Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP (SSRGA) announced that 12 attorneys, including two new partners, have joined the firm effective September 1, 2023. The expansion, which includes additional support staff, also creates a new Employment and Labor Law practice at the firm.
Six of the new SSRGA attorneys arrive from Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer, a commercial and securities litigation and real estate law firm based in New York. Six associates, including three recently graduated first-years, also join the firm. Eleven of the attorneys will practice out of the firm’s recently expanded Madison Avenue headquarters, and one will practice in the firm’s South Florida office.
Within the past year, SSRGA has grown from 52 to 74 attorneys, and has established new offices in South Florida and Long Island. The firm also has expanded its Manhattan office from 33,000 square feet to 45,000 square feet to accommodate its continued growth, making SSRGA the anchor tenant at 444 Madison Avenue.
Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer, which dissolved August 31, 2023, was a boutique firm recognized for its commercial, real estate and litigation practices serving a wide range of clients, including cooperative and condominium boards, major financial institutions, real estate developers, retailers and parties involved in complex title insurance disputes and other commercial enterprises.
Ganfer Shore’s Steven J. Shore and Margery N. Weinstein join SSRGA as partners, Matthew N. Tobias as special counsel, Robert I. Gosseen as senior counsel, William A. Jaskola as a senior associate and Stephanie King as an associate. In addition, Daniel Ash, Cara Sheena and Alex E. Glassman join the firm as associates, and Melissa Rocco, Ruth Silberfarb and Jacqueline Bartha join SSRGA to become first-year associates.
“We are excited to welcome these talented Ganfer Shore attorneys to our firm,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, co-founder and managing partner of SSRGA. “This expansion advances our position as a powerful force in litigation and real estate law, while bringing a new practice of employment and labor law to the firm.”
“The onboarding of six new associates demonstrates the firm’s ongoing commitment to organic growth,” said Steven Sladkus, co-founder and partner at SSRGA. “SSRGA has developed a vibrant culture based on the highest standards of legal professionalism, while cultivating a supportive environment where lawyers can grow.”
Shore, a partner in SSRGA’s litigation and real estate practices, has established a reputation as one of New York’s premier litigators, known for devising out-of-the-box solutions to commercial, securities and real estate disputes. He litigates in both the New York State and Federal Courts and represents major clients in commercial cases before the Commercial Division. Shore has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
Weinstein concentrates her practice in the areas of condominium and cooperative law and real estate transactions. Ms. Weinstein handles a wide variety of issues related to condominium associations and cooperative corporations. She counsels boards in connection with general corporate governance issues, owner and resident disputes, underlying mortgage financings, leasing of commercial space, construction contracts, access and easement agreements with neighboring buildings, the issuance and sale of previously unissued shares, and the licensing of roof areas, hallways and other common space.
Tobias is a veteran civil litigator with over two decades of experience handling a wide variety of real estate and general commercial litigation, including contract and lease disputes, mortgage lien priority disputes, disputes concerning real property and mortgage title defects, disputes concerning the governance and operation of condominiums and cooperatives, disputes concerning access to neighboring properties, construction litigation, and landlord-tenant disputes.
Gosseen concentrates his practice on all aspects of employment law, including real estate transactions, wage and hour litigation, discrimination, harassment, union relations and benefits. He has counseled and advocated on behalf of employers in all aspects of employment law for more than five decades, representing clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as before numerous administrative agencies and human rights commissions.
Jaskola is a veteran commercial litigator with over 25 years of experience representing private and public companies, partnerships and individuals in complex commercial matters with an emphasis on real estate and construction disputes, and cooperative and condominium litigation. He also provides corporate governance advice to cooperative and condominium boards, and he counsels property owners, commercial landlords, developers, contractors, architects and engineers
King has extensive experience advising buyers, sellers and lenders in residential real estate transactions throughout New York. She works with first-time buyers and sophisticated individuals, entities and trusts to provide representation that is tailored to their needs. From analyzing due diligence to negotiating and drafting contracts, King has successfully closed hundreds of transactions.
Ash focuses on complex commercial and real estate litigation. He was formerly an associate at a boutique litigation and trial firm where he represented clients in a broad range of complex commercial disputes. Daniel graduated from Fordham University School of Law in May 2021, receiving the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award at graduation.
Sheena focuses on both matrimonial and family law matters. She is a graduate of Tulane University and New York Law School. Prior to joining the firm, Sheena was an associate at a boutique matrimonial law firm and an agency attorney at Administration for Children Services. Her practice spans all aspects of matrimonial matters, from the preparation of complex prenuptial and marital settlement agreements to the preparation of matrimonial matters for trial.
Glassman concentrates his practice in all areas of commercial and civil litigation as well as family law. Prior to joining SSRGA, he served as an associate attorney with the general liability practice group at a national business and insurance liability firm, defending individuals and corporations against claims of medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, wrongful death, negligent security and breach of contract.
Rocco is a 2023 graduate of New York Law School who served as president of The Latin American Law Students Association and Entertainment Chair of The Media, Entertainment and Fashion Law Association. Melissa graduated with a certificate from The Center for Real Estate Studies, and at her commencement ceremony she was awarded The Dean’s Leadership Award for the Class of 2023.
Silberfarb recently received her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law, where she was a member of the university’s Dispute Resolution Society, Moot Court, Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal and Jewish Law Students Association. Previously, she interned with a national full-service law firm, the New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and Tauber Real Estate.
Bartha recently received her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law. Most recently, Ms. Bartha interned with The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, where she assisted Legal Aid attorneys with discovery preparation and a motion for class certification. She previously interned with The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and The New York City Department of Social Services.
