Position: Of Counsel

Areas of Practice:
Banking Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Labor and Employment

Education:
Fairfield University (B.A., 1989); Quinnipac College School of Law (J.D., 1993)

Admissions:
1993, Connecticut; 1994, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 2001, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; 2007, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Contact Information:
Secretary: Anabelle Machado-Costa
E-mail: pkolakowski@zeklaw.com
Direct telephone number: (203) 622-0900

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Pierre-Yves Kolakowski is Of Counsel in ZEK's Greenwich, Conn. office. He joined the firm as an associate in 1995.

Pierre's practice involves commercial litigation, with a concentration on the representation of banks and lending institutions in a wide array of issues. Pierre regularly defends major financial institutions and mortgage servicers with respect to various lender liability claims and federal and state compliance issues. Pierre has participated in the litigation of various multi-district matters, including the successful defense of a putative class action brought under the recently enacted Class Action Fairness Act.

Pierre has represented a multitude of asset-based lenders and financiers with respect to efforts to recover on defaulted loans, including commercial foreclosure actions, replevin actions and workouts. Indeed, based on his many years of experience in the field, Pierre has lectured on Connecticut’s unique foreclosure procedures. Pierre also regularly appears in bankruptcy court with respect to various creditors’ rights issues, and has successfully litigated numerous claims seeking the recovery of assets and improper preferential transfers pursuant to the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act.

Pierre's practice also includes litigating and advising ZEK’s clients with respect to general business and commercial issues, including finance and commercial disputes arising under the Uniform Commercial Code. In addition, Pierre represents ZEK’s commercial clients on various issues relating to labor and employment. In particular, Pierre represents business owners with regards the protection of trade secrets and obligations arising under non-solicitation, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, and has both prosecuted and defended actions involving such matters.

Out of the office, Pierre can be found in the company of his children and his golden retrievers, all of whom happily occupy the majority of his time. Pierre is a runner and enjoys playing and watching hockey as often as he can.