216.696.8700
Brett Krantz
Partner
216.736.7238
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Brett Krantz

Partner
216.736.7238
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Brett and his team at KJK provide insightful counsel on our litigation matters, taking the time to dig in and understand our business and the industry. As a growing nationwide business, we also have legal issues which arise throughout the United States. When needed, Brett has referred us to high quality local firms through KJK’s affiliation with the Meritas network which has been very helpful in responding to issues across the country.

Andrew Seger
Chief Legal Officer, NAE/NWAN

OVERVIEW & EXPERIENCE

Over the 30-plus years of Brett’s legal career, he has counseled a diverse client base including individuals, owners of regulated and non-regulated companies, small entrepreneurial entities and large public corporations. He counts among his clients both broker-dealers and investment advisors. His areas of practice include regulatory matters and securities. Brett also holds a position on the firm’s Executive Committee.

Brett is chair of Meritas, an international network of highly vetted, independent law firms spanning 91 countries. Brett has helped KJK become one of the leading Meritas firms in the world, having served on the organization’s Membership Committee, Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

In addition to his service to clients in day-to-day matters, Brett is also a skilled litigator who has handled business-to-business commercial disputes and securities issues involving the Federal Courts, FINRA, the SEC and state securities regulators. Brett also represents clients in regulatory reviews and investigations of securities practices, business practices relating to consumer sales, and business planning and litigation involving the Ohio Alcoholic Beverages Franchise Act.

Brett’s approach is to assist businesses and individuals in maximizing their growth by limiting litigation and regulatory risk. He makes sure that the legal strategy he advises is always aligned with each client’s unique business goals. He also holds a position of leadership within the firm as a member of KJK’s Executive Committee and Chair of the Litigation Practice Group.

Outside of his work at KJK, Brett is civically involved in his home community of Shaker Heights, where four generations of his family have resided.

Representative Experience
  • Served as trial counsel in such cases as:
    • two related trials involving disputes between owners of a broker-dealer; obtained injunctive relief against majority owners, a finding of defamation against them and a total dismissal of all claims against the firms’ clients
    • a month-long, multi-party AAA dispute involving the sale by a Fortune 100 company of its federally regulated subsidiary
    • a case involving three large nonprofits in an eight–figure FINRA arbitration in one of the first collateralized debt obligations cases to go to trial
  • Obtained substantial settlement in a suit brought by former minority owner against majority owner alleging self-dealing and breach of fiduciary duty
  • Served as counsel for a class in a seven-year long fraud litigation matter which included a recommended default judgment against another party due to their discovery abuses; class was repaid their entire loss
  • Represented private foundation in trial against public university in dispute over grants
  • Representing companies and individuals in numerous state and federal regulatory investigations involving consumer protection and securities laws
AWARDS & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Awards

  • Selected to Ohio Super Lawyers, 2008 – 2023
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® AV Preeminent Attorney – Judicial Edition 2017 – 2022
  • America’s Most Honored Lawyers – Top 1% 2016 – 2022
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated Attorney
  • America’s Most Honored Professionals 2015 – Top 10%

Professional Affiliations

  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
  • American Arbitration Association
    • Commercial and Consumer Arbitrator
  •  Meritas
    • Chair, 2021 – Present
    • Executive Committee & Vice Chair, Board of Directors, 2018 – 2020
    • Chairman, Quality Assurance Committee, 2018 – 2020
    • Board of Directors, 2016 – 2018
    • Membership Committee, 2014 – 2018
    • Chairman, Annual Meeting Planning Committee, 2017
    • Member, Annual Meeting Planning Committee, 2016
BAR / COURT ADMISSIONS
  • Ohio
  • Illinois
  • District of Columbia
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
  • Mandel JCC
    • Executive Committee, 2020 – Present
    • Board of Directors, 2017
  • Camp Wise, Advisory Board, 2013 – 2016
    • Strategic Planning Committee, 2015
  • Positive Education Program
    • Board of Directors, 2008 – 2016
    • Executive Committee
PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
  • “Does ruling in Ohio malpractice case create risk for future of Swiss legal vereins?” The Lawyer’s Daily, Nov. 30, 2022
  • Panel Speaker, “Seek the Horizon: Competing Upstream in Legal Services,” Jan. 21, 2022
  • “How to Protect Against Cybersecurity Threats in a Work-from-Home Environment,” Meritas White Paper, July 13, 2020
  • Association of Corporate Counsel 2017 Annual Meeting, “Small Companies Facing Big Litigation,” Speaker, Oct. 17, 2017
  • Meritas 2017 Annual Meeting, “What Lobbyists Really Do and How They Do It,” Moderator, April 21, 2017
  • “Creating Signed, Written Contracts Over the Telephone,” Connections Magazine, July 1, 2012

PRACTICE AREAS

EDUCATION

  • University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1990
  • Dartmouth College, A.B., 1985, cum laude

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Clients would describe me as a creative thinker who is also a pragmatic lawyer and understands that their decisions are ultimately business decisions. Helping a client get to a result that is the most beneficial and practical is what we constantly strive for.

Brett Krantz
Partner