Meet the Team
GordonLaw LLP is a small and nimble law firm with deep experience in all aspects of litigation, construction law, business law, and real estate law. Because we’ve been at this a long time, we understand that the most important skill a lawyer can possess is the ability to listen. We pride ourselves on being very good listeners. That means we take the time necessary to sit with the people who know the facts, ask the right questions, and listen to the answers. We then identify and analyze the legal issues, develop effective, business-oriented strategies that are economically feasible, and put those strategies to work. Here’s the team:
Michael Gordon
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
Michael R. Gordon is the former co-chair of the Commercial Disputes Practice Group at a global, AmLaw 100 law firm and has been representing businesses and individuals in all aspects of dispute avoidance and resolution since 1989. He also serves as outside general counsel to companies for which a full-time general counsel is not practical.
Some examples of the matters Mike has handled include acting as lead litigation counsel for a major foreign bank sued for billions of dollars in connection with the bankruptcy of a large telecom company, successfully fending off a $100 million lender liability case against one of the five largest U.S. banks, obtaining a $48 million judgment against a large California real estate developer, successfully representing a large foreign defense contractor in a multi-million dollar dispute over production costs, representing a prominent New York family in a multi-million dollar construction lawsuit, preparing and negotiating construction documents for multiple office build-outs by one of the largest accounting firms in the United States, representing a real estate investment firm in an arbitration against its former property manager, preventing a New York-based property owner from being deprived of her interest in a real estate partnership that owned a landmark downtown high-rise building, serving as New York co-counsel on a case in which the Seattle-based client is suing for almost $500 million, and serving as outside general counsel to a major New York construction contractor, a mid-sized skincare company doing business around the world, two New York-based real estate companies, a Brooklyn-based furniture retailer, a tech entrepreneur, and a fast-rising musical comedy band.
Mike believes strongly in community involvement. He is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation, which limits membership to 1% of the New York State Bar Association membership in each of the state’s judicial districts plus 100 at-large members, and he has been appointed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dozens of times to mediate business disputes, real estate disputes, labor and employment disputes, and civil rights actions. Closer to home, Mike had an active career as a youth sports coach (when his kids were younger), he was elected to two terms as a Trustee on the Katonah-Lewisboro School Board, serving one year as Vice-President and two years as President, and for many years he was a member of his law school alumni board. Mike is an active member of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association, where he has held significant leadership positions. And he has served on the Committee on Commercial and Uniform State Laws of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Mike was recently selected to serve on both the City Bar Litigation Committee and the City Bar Committee on Courts of Superior Jurisdiction, which addresses issues relating to New York State Courts and participates in the evaluation of judicial candidates.
Mike is a frequent speaker and writer on a variety of topics related to litigation and construction law.
JAY H. SCHECTER
OF COUNSEL
As Of Counsel, Jay brings to the firm nearly 40 years of legal experience in general corporate, corporate finance, real estate, and trust and estate law and is an accomplished business and legal strategist. As a business-oriented attorney, he served as CEO and General Counsel of a multimillion-dollar corporation as it became a public reporting company, and currently mentors budding entrepreneurs and advises small companies and individuals on effective business, legal, and leadership strategies. Jay is an out-of- the-box thinker and turnaround specialist with a proven record of success who positions his clients for future success and attains or exceeds
their goals.
Utilizing both his business acumen and legal skills, Jay loves representing both individual clients and business enterprises, whether it be for a simple will, sophisticated estate plan, residential real estate transaction or multi-million dollar corporate transaction.
He has advised clients on strategies to ignite top-line revenue growth and on negotiating and structuring deals. He has supervised public offerings and acquisitions, directed internal investigations and outside white-collar criminal investigations, and handled OSHA claims. His real estate experience runs the gamut from negotiating and closing major commercial leases to representing first-time home buyers, and his trusts and estates practice includes simple wills and estate administration to setting up and administering complex trusts. Jay’s calm demeanor and ability to explain alternative approaches has enabled him to counsel his clients, even in the face of difficult adversaries.
Jay lives a life that celebrates community service and volunteerism. He is deeply committed to, and passionate about, causes that promote community unity and those that support the underserved and advocate for social justice. He continuously dedicates time and effort to organizations that provide food and shelter for the homeless and hungry and to community based organizations, serving on myriad nonprofit boards and providing many organizations with pro bono legal and business input and on-site assistance.