For three generations, Schubin and Isaacs has made its mark in the corporate and not-for-profit legal sector, as well as by its work in the real estate sector, representing many of the largest international and regional banks and residential and commercial buyers and sellers. The firm was founded in 1930 by Benjamin Isaacs, a shomer Shabbat attorney with a practice in Lower Manhattan near City Hall, who was widely known, in addition to his general legal practice, for handling religious entity and not-for-profit formations for nearly every chasidic sect and non-profit entity that immigrated to America before and after WWII seeking to reestablish itself in the United States.
Joseph A. Schubin had been recruited from what was in 1971 one of the world’s largest accounting firms, Deloitte, then known as Haskins & Sells, by the U.S. Treasury, where he rose to the position of appeals hearing officer, using his accounting and tax law skills to resolve tax cases administratively, some of which were docketed with the U.S. Tax Court. Joseph A. Schubin was also an administrative law judge and handled legal cases of various types administratively for the NYC agencies as well as those pending in both the New York State Supreme Court and the New York City Civil Court.
In around 1986, Isaacs approached Schubin in regard to them establishing a working relationship. Subsequently, Schubin and Isaacs became the “go-to” successor law firm to the law firm of Benjamin Isaacs, in terms of its work with religious and non-profit entities.
The practice ultimately became well known throughout many communities, including the Asian community, with international, regional and local banks turning to Schubin and Isaacs to represent them in regard to its mortgage lending business within the Chinese and Korean communities. The firm has a full-service office operating in the Chinatown of Manhattan.
Joseph’s son, Elliot S. Schubin, joined the practice close to a decade ago and has continued to broaden the company image, transitioning it to a firm with an even wider client reach. “We are a boutique law firm; yet we handle the whole gamut,” said Schubin, who works with clients buying their first homes as well as business entities buying and selling commercial and residential properties on a continuous, regular basis.
When you deal with Schubin and Isaacs, you always get the sense of the attorney going all out for you. That, Schubin believes, weighs heavily in the client’s favor. “Most of my clients get a lot more than what they are paying for,” he said. As your lawyer, he signs on from beginning to end and is always accessible. “We are not limited to conventional working days and hours; 90 percent of my clients have my cell phone number,” he disclosed. This is one indicator of the type of commitment and service you receive when you work with his firm. He works with a highly qualified staff, including trained and schooled paralegals with the experience and temperament to respond to clients professionally and competently; yet, at the end of the day, the lawyer is available to speak to the client if requested.
Today, Schubin and Isaacs continues to represent many different (including non-Jewish and other Jewish denominations) New York chasidic sects in their non-profit tax formations and religious exemptions, as well as their banking needs, governance matters, attorney general approvals and court approvals, as needed in New York. Of course, they also represent clients of other denominations and religions. The practice includes servicing home buyers and sellers, commercial buying, financing and selling of properties including working with businesses, hotels, developers and lenders.
Schubin said that since joining the firm, the business has grown exponentially, with offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Rockland County. As a law firm, what we do, he said, is “trifurcated”; A third of the business represents religious and non-profit organizations, a third represents banks and their lending programs and a third involves residential and commercial real estate and business transactions; representing individuals and business entities with the necessary corporate matters.
A growing and necessary part of the law practice has become meeting the needs of and servicing the older religious and non-profit organizations who own properties, have assets and need to close operations to distribute their properties. A common scenario is when the former members and trustees are not here any longer; the legal mechanism must be dealt with in handling the disposition of the assets and properties of those entities.
The law firm of Schubin & Isaacs has become the “lawyer’s lawyer” in receiving the referral of the many law firms who know that Schubin has the experience and knowledge to handle those matters expeditiously.
When asked what inspires him, Schubin simply answered, “helping people.” Many of the cases he handles are complex and would likely have a different outcome elsewhere. For him, the reality that he is facilitating positive results is probably the most rewarding part of his job.
He graduated from Queens College with a degree in economics and then continued on to Pace University School of Law, where he studied law with a focus on real estate. He remembers his professor telling him to find a professional mentor to guide him towards success. That mentor was, and continues to be his father, who has trained him to be the attorney he is today. “If I ever needed someone to represent me it would be my father.”
Joseph still plays an active role in the firm, though somewhat behind the scenes. “There is a certain generational pull that drives our business,” said Schubin, who works with many people whose parents or grandparents were represented by Joseph. “My father is excellent at what he does and clients appreciate the sense of security, knowing that he is around to assist and be part of the process.”
Schubin knows it is a competitive marketplace and clients have many choices in choosing the professional they want to work with. Nevertheless, he believes that the relationship he fosters with his clients along with the knowledge and experience that he has to back him, is atypical. “We are all about excellent customer service, knowledge and experience in the unique areas that our law practice deals with.” That, he says, is a gamechanger.
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