FORMER COLLEAGUES JOIN TO OPEN A NEW CUTTING EDGE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LAW FIRM

FORMER COLLEAGUES JOIN TO OPEN A NEW CUTTING EDGE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LAW FIRM

GARDEN CITY, NY (March 7, 2008) – Keith P. Brown and David Altman, experienced commercial real estate lawyers on Long Island and former colleagues, have established their own firm, Brown & Altman, LLP, in Garden City, offering a broad range of legal services to the real estate development industry.

The new firm will concentrate on the complex field of commercial real estate law, including real estate transactions, leasing, financing, title, environmental, zoning, permitting and litigation.

Both partners share a vision. “We want to create the premiere commercial real estate firm on Long Island within the next five years,” said Brown. The firm draws on the more than 30 years of combined legal experience of its partners, as well as a team of professionals in related disciplines that they have cultivated over the course of their careers.

“We plan to use our experience combined with the right blend of creativity and aggressiveness to help our clients meet their objectives on a cost-effective basis,” said Altman. The firm already boasts an impressive roster of national retail clients and with their cutting edge approach they hope to add more.

During their careers, Brown and Altman have effectively represented many Fortune 500 companies, developers and local businesses, including banks, pharmacies, franchise chains, convenience stores, gasoline stations, petroleum distributors, manufacturers, coffee shops, automobile dealerships, as well as national wireless communication companies, in all phases of development.

The partners are skilled litigators who have won many significant litigation cases in both federal and state court systems and have used their extensive litigation experience to benefit their clients. “Our litigation background allows us to develop a winning strategy early in the process,” said Brown, who is the youngest son of the late and well-respected Suffolk County State Supreme Court Justice Harry Richard Brown.

They have represented businesses and institutions in complex commercial disputes and on issues ranging from structuring real estate transactions to compliance with federal and state environmental laws and regulations. Among their accomplishments, they have represented wireless carriers and tower developers in rolling out the wireless communication industry’s infrastructure on Long Island. “We have the ability and wherewithal to assist any company with its development program and business objectives,” Altman added.

Brown, most recently was partner and managing attorney at Garden City-based Amato & Associates, P.C., where he managed an 18-lawyer staff. He previously was counsel in the litigation department at McMillan, Rather, Bennett & Rigano, P.C. in Melville and an assistant New York State attorney general in the litigation bureau in Manhattan. He began his legal career as an associate at Siben & Siben, LLP in Bay Shore.

Brown received his law degree from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg School of Law, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Touro Environmental Law Journal, and his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany, a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in political science. He is a member of the bar in New York and Connecticut, U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York and the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also a member of the Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations, the New York State Trial Lawyers’ Association, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Brown is active in many local organizations and is an associate member of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island.

A union carpenter in his youth, Brown, 39, grew up in East Northport and now resides in Huntington Station with his wife, Barbara, and their three sons. Besides carpentry, Brown enjoys alpine skiing and golfing, among other activities.

Altman previously was a partner in the Smithtown law firm of DeBenedittis & Altman, P.C., where he specialized in land use and commercial litigation. Prior to that, he was a partner and head of litigation at Amato & Associates, P.C. in Garden City and was Of Counsel to Vincent J. Trimarco, Esq., Smithtown, where he specialized in zoning/land use and commercial law.

Altman received his law degree from the Hofstra University School of Law in 1990 and his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1987, a bachelor of arts degree in history with a minor in political science. He is a member of the U.S. Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York and the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Altman is also a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association and is an associate member of the Commercial Industrial Brokers Society of Long Island.

Altman, 42, of Centerport, also was raised in East Northport. He enjoys sport fishing and playing golf in his spare time and is an accomplished cook.

Brown & Altman, LLP is located at 585 Stewart Ave., Garden City, NY, 11530. The telephone number is (516) 222-0222 and the email address is kbda@brownaltman.com.