Leonard Rodes

About The Firm

Launched July 1, 2021, The Rodes Firm PLLC is the new platform from which its founder and sole member, Len Rodes, will continue his legal practice focused on dispute avoidance and resolution for business clients.

Philosophy / Approach

Clients of The Rodes Firm will benefit from the legal knowledge, technical skills and business judgment that Len Rodes has gained over 35+ years practicing business disputes law in several New York City law firms. By combining that experience with a personal approach from a virtual platform, Len aims to make sophisticated disputes resolution counsel and advocacy more widely accessible and cost-effective.

The Rodes Firm will be a virtual practice to the maximum extent practicable. Today, almost all services and tasks required of a New York or Florida business disputes practitioner can be provided and performed remotely. Courts now not only permit, but require, electronic filing in almost all business cases. Increasingly, even hearings and other court “appearances” are conducted virtually. Ditto for mediations and arbitration cases. By eliminating the array of expenses associated with maintaining a traditional office suite in, say, Manhattan or Miami, The Rodes Firm will be able to offer clients more friendly and flexible fee arrangements.

At The Rodes Firm, Len Rodes will do the work. No teams of associate lawyers and legal interns. No billable time spent transferring knowledge from those teams to the client-facing “responsible partner.” Len will work one-to-one with his clients, will look forward to fostering close relationships with them, and will identify keenly with their interests.

In short, the mission of The Rodes Firm is not only to deliver the same high quality legal advice and representation that business clients expect from the most respected traditional law firms, but to do so more responsively, creatively and cost-effectively.

Over the course of three and half decades, I’ve helped hundreds of companies and individuals resolve business conflicts with contract counterparties, partners, investors, employees, employers, and regulators.

I know that business disputes are, at best, costly distractions for my clients. At worst, some disputes pose existential threats to the companies I serve. I strive to find creative solutions that will end disputes as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sometimes aggressive litigation, involving discovery, motion practice and trial, is unavoidable. But more often than not, a client’s most important objectives can be achieved earlier in the process, perhaps by identifying a flaw in the adversary’s position and exploiting it with an early motion, perhaps through a negotiation prompted by a compelling presentation of a client’s position.

Identifying and navigating the shortest path to an optimal outcome is not only what my clients want; it is also the greatest source of my professional satisfaction.

My clients have included fund managers, real estate developers, large retailers, satellite companies, private equity firms, a major music publisher, advertising and marketing companies, an agribusiness, an oil trading firm, banks and other lenders, manufacturers, among many other small and large companies and their owners and managers.