation that the former employee had pilfered the client's confidential and proprietary materials;
  
  
• secured the pre-discovery dismissal of a putative consumer fraud class action brought against a financial institution;
  
  
• secured injunctive relief halting a construction project that had been disrupting the operations of a college campus; and,
  
  
• obtained summary judgment in favor of a financial institution in litigation arising out of a fraudulent mortgage scheme.

A cum laude graduate of St. John's University School of Law, Mr. Gyves was Co-Executive Notes and Comments Editor of the law review. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from Fordham University and before attending law school, Mr. Gyves worked for six years as a newspaper journalist, garnering a number of awards for his coverage of politics, government and other matters.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Mr. Gyves is active in a number of charitable and educational organizations. Most recently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, a non-profit organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. In addition, Mr. Gyves serves on the Board of Directors of STREETS International, a not-for-profit organization working to improve the lives of street kids and other disadvantaged youths in Southeast Asia by providing them with the means of becoming self-sufficient through intensive training for jobs in the hospitality, restaurant and tourism industries. STREETS recently opened its first restaurant and regional training center in Hoi An, Vietnam.

Mr. Gyves has published on a variety of legal issues, including "When Your Client Drops the F-Bomb During a Deposition," New Jersey Law Journal, May 5, 2008; "Welcome Relief for Lenders: Federal Truth and Lending Act Trumps New Jersey Law," New Jersey Law Journal, October 10, 2005; "Trouble No Maw: Employers Breathing Easier As Court Clarifies the Enforceability of Restrictive Covenants," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, July 2004; "Electronic Discovery Is a Fact of Life," New Jersey Law Journal, April 29, 2002; "Counsel and Computer Forensics Experts: Teaming Up to Get It Right on Electronic Discovery," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, November 2001; "Competing With Former Employers," New Jersey Law Journal, June 25, 2001; "The Duty to Disclose Inaccurate Deposition Testimony," New Jersey Law Journal, September 4, 2000; "Distinguishing Valid Fraud Claims From Trumped Up Breach of Contract Actions," The Business Suit, DRI, Winter 2000; "Navigating the Minefield of Ex Parte Communications," New Jersey Law Journal, April 10, 2000; "The Fine Line Between An Auditor's Recklessness and Intent to Deceive," The Business Suit, DRI, Summer 1999; and "New York Clarifies Its "Borrowing Statute"; New Jersey's "New Business" Rule Declared Alive and Well; Second Circuit Finds Former Corporate Executives Entitled to Fifth Amendment Privilege," The Business Suit, DRI, January 2000. He also has lectured on a variety of topics, including "E-Discovery in the Post-Enron Era," Bureau of National Affairs Litigation Forum: Electronic Discovery and Document Retention, May 1, 2003, and "Defending the Deposition: Potted Plant or Savvy Litigator?" New York State Bar Association Seminar on Deposition Practice and Practicalities in State and Federal Court, April 26, 2002.

Mr. Gyves is a member of the Federal Bar Council, American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, New Jersey Defense Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey, National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association, the Morris County (N.J.) Bar Association, the Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit, the Historical Society of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Mr. Gyves is a Master of the Brennan-Vanderbilt Inn of Court. He is also an active member of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, as well as the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.