Within the Community

Teachers of Law

Partners Daniel Finkelstein and Lucas A. Ferrara serve as Adjunct Professors of Law at New York Law School, and were formerly Adjunct Associate Professors of Real Estate at New York University , where they both were awarded the University’s prestigious “Teachers' Excellence Award.”

At NYLS, Dan and Lucas guide second- and third-year law students through the maze that is real estate litigation. Not confined to teaching theory, the duo expose their students to real-world issues and fact-patterns. Over the course of fourteen weeks, the students are exposed to the actual application of the law’s seemingly Byzantine concepts and requirements.

They instruct not only future lawyers, but also practicing attorneys. You can also find Dan and Lucas lecturing at continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the Civil Court of the City of New York , the New York City Bar Association, and New York County Lawyers’ Association on the latest trends and developments in real estate law. Because Dan and Lucas are always a step ahead of their peers, they are frequently called upon to address the latest changes to this seemingly ever-evolving practice area.

Dan and Lucas, however, are not the only ones who share their knowledge base with the community. Founding partner Jonathan H. Newman has been asked to speak to a number of different groups on issues ranging from summary proceedings to lease negotiations. In addition, of counsel Robert C. Epstein has lectured at continuing legal education seminars on commercial leases and real estate asset management and performance. Even our associates have been called upon to lecture and teach on topics ranging form landlord-tenant proceedings to law school pedagogy.

Scholarship and Publications

Partners Daniel Finkelstein and Lucas A. Ferrara are the named authors of West Publishing's three-volume text Landlord and Tenant Practice in New York, a leading authority and reference tool for judges and attorneys throughout New York State . Consisting of over 2,000 pages, Finkelstein and Ferrara 's treatise explores virtually every legal nuance relating to the landlord-tenant relationship, and is an invaluable reference tool for both extensive research projects and quick-checks on a particular point of law. To obtain information regarding this critically-acclaimed text please visit the West Publishing home page at www.west.thomson.com.

Lucas is also a contributing author to West’s New York State Administrative Procedure and Practice. His chapter, entitled “Administrative Practice Before the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal,” covers the basics of proceedings before the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, as well as more nuanced topics relating to administrative hearings.

Jonathan H. Newman , Lucas A. Ferrara, Glenn H. Spiegel, Jarred I. Kassenoff, Melissa Ephron-Mandel, Suzanne R. Albin, and Robert C. Epstein have been called upon by the media to comment on various aspects of real-estate law as it impacts institutional investors and private individuals. Partner Jonathan H. Newman, of counsel Robert C. Epstein, and associates Barry Gottlieb, and Damon P. Howard, have all authored or co-authored articles for various legal publications.

In short, our attorneys are working hard to stay at the forefront of the field, and they are continually being recognized for their efforts.

Special honors

In 2000, New York Law School announced the creation of the Daniel Finkelstein Commencement Award, in honor of Dan’s distinguished legal career, and to acknowledge his many years of service to the profession. The award is given each year to the graduating student who displays excellence in research and writing on a topic related to real estate law. The partners of Newman Ferrara LLP, along with NYLS faculty members, bestow this award upon the most outstanding student-written work from all papers, journal essays, notes, and articles submitted over the course of the academic year. The author of the selected work receives a substantial monetary prize.