Richard Mattiaccio focuses his cross-border advocacy practice on the litigation, arbitration and mediation of complex cases involving intellectual property rights, licensing, distribution, franchising and retail operations, investor disputes, and the commercial supply of goods and services. He has handled federal and state unfair competition claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, post-acquisition price adjustments, valuation proceedings, class action and product liability defense, and executive compensation matters. His experience as an advocate has been in the federal and state courts of New York and in alternative dispute resolution. Richard also has acted as nationwide litigation coordinating counsel for importers of consumer products. 

Richard has more than 25 years of experience in arbitration. He has represented claimants and respondents in international, commercial and large complex cases administered under American Arbitration Association (AAA), International Centre of Dispute Resolution (ICDR), ICC International Court of Arbitration (ICC) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) rules.

Richard serves as a panel arbitrator with the ICDR and AAA under their international and commercial rules, and with the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) on the CPR banking, accounting and financial services, franchise and trademark panels. He is a panel mediator for the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court and for the Southern District of New York and co-author of “Mediation in Italy: A Bridge Too Far,” Dispute Resolution Journal, vol. 66, no. 3 (August – October 2011). Richard is an active member of the New York City Bar Association (City Bar) and of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). He is co-chair of the City Bar’s In House/Outside Litigation Counsel Group and co-chair of the Legislation Committee of the NYSBA Dispute Resolution Section. Richard has served as chair of the City Bar’s Product Liability Committee and as a member of a number of other NYSBA or City Bar committees related to arbitration, litigation, judicial selection, and professional and judicial ethics.

Richard has dual citizenship (United States and Italy).

Representative Experience

• Representing plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving wrongful termination or non-renewal of exclusive licensing, distribution and franchise agreements in a variety of fields.
• Representing a high-fashion trademark owner and its licensee manufacturer in trademark anticounterfeiting cases brought against major discount retailers and their suppliers in civil litigation in the US District Court, Southern District of New York.
• Acting as lead counsel for a Tier 1 supplier to an aircraft manufacturer in a cross-border dispute with a sub-tier supplier under a long-term, fixed price requirements contract, including accelerated proceedings in the supplier’s home court resulting in a mandatory injunction requiring the supplier to continue to perform, thereby avoiding a disruption in the customer’s assembly line, followed by arbitration and mediation of the financial dispute to a favorable settlement.
• Handling proceedings in federal court to confirm international arbitral awards.
• Representing a high-profile entertainer in litigation with a former manager.
• Handling a federal securities fraud case that proceeded to a jury trial and verdict for the client in federal court in Manhattan.
• Defending a non-US bank in purported class actions brought against bank defendants and their manufacturer-customers pursuant to US antitrust and terrorism laws.
• Defending Lanham Act, RICO and common law claims brought by alleged New Jersey and Florida franchises of a supplier of high-fashion leather goods, clothing and accessories.
• Representing the purchaser of an engineering firm in a post-acquisition price adjustment arbitration.
• Representing a minority shareholder/former CEO of a closely held corporation in an arbitration to obtain fair value for his shares.
• Representing clients based in Italy, Japan, the People’s Republic of China and the US in connection with challenges to the jurisdiction of local federal and state courts.
• Representing non-US based parties seeking federal discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 in aid of civil proceedings pending or threatened in courts located outside the United States. 
• Representing an energy services company in an UNCITRAL arbitration to obtain payment from a multinational organization for services rendered in connection with a peacekeeping mission.
• Representing an oppressed minority shareholder of an industrial textiles manufacturer in litigation settled by the client’s buyout of the majority shareholder.
• Representing executives or employers in contract disputes arising from termination of the employment of highly compensated executives.
• Representing investors, managers and tenants in Manhattan office, retail and hotel properties in contract disputes with investors, contractors, landlords and brokers.
• Defending automotive, machine tool, industrial equipment and medical device manufacturers in product liability litigation.
• Serving as New York trial counsel and as national coordinating counsel for an Italian automotive importer in the defense of product liability cases.
• Structuring, negotiating and drafting complex settlement agreements including (i) settlement with a major discount retail chain accused of trademark counterfeiting by means of a lump sum payment and an enhanced permanent injunction requiring periodic compliance reporting to the court for five years; (ii) settlement of a franchise dispute through acquisition of a group of retail companies; and (ii) settlement of a securities class action through a tender offer.
• Serving as arbitrator in a complex contract dispute between a hedge fund manager and founders of the fund.
• Serving as arbitrator in numerous claims of wrongful termination of exclusive supply, distribution or franchise agreements.
• Serving as arbitrator in a claim brought by a terminated patent agent for a declaratory judgment that it had earned contingent fees in connection with worldwide software patent litigation.
• Serving as arbitrator in a case between two competitors regarding alleged infringement of a famous service mark.
• Serving as arbitrator in a dispute between a real estate brokerage franchise system and its exclusive Manhattan franchisee.
• Serving as arbitrator in executive compensation (including investment banker bonus) cases.