Jeff Schacknow

Jeff Schacknow is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice. Mr. Schacknow is headquartered in the firm's West Palm Beach office but advises clients from around the world.

Mr. Schacknow focuses his practice on complex civil and commercial litigation, as well as white collar criminal defense, government investigations and providing representation in anti-human trafficking efforts.

Complex Civil Litigation: Mr. Schacknow handles civil litigation matters locally in West Palm Beach, in Florida and throughout the United States. Some of his recent matters include:

• representation of a Major League Baseball (MLB) player in a contractual dispute with his former agent
• successful representation of a state political action committee (PAC) in multiple proactive and defensive emergency injunction matters leading up to a deadline for ballot placement for a casino gaming amendment to Florida's constitution
• successful representation of condominium unit owners to prevent condominium termination in violation of Florida statutory law
• litigation for a pharmaceutical wholesaler on 21 U.S. Code § 853(n) petition to recover assets seized by the government from retail pharmacies
• successful implementation of an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion to dismiss to defeat a meritless defamation suit brought against a local political consultant
• defense of several related lawsuits concerning property rights near Florida's Intracoastal Waterway
• successful defense of a fast-food franchise in a large commercial lawsuit involving claims brought under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) related to improperly charged sales tax
• internal investigations for companies concerning executive misconduct, whistleblower allegations and compliance with grand jury subpoenas
• successful representation of a pro bono client defending federal copyright infringement claims, leading up to pre-trial dismissal of all claims against the client
• representation of an opioid manufacturer in litigation brought by the Florida attorney general
• representation of a creditor through bankruptcy proceedings after years of chasing a debtor through many levels of litigation
• defense of a catering company in claims brought by a vendor leading up to successful settlement
• representation for several matters of a startup company in successfully pursuing claims against delinquent vendors

White Collar Defense and Investigations: Mr. Schacknow has experience representing individuals and companies in defense against local, state and federal prosecution. Similarly, he advises clients and conducts internal investigations when they face their own internal compliance problems even prior to government enforcement. A few relevant examples include:

• investigation and successful pre-suit defense of a university facing allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by a camp counselor against a camper
• representation of Division I coach in Title IX investigation
• representation of a board of trustees of a northeast boarding school in multiple investigations involving allegations of both historic and current sexual assault
• representation of a Florida boarding school in several investigations involving allegations of historic and current sexual assault
• lead counsel for a Florida day school in representation related to allegations of student-to-student sexual assault
• representation of an international religious organization in investigation by a regulator into allegations of historical sexual assault
• representation of an international religious organization regarding investigation of reported sexual abuse and implications for lay clergy employed by organization
• successful representation and exoneration of a businessman charged with multiple counts of fraud, culminating in dropping of all charges by prosecutor
• successful representation of a global financial institution in wrongful death claims asserted after an employee murdered a customer's family to cover up an embezzlement
• representation at trial court and on appeal in seeking repression of a client's name from forthcoming grand jury report
• representation of a large construction company against federal prosecution in avoiding criminal claims related to emergency relief in the wake of one of Florida's many hurricanes

Anti-Human Trafficking and International Human Rights: Mr. Schacknow has significant experience as lead counsel and as a team member in advising companies and individuals dealing with tragic allegations about human trafficking and related human rights issues. Some recent examples include:

• successful representation as lead trial counsel of a Chilean mother in petition brought pursuant to the Hague Convention to have her kidnapped child wrongfully brought into the United States returned to her in Chile
• successful representation as lead trial counsel of a young man trafficked into the United States from the Dominican Republic in litigation proceedings against his trafficker
• successful defense at trial court and on appeal in arguing for suppression of video surveillance evidence in criminal investigation of high-profile johns and massage parlors for suspected human trafficking
• defense of an international hotel chain in several lawsuits related to human trafficking allegations and claims brought under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA)
• advice to multiple international companies in preparing statements to comply with the 2015 United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act