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Attorney Carla Varriale to Moderate Keynote Panel, ‘Broker to Broker,’ at Ticket Summit Conference in New York City

New York, NY – December 29, 2010 – Carla Varriale, a partner at Havkins, Rosenfeld, Ritzert & Varriale, LLP (www.hrrvlaw.com), has been invited to moderate the keynote panel at this year’s Ticket Summit Conference in New York City. Varriale is an attorney who specializes in sports and entertainment law and has written regarding various legal issues facing the live entertainment and ticketing industries.

The panel, “Broker to Broker,” will address current and upcoming trends in the ticketing and ticket resale industry. The discussion will feature prominent industry leaders including Jim Holzman,  Jonathan Rader, Andy Wallenstein, Frank Quatromani, Randy Cohen, and Steve Kobelski.

Approximately 400 people are expected to attend the Summit, which will also include sessions on advanced marketing strategies and technology innovations, among other topics.

“Ticket Summit is a dynamic conference and this panel will focus on challenges and changes with respect to live entertainment and ticket sales,” said Varriale. “In an industry where change is a constant, this conference plays a vital role in creating successful strategies for adapting to the changes. I am excited to moderate a panel with innovative and successful brokers.”

Specific to the ticketing industry, Varriale has moderated the popular ticketing panel at the annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards, discussing the most current issues in the ticketing industry, including ticketing technology, and the dynamic role of the secondary market. She has also published articles addressing legislation regulating the ticketing industry, and other legal developments.

About Ticket Summit®

Ticket Summit® is the world's leading ticket conference and trade show for live entertainment professionals. This event attracts hundreds of global business leaders, entrepreneurs, and entertainment experts in the ticket community. Past attendees and sponsors include: Billboard, Blue Man Group, Broadway.com, eBay, Forbes, Google, Live Nation, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, PowerPay, StubHub, Ticketmaster, and Yahoo!, among others. The upcoming Ticket Summit® conference and trade show is scheduled for January 12-14, 2011 at The Waldorf=Astoria in New York, NY.

Attorney Gail Ritzert to Speak on Legal Issues Involving No-Fault Claims and Litigation

New York, NY – Nov. 29, 2010 – Gail Ritzert, a partner at the law firm of Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, will speak at a seminar hosted by the National Business Institute on Dec. 3 that is themed No-Fault Claims and Litigation: From Start to Finish.

Ritzert and other panelists will speak at 2:30 p.m., addressing the issue of “Arbitration and Trial for Defense.” For information on attending the event, visit http://www.nbi-sems.com/

“These are incredibly important issues for attorneys and other professionals impacted by developments in this area of law,” said Ritzert, who will be joined on the panel by William Considine and Brett Hausthor, both of the American Arbitration Association. “It’s an honor to be invited by the NBI to participate as a speaker again.”

Among the issues addressed by Ritzert and her colleagues will be:

• What to Include in the Arbitration Submission
• Discovery and Motions/Pleadings
• Preparing for the Arbitration and Trial
• Expert Examination
• Help the Fact Finders Get All the Relevant Information
• Tips for Third-Party No-Fault Litigation
• Handling Out-of-State PIP and No-Fault Coverage
• Common Mistakes to Avoid

Attorney Carla Varriale Invited to Speak At Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society Panel: ‘Crisis Management in Sports in an Era of Instant Feedback’

New York, NY – Nov. 5, 2010 – Carla Varriale, a partner at Havkins, Rosenfeld, Ritzert & Varriale, LLP, will speak at a panel on Nov. 13 at Brooklyn Law School’s Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society event, Perspectives of the Sports and Entertainment Legal Professions. The panels feature distinguished professionals in the music, fashion, sports, television and film fields.

Specifically, Varriale’s panel will address “Crisis Management in Sports in an Era of Instant Feedback.” Varriale said the timing of the panel could not be better.

“As we have seen from recent events, people involved in the sports and entertainment businesses (as well as athletes and performers) must be more vigilant about their legal exposure, anticipating problems before they become public, whether on the Internet or in the press,” said Varriale. “The Internet presents challenges, as well as opportunities in this regard. I hope that we can identify some best practices and discuss the legal implications of ‘living on the era of instant feedback.’”

Varriale will have plenty of personal experience to draw upon. She has represented Major League Baseball teams and players, minor league teams and clients in the recreation and sports industries. Her practice is focused on the defense of sports and entertainment clients. Varriale writes for publications such as Sports Litigation Alert, Facility Manager, Billboard, and the ABA Entertainment and Sports Lawyer. She is also a faculty member at Columbia University's School of Continuing Education, Sports Management Program, where she teaches "Sports Law and Ethics."

Attorney Carla Varriale Selected to Speak at 2010 Billboard Touring Conference and Awards

New York, NY — Sept. 22, 2010 — Carla Varriale, a partner at Havkins, Rosenfeld, Ritzert & Varriale, LLP, has been selected to speak at Billboard’s 7th annual Touring Conference and Awards event this November.

Varriale will moderate the “Ticketing: Managing the Keys to the Kingdom” panel.  This topic is expected to provide a fiery discussion, since ticketing is arguably the most critical and controversial subject in the touring industry.

“This is one of the biggest conferences of the year in the ticketing industry,” said Varriale.  “And this panel discussion, in particular, is one that is especially important.”

Central to the panel’s discussion will be issues around paperless tickets, the secondary market, digital advancements, mergers, and upstarts.

The speakers on the panel will include David Butler, president of Paciolan; Lynsie Camuso, president of ShowClix; Jeff Kreinik, vice president of marketing of Front Gate Tickets; and Chris Tsakalakis, president of StubHub.

Varriale has moderated Billboard’s popular ticketing panel before, discussing the most current issues in the ticketing industry, changes in ticketing technology, and the dynamic role of the secondary market in regards to legal and business challenges. 

This year’s conference will be held Nov. 3-4 at Sheraton New York in New York City.  Varriale’s ticketing panel will run from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Nov. 3.

HRRV’s Tara Fappiano to Discuss Post-Remediation Care at Westchester County Bar Association CLE

August 24, 2010 (New York, New York) – Tara C. Fappiano, a partner at Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, LLP in New York, will present a continuing legal education seminar September 29 on environmental law for the Westchester County Bar Association.

Fappiano will co-present the program, entitled “A Tale of Two Regulatory Programs: The NY and NJ Post Remediation Care Responsibilities,” with EWMA Vice President Don Richardson.

The following will be addressed:

“Post remediation care risks and liabilities on brownfield redevelopment sites are on the rise due to the popularity in the implementation of cost effective risk based cleanup strategies.  A critical strategy in meeting risk based cleanup goals are the use of environmental easements (NY) and institutional and engineering controls (NJ), collectively referred to as Activity Use Limitations (AULs).  The EPA estimates approximately 75 percent of brownfield redevelopment projects have some form of an institutional or engineering control to meet site regulatory closure requirements.   Both NY and NJ have developed programs facilitating the AULs, but have taken different legal and programmatic approaches to ensure protectiveness of health, safety and the environment on a brownfield site.”

The session, which will include a case study, is appropriate for New York and New Jersey attorneys who handle real estate transactions with environmental issues. The presenters will compare and contrast the N.Y. and N.J. regulatory programs as well as “offer innovative solutions to address the challenges to implement long-term stewardship of these AULs.”  There will also be an overview of the regulations, case law references and technical approaches. Among the many issues addressed will be property ownership succession, third-party tenant relations, cost effective monitoring and tracking, financial assurance obligations, contract and insurance risk management strategies. 

For information about signing up, visit www.wcbany.org or call (914) 761-3707, extension 17.

HRRV’s Carla Varriale and Robert J. Romano of the Romano Sports and Entertainment Agency to Speak at Prestigious IAAM Conference

August 5, 2010 (New York, New York) — Attorneys Carla Varriale, a partner at Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale, LLP in New York  and Robert J. Romano of the Romano Sports and Entertainment Agency in New York and Connecticut have been invited to speak this fall at the International Crowd Management Conference. The International Crowd Management Conference is, an educational conference hosted by the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM).

Varriale and Romano will address legal issues and challenges faced by sports and entertainment venues during a November 10 in a session entitled “Current Events: Legal Cases and Situations.”

For information on the IAAM and the conference, which will be held November 7-10, 2010 in Kansas City, KS visit http://www.iaam.org/2010_meetings/icmc/home.asp.

This is the second consecutive year that Varriale  and Romano been invited to speak at the conference. Last year’s popular session was devoted to constitutional issues, including the legal challenges posed to spectator pat-down policies, and a sports or entertainment venue’s liability for alcohol-related incidents.

“Attendees of last year’s conference told us that the legal panel was one of the highlights of the conference,” said Neal Harrington, the program chair for this year’s conference and a Director for Rose Quarter/AEG Facilities.

“Rob and I look forward to presented a dynamic panel regarding the myriad of current legal issues facing sports and entertainment venues,” said Varriale. “The IAAM an influential organization in the industry. We benefit as much as those attending the conference because we have an opportunity to learn about the needs and priorities of venue owners and managers.”

For more information on Carla Varriale and to read her recent articles, see her profile.

About Robert J. Romano and The Romano Sports & Entertainment Agency
Robert J. Romano is the founding partner of The Romano Sports & Entertainment Agency, which specializes in representing NCAA and Professional League Coaches in all aspects of contract negotiations. For more information, visit his web site at www.romanosportslaw.com, or contact him at rjr2128@columbia.edu

Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale Moves Manhattan Offices to Accommodate Growth

(April 26, 2010) New York, New York — Havkins Rosenfeld Ritzert & Varriale (www.hrrvlaw.com) announced today that it has moved its Manhattan offices to 1065 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 800, in response to growing demand for its multi-faceted legal services.

The law firm, which has 25 attorneys, also has offices in Mineola (Long Island) and White Plains.

“Five years ago, when we started the firm, we sought out offices that would accommodate our existing group of attorneys,” said Steve Rosenfeld, HRRV’s Managing Partner. “As the firm began to leverage its expertise in a variety of practice areas and attract more clients, it became apparent that we needed more attorneys and subsequently more space.”

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