Fox Rothschild is forming a new real estate practice with a 10-lawyer team from Armstrong Teasdale in New York.
The group includes six partners: Andrew Brucker, Dale Degenshein, Peter Massa, Howard Schechter, Julie Schechter, and Eric Wohl. They will work in Fox Rothschild’s new cooperative and condominium practice, the firm said Monday, along with two counsel and two associates also joining from Armstrong Teasdale.
Degenshein served as managing partner of Missouri-headquartered Armstrong Teasdale’s New York office. Howard Schechter co-led the firm’s condominium and cooperative housing practice.
“New York’s real estate market has regained momentum,” said Dianna G. El Hioum, Fox’s chief growth strategist, in a statement. “This team is a go-to group in the sector, with its long-established reputation for helping clients resolve disputes and navigate changing laws and regulations.”
The departures are the latest for Armstrong Teasdale, which in July announced it would close its Boston and Salt Lake City, Utah, offices. The move came after seven Armstrong Teasdale lawyers in Salt Lake City exited for Dentons.
The firm also is ending its relationship with Armstrong Teasdale, Ltd., a separate legal entity that provided legal services in London and Dublin.
The departing lawyers’ practice was a poor fit for Armstrong Teasdale, according to Jay Wager, the firm’s acting chief business development officer.
“The condo/co-op attorneys joined Armstrong Teasdale as a group a few years ago, but the niche practice, which is unique to the New York City market, gave the group few opportunities to fully integrate into the firm as a whole and did not meet financial metrics expected by the firm,” Wager said.
Rick Engel, the firm’s managing partner, said in a statement that it’s focused on growth. Armstrong Teasdale “remains committed to the New York market,” he said.
“Earlier this summer, Armstrong Teasdale met as a firm to discuss its strategic growth plan outlining its business priorities and direction for future growth,” Engel said. “Those decisions and investments will not always align with some of our colleagues’ expectations and desires for their careers, which is the case with the group that specializes exclusively in condominium and coop law in New York,” Engel said.
The group works with clients from small townhouses to multibuilding developments, and have advised subsidized buildings such as Mitchell-Lama and Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives.
“We’re excited to join and pair up our extensive local connections and decades of experience to create a powerhouse legal team for all the needs of the metro area when it comes to real estate, construction, condominium and co-op law,” Howard Schechter said in a statement.