Co-op and Condo Law Firm Mergers March On

The big fish continue to eat the little fish in virtually every facet of American business — from book publishing to movie studios, telecommunications, health care, property management and, yes, co-op and condo law.

In the latest move in a steady local trend, Braverman Greenspun, a leading law firm representing co-op and condo boards in metro New York for more than half a century, has combined with Finder Novick Kerrigan, a boutique firm with a similar concentration. With the merger, the combined firm will represent more than 300 buildings in the tri-state area, including a number of New York City’s most exclusive residential properties. It will retain the name Braverman Greenspun.

“We have great admiration for the lawyers of Finder Novick Kerrigan and the role they have played shaping real estate law in New York,” Robert Braverman, managing partner of Braverman Greenspun, tells Business Wire. “We are delighted to be working together as one firm.”

The combination signals Braverman Greenspun’s continued commitment to its real estate practice, which began with the firm's founding by Braverman’s father, Ed Braverman, in 1968. Today, the firm represents buildings ranging from historic Upper East Side cooperatives to luxury Tribeca condominiums, insurers, and unit owners in high-stakes conflicts with boards.

Beginning in the 1980s, Finder Novick Kerrigan was instrumental in executing the wave of co-op conversions that swept New York City. “Our history of cooperative representation makes an ideal complement to Braverman Greenspun’s well-known work with condominium boards,” says Michael Finder, co-founding partner of Finder Novick Kerrigan. “Our collective experience brings the best of both worlds together in one place.”

This is merely the latest in a recent string of mergers among New York real estate law firms. Early this year, Smith Buss & Jacobs announced it was adding the practices of Ilene Guralnick and Margaret Baisley, two long-time co-op and condo attorneys, and also adding Jason Rogovich to its new Soho office. In 2021, Herrick Feinstein added the seven-member co-op and condo team from the firm Anderson Kill. Last year Romer Debbas merged with Katz & Matz to become the city's largest residential legal practice, which now operates under the name Romer Debbas. Also last year, Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas (SSRGA) merged with two Florida-based firms, Bresky Law and Johnson, Ritchey & Feldman. The latter merger will create synergies for SSRGA’s real estate, trusts and estates, and marital and health care practices while further supporting New York City-based clients active in Florida and Florida clients active in New York.

“This expansion creates a significant presence for SSRGA in Florida, enabling us to service clients with business in both markets,” Steven Sladkus, a founding partner with SSRGA, tells the magazine South Florida Business & Wealth.

U.S. law firm mergers continued to tick up in 2022 after a pandemic-era slowdown, and legal industry watchers anticipate more dealmaking in the new year, Reuters reports. There were 46 completed mergers in 2022, according to data released Tuesday by legal consultancy Fairfax Associates. Although that figure has increased since 2020, it remains below the 10-year historical average of 55 deals per year.