ETHAN A. BRECHER became a Liddle & Robinson partner in 1996, after joining the firm as an associate in 1991. 

Practice Areas

Mr. Brecher represents senior executives, who work primarily for securities firms, hedge funds and other financial and non-financial sector firms, in the litigation or arbitration of claims involving the following: (1)  breach of contract for failure to pay earned bonuses, commissions and other forms compensation; (2) defamation (including Form U-5 defamation for registered persons in the securities industry), tortious interference and other types of business torts relating to professional reputation; (3) trade secrets and non-competition contracts; (4) age and gender discrimination, as well as unlawful retaliation and harassment; and (5) wrongful denial of severance and other benefits.

Some representative cases that Mr. Brecher has tried to conclusion and won include Hunt v. HSBC ($770,000 award on tortious interference claim), Pedde v. ABN AMRO ($720,500 on breach of employment contract and severance pay claim), Kim v. CUSO ($539,000 on breach of contract and defamation claim), Brooks v. Merrrill Lynch Investment Managers ($210,000 on severance pay claim) and Schwarzwaelder v. Smith Barney ($147,000 on finder’s fee claim). Mr. Brecher also argued and won appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in O’Hara v. Memorial Sloan-Kettering (retaliation for asserting an age discrimination claim) and Carlton v. Mystic Transportation (age discrimination) and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Gibbs v. Merrill Lynch (reinstating Form U-5 discrimination claim).

In addition to his employment practice, Mr. Brecher represents investors who have claims for securities fraud and other misconduct by brokerage firms.  In one notable case, he tried an arbitration case to conclusion for a large group of investors who suffered losses based on fraudulent research reports concerning two well-known technology stocks issued by a major securities firm.  After the multi-week arbitration concluded but before a decision was issued, the firm settled on highly favorable terms.   

Settlements and Negotiations

Besides litigating cases, Mr. Brecher has also negotiated directly and through mediation dozens of cases that have resulted in substantial six and seven figure settlements.  A significant number of the cases that Mr. Brecher handles result in favorable settlements.  He also negotiates employment agreements, non-competition and gardening leave contracts and severance packages for employees.

Writing

Mr. Brecher participated in litigating both in the arbitration proceeding and on appeal in the federal courts one of the most recognized cases in securities industry arbitration involving Form U-5 defamation, Glennon v. Dean Witter, and co-authored with Jeffrey L. Liddle an amicus brief accepted by the New York Court of Appeals in its decision in Rosenberg v. MetLife, where the dissenting judges accepted many of the arguments that Messrs. Liddle and Brecher advanced.

Mr. Brecher has authored the following articles that have been published in the New York Law Journal: The Treasury Department’s "Compensation Czar", Theft of a Trade Secret is Now a Federal Crime, Brokerages Deal With Question of Unclean Hands, Putting the Reins on Employment Arbitration: Courts Safeguard Employee Rights, Provisional Relief in Aid of Arbitration (with Jeffrey L. Liddle), and Use of Subpoenas in Arbitration.  

Additionally, he co-authored with Jeffrey L. Liddle a chapter in The Practicing Law Institute’s “Securities Arbitration 2000” course book on the subject of discovery in securities arbitration.  

Speaking

March 2009: Twelfth Annual NYU Workshop on Employment Law For Federal Judges, Sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center, the Dwight D. Opperman Institute of Judicial Administration & The Center for Labor and Employment Law at NYU School of Law, Employment Law: Trade Secrets/Non-competition Litigation (panelist)

August 2007: New York City Bar, Ethics in Employment Law (panelist)

May 2007: New York University 60th Annual Conference on Labor, Center for Labor and Employment law, Developments under State and Federal Whistleblower Protection (panelist)

March 2006: Workshop on Labor and Employment Law for Federal Judges, hosted by The Institute of Judicial Administration at New York University School of Law (presentation on the Americans with Disabilities Act)

May 2005: The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Sports Arbitration: Exploring the Hidden Playing Field & Rules that Control After the Competition is Over (program chair and moderator)

September 2004: NYU Center For Labor and Employment Law, Second Circuit Staff Attorney Training Program, Summary Judgment from the Plaintiff’s Perspective: Finding a Needle in a Haystack (panelist) (read the pdf)

May 2004: NYU Center For Labor and Employment Law, 57th Annual Conference On Labor: Compensation, Work Hours And Benefits, Compensation Claims In Securities Industry Arbitration (panelist) (read the pdf)

March 2004: Workshop on Labor and Employment Law for Federal Judges, hosted by The Institute of Judicial Administration at New York University School of Law (presentation on punitive damages in Title VII litigation) (read the pdf)

September 2002: Research Conference on Domestic and International Arbitration: U.S. Arbitration of Domestic Disputes, hosted by The Institute of Judicial Administration at New York University School of Law (panelist)

July 2001: New Developments Concerning Employment Litigation and Related Issues in the Securities Industry, sponsored by the American Bar Association's Securities Employment Litigation Subcommittee (panelist)

Education

Mr. Brecher earned his J.D. degree at New York University School of Law in 1991, where he served as an articles editor and staff member on the law journal
Annual Survey of American Law.  He graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. degree in 1988, earning honors (cum laude) in History. 

Bar Admissions

1991, Connecticut; 1992, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; 1995, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit; 1996, U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; 1999, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; 2001, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit