Paul J. Kremer

Overview

Paul is a litigation “field general” who can oversee and execute on every aspect of his client’s legal strategy, from pre-suit negotiations through trial and beyond. Paul’s approach to litigation is to deliver best-in-class results using small teams where every lawyer is empowered to make a difference. Paul believes that clients don’t want a dozen lawyers stumbling over each other to say the same thing; they want clear, actionable advice, and they want to hear it from the same people who are standing up for them in court.

Paul’s subject-matter knowledge ranges from high-tech patent infringement cases to commercial contract and tort claims to building and construction disputes. He has represented a diverse array of clients engaged in high-stakes commercial litigation, from New York City park trustees and landmark churches to Fortune 100 technology companies and prestige television networks. Paul’s intellectual property clients also run the gamut from garage startups to world-renowned pharmaceutical and consumer electronics makers. He has also represented landlords, tenants, builders, and developers in all types of commercial real estate and construction projects, from simple building renovations to historic public–private partnerships.

Paul is equally comfortable representing large and small clients in bet-the-company litigation. For ten years, he led the defenses of the coal-fired power industry’s most successful pollution abatement companies in a series of nine-figure patent infringement actions brought by various competitors. On the other end of the spectrum, he has defended a one-man fine-art brokerage falsely accused of misappropriating his old employer’s client lists, ultimately prevailing at oral argument to avoid an injunction and winning a sanctions award against the employer. In 2019, Paul was instrumental in defeating Long Island politicians’ attempts to hold up construction of the New York Islanders’ privately financed arena project. And since 2022, he has led the defense of one of Long Island’s largest private nursing homes against high-profile fraud claims brought by the New York Attorney General.

In addition to his broad commercial litigation practice, Paul helps clients of all types take on City Hall using New York State’s specialized Article 78 procedure. His successes in this field range from overcoming ordinary zoning restrictions to industry-shaping change: in 2022, Paul helped block the Town of East Hampton’s attempt to convert East Hampton Airport from a public airport to a private airfield, and in 2019, he helped negotiate a settlement to reduce wait times for wheelchair-accessible ride-share vehicles.

Paul’s pro bono work focuses on vindicating the rights of prisoners, victims of police misconduct, and trans people. Since 2020, he has served on the board of directors of New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), a network of faith-based disaster response providers.

Prior to joining Benesch, Paul was of counsel at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. 

*Matter completed prior to joining Benesch.