Allan Kassenoff Resigns After Public Outcry Over Wife Catherine's Apparent Suicide

[niyad]

Allan Kassenoff Resigns After Public Outcry Over Wife Catherine’s Apparent Suicide
6/12/2023 by Amy Polacko

Since news of New York attorney and mother Catherine Kassenoff’s reported assisted suicide in Switzerland, her husband’s former employer—the law firm Greenberg Traurig—has been in the hot seat. Hundreds of outraged people have taken to social media, urging the firm to fire Catherine’s husband Allan, a shareholder. They included multiple one-star Yelp reviews, all blasting the firm. One review said, “Greenberg Traurig’s association with Allan Kassenoff is an absolute disgrace and reflects poorly on their entire company.” Late Sunday night, the law firm, which had already stated Allan was on a leave of absence, released a statement announcing his resignation.

In her final letter and social media posts, Catherine publicly blamed the New York family court system and her husband, Allan Kassenoff, for causing her to lose her home, money, job and custody of her daughters. The couple was in the middle of custody litigation that had gone on for four years and Catherine, recently diagnosed with a return of cancer, said she no longer had the strength to fight. (Ms. was the first to expose Catherine’s case in a 2021 article “Empty Home for the Holidays,” and published a follow-up after her reported death, “Remembering Catherine Kassenoff.”)



Greenberg Traurig’s June 11 statement reads:

“The firm has concluded its review of the situation to determine Allan Kassenoff’s status with the firm. Our primary obligation is to maintain and protect the core values and best interests of our firm, our clients, our lawyers and our professional staff. Allan has been on a short leave of absence and has now resigned from the firm, effective immediately.

“The firm is sensitive to the needs of the three children, the primary victims of the situation, and therefore will be creating a dedicated trust fund with an independent trustee for the sole benefit of these children, to be voluntarily funded by the lawyers and staff of our firm. We wish healing and privacy to the children during this very difficult situation.”

Many of Catherine’s supporters applauded the decision, but the victory is bittersweet. “It is sad, but no one helps us while we are alive,” said Elizabeth Harding Weinstein, Catherine’s friend and a court reform advocate who also lost custody of her children in a high net-worth battle.

. . . . . .



Editor’s note: We have repeatedly reached out to Allan Kassenoff and his attorney Gus Dimopoulos to request an interview as part of our continuing coverage of this case but, to date, we have not heard back from them.


https://msmagazine.com/2023/06/12/allan-kassenoff-resigns/

[elleng]

1. and of course this is the business of everyone in the world

NOT.