OUR TEAM
RICHARD KESTENBAUM
Richard graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1984. He is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, California, and the District of Columbia, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Northern District of California and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Court of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits, and the United States Tax Court.
He concentrates his practice in the field of business law, counseling owners, investors and interested individuals in the areas of entity formation, restructuring and reorganization, contractual relationships, commercial, real estate and financing transactions, and family planning.
Richard has written for the New York Real Property Journal and is a member of the American Bar Association (Committees on Business Law, Real Property & Probate, and Law Practice Management), the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
(Chair, Committee on Small Law Firm Management, 1999-2002), the Connecticut Bar Association (Business Law and Real Property Sections), the State Bar of California (Business Section), and the Fairfield County Regional Bar Association. He is also the former (2006-2010) Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission for the Town of Westport, Connecticut.
"I advise privately-held companies and the people who own and operate them. In essence, I act as general counsel for clients who need an attorney with cross-disciplinary abilities and experience. My practice embraces a variety of legal and business topics, and allows me to interact with clients in identifying and shaping their objectives, opportunities and solutions. By combining a solid business background with wide-ranging legal experience, I am able to provide focused legal advice targeted to a client's specific needs. This approach integrates my personal and professional belief that effective communication, meaningful collaboration, and diligent preparation are the keys to success."
JEFFREY C. DANNENBERG
Jeff graduated from Syracuse University College of Law, cum laude, in 1983. From 1982 to 1983, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Syracuse Law Review. He is admitted to practice in the states of New York and Connecticut, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York, the District of Connecticut, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
His areas of concentration are in litigation (both at the trial and the appellate levels, in federal and state courts) and counseling, particularly relating to disputes involving commercial and corporate contracts, Uniform Commercial Code, intellectual property, loan transactions, corporation-shareholder relations, employer-employee relations, and creditors’ rights under fraudulent conveyance laws.
Jeff has written articles for a number of legal publications, including the New York State Bar Journal, the Connecticut Lawyer, Warren's Weed on New York Real Property, and the Syracuse Law
Review. His essay entitled "Reconciling the War on Terrorism With the U.S. Constitution" was included as a chapter in the book "Perspectives on 9/11" (Greenwood Publishing Group 2004). In addition, he is a member of the New York State Bar Association (Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, and former Chair of the Committee on Federal Constitution and Legislation), the New York County Lawyers’ Association (Committees on Federal Courts and New York State Supreme Court), and the Connecticut Bar Association (Litigation Section, and serving on the Editorial Board of the "Connecticut Lawyer" publication). He is also a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation.
“The primary focus of my work is helping business men and women avoid or resolve disputes. Sometimes, that involves litigation or arbitration, and sometimes it involves informal negotiation or mediation. Ultimately, it involves helping people resolve conflicts that, for whatever reason, they have been unable to resolve on their own. What’s unique about my approach is that I strive to integrate into the practice of law my belief that the key to conflict avoidance and resolution is effective communication.”