By GREGORY ZELLER //
Long Island attorneys continue to jockey for position, with two prominent Island law firms announcing a new merger.
Just days after Jericho-based international law firm Nixon Peabody announced it was welcoming former Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini as a new partner – and weeks after multinational legal eagle Greenberg Traurig announced the opening of two new Long Island offices – Uniondale’s Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz has made a major move, absorbing Garden City firm Weinstein, Kaplan & Cohen.
The combined entity, which will sail on under the Sahn Ward Braff Koblenz PLLC banner, boasts 65 years of “preeminent experience,” according to a statement from Sahn Ward, with a fresh total of 31 attorneys backed by a large, dedicated staff of paralegals and legal assistants.
Michael Sahn: Bulking up.
Weinstein, Kaplan & Cohen President and Managing Partner Robert Cohen – a corporate attorney who concentrates his practice on commercial litigation, real estate and trusts/estates – will become counsel to Sahn Ward; attorneys Daniele de Voe (an employment law specialist) and Erika Conti (who concentrates on family and matrimonial law) will become a Sahn Ward partners.
Sahn Ward, which was founded in 1999, will maintain its main office inside The Omni Building in Uniondale, along with its satellite offices in Hauppauge and New York City. The former Weinstein, Kaplan & Cohen, which originally formed in 1979, will keep its Franklin Avenue office in Garden City, further expanding Sahn Ward’s Long Island footprint.
The two firms’ complementary practice areas add new depth to the combined entity’s menu of legal services, enhancing Sahn Ward’s broad experience in land use, development, real estate, corporate and environmental law with Weinstein, Kaplan & Cohen’s business- and family-law acumen.
In a joint statement, Cohen and Sahn Ward Managing Member Michael Sahn – longtime colleagues with an assortment of “mutual clients,” according to Sahn Ward – expressed excitement over the merger.
“We are so pleased to bring together our talented attorneys and staff,” the managers said, noting the combined team of lawyers and support staffers is “dedicated to furthering our shared goal to maintain a well-respected firm that provides our clients with excellent and comprehensive legal representation, counsel and advice, while also serving the legal profession and our communities.”
