Several Ganfer & Shore Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers for 2013-14
Business Law News
Eleven lawyers at the Manhattan law firm of Ganfer & Shore, LLP have been named as “New York Super Lawyers” or “New York Rising Stars” for 2013-14. The selection of "Super Lawyers" is based on a survey of thousands of fellow lawyers in New York.
Ganfer & Shore's "Super Lawyers" included Steven J. Shore, a litigation partner who was again named as one of the "Top 100" attorneys in New York City; real estate partners Steven R. Ganfer, Matthew J. Leeds, and Margery N. Weinstein; litigation partners Mark A. Berman and Ira Brad Matetsky; employment and labor law of-counsel Robert Gosseen; and litigation of-counsel Steven Skulnik. In addition, three litigation associates – Anne D. Hilton, William D. McCracken, and Matthew N. Tobias – received “Rising Star” recognition.
GANFER & SHORE SUPER LAWYERS -- LITIGATION
Steven J. Shore, the managing partner of the firm, is a 1971 graduate of New York University School of Law, where he was a member of the staff of the Annual Survey of American Law. Prior to forming the predecessor to Ganfer & Shore, LLP, he was a staff attorney with the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a litigation associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. He has lectured at events at the New York City Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and the Union International des Avocats, and is one of New York’s leading practitioners in the areas of commercial litigation and real estate litigation. He is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell and has been listed as a Super Lawyer since 2006. He was named as one of New York’s Top 100 attorneys in 2011 and again in 2013.
Mark A. Berman is a seasoned litigator whose practice focuses on complex commercial disputes. Prior to joining Ganfer & Shore, he was a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and clerked for United States Magistrate Judge Michael L. Orenstein. Mr. Berman has written and spoken on electronic discovery issues before the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the New York State Judicial Institute. He is a member of the New York State E-Discovery Working Group advising the New York State Unified Court System, and has authored the New York e-discovery column in the New York Law Journal since 2005. He co-chairs the Social Media Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association. He graduated in 1986 from Columbia College and in 1990 (magna cum laude) from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubble and has been listed as a Super Lawyer since 2008.
Ira Brad Matetsky is a graduate of Princeton University and the Fordham University School of Law, where he received awards in Contracts and Constitutional Law and served on the Fordham Law Review. His experience prior to joining Ganfer & Shore includes twelve years as a litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, as well as five years as in-house counsel for Goya Foods, Inc. Mr. Matetsky has authored several published several articles on legal and historical topics in legal periodicals. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for The Green Bag Almanac and Reader, an annual collection of the year's best legal writing. He also served for six years as a member of the Baldwin Union Free School District Board of Education, and is a past recipient of the President's Pro Bono Service Award from the New York State Bar Association. At Ganfer & Shore, Mr. Matetsky authors the firm’s monthly Client Advisory focused on real estate, cooperative and condominium law, and edits the Employment Law Advisory. His practice concentrates on litigation, including complex commercial, securities, real estate, and other types of cases before trial and appellate courts and arbitrators.
Steven Skulnik is of counsel to the firm’s litigation practice group as well as its labor and employment practice group. He has extensive trial and appellate experience in the areas of commercial contracts, art and antiquities law, banking, real estate, shareholder and partnership disputes, trade secret, trademark, information technology, defamation, and unfair competition. He represents employers in all aspects of employment law including discrimination, wrongful discharge, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims. He is a member of the Panels of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, and the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. He serves as a court-appointed mediator in the New York County Supreme Court, Commercial Division and the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
GANFER & SHORE SUPER LAWYERS – REAL ESTATE
Steven R. Ganfer is a 1973 graduate of St. John's University School of Law, with extensive experience in commercial and residential real estate matters. Mr. Ganfer has a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from City College of New York, and before obtaining his law degree, Mr. Ganfer was an electrical engineer at Sperry Corporation. Prior to joining the predecessor to Ganfer & Shore, LLP, Mr. Ganfer was a partner in the firm of Laber & Ganfer, a firm that specialized in cooperative housing law, representing both sponsors and tenant associations. Mr. Ganfer has advised more than 100 tenant associations, condominiums, and cooperative housing corporations.
Matthew J. Leeds is a real estate lawyer whose diverse practice includes the representation of owners, developers, sponsors, condominium and cooperative boards, investors, and institutional real estate lenders. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School, a frequent lecturer and writer, and the co-author of “New York Practice Guide: Real Estate: Cooperatives and Condominiums.” He is a former Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Real Property Section and its Condominiums and Cooperatives Committee. He is also a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He began his law career as a Special Deputy Attorney General in the New York State Department of Law’s Real Estate Financing Bureau. Prior to joining Ganfer & Shore, LLP, Mr. Lees was a partner in the firm of Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn & Berman (which had merged with Bryan Cave, LLP). He has been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America since 2003 and a Super Lawyer since 2006
Margery N. Weinstein is a 1980 summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is also a 1984 graduate of New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Moot Court Board. Prior to joining Ganfer & Shore, LLP, Ms. Weinstein was Counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, practicing in that firm’s real estate group for over sixteen years. She began her law career as a real estate associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Ms. Weinstein’s practice concentrates on cooperative and condominium law and residential transactions, including townhouse and single-family-home conveyances, cooperatives and condominiums, residential financing, leasing, construction contracts and bulk purchases. She also represents a major university in its faculty mortgage loan relocation program.
GANFER & SHORE SUPER LAWYERS – LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Robert I. Gosseen, of counsel to Ganfer & Shore, has more than 40 years of experience as a labor and employment lawyer. After graduating from the School of Industrial and Management Relations at Cornell University, he received his law degree as well as a Master’s Degree in law from the New York University School of Law, where he taught as an adjunct associate professor in the LL.M. program in labor law. Before joining Ganfer & Shore, LLP, Mr. Gosseen was a name partner in his own law firm for more than 25 years. Mr. Gosseen represents both domestic and international clients in all aspects of labor and employment law, including union relations, employment discrimination law, and ERISA law. His practice has included numerous appearances before arbitrators, administrative agencies, and human rights commissions, as well as federal and state trial and appellate courts. He regularly conducts seminars for clients in areas such as preventing sexual harassment and discrimination, reducing the workforce, labor relations, and the hiring, discipline, and discharge of employees. He also counsels clients on creating and updating their employee manuals.
GANFER & SHORE RISING STARS
Anne D. Hilton concentrates her practice primarily in commercial litigation. She graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in history in 1994 and received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1997. Prior to joining Ganfer & Shore, she was associated with international and boutique law firms specializing in products liability, health care, labor law, and general liability claims.
William D. McCracken practices commercial and securities litigation before the New York state and federal courts. He practiced with Venable LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP prior to joining Ganfer & Shore. He was an Honor Graduate of Baylor University in 1997 and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2000, where he was designated Outstanding Editor with the Environmental Law Journal.
Matthew N. Tobias concentrates his practice in commercial litigation, including dispute resolution relating to cooperative and condominium matters. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 1996 and, while an undergraduate, also studied geography and economics at University College London in London, England. He received his J.D. from Fordham University in 2000, where he served as a member of the Fordham Law Review and was on the Dean’s List. Prior to joining Ganfer & Shore, he was in private practice in the fields of commercial litigation and trust and estates law.
For more information about Ganfer & Shore, please visit www.ganfershore.com or the International Society of Primerus Law Firms.