Russell M. Wolfson is a Partner in the Construction, Litigation, and Real Estate Practice groups of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.
Mr. Wolfson has a commercially based practice with a heavy emphasis on construction, development, and real estate. His clients include owners, developers, contractors, architects, and engineers, among others. He also represents clients in many other business sectors, including building management and maintenance, hospitality, staffing, and retail. His background as a seasoned litigator coupled with years of transactional experience enables him to bring a distinctive perspective to any situation.
Mr. Wolfson’s role with many clients is that of outside general counsel. He is often involved in each aspect of the project in construction – acquisition, contract drafting, neighbor license agreements, financing, insurance, and bonding issues, claims, and lien law requirements. He has also litigated a myriad of construction related claims (i.e., payment disputes, delay damages, 881 proceedings, lien foreclosures, trust fund violations, defects, and coverage issues). In addition to his legal experience, Mr. Wolfson gained practical knowledge while managing his condominium development project in Brooklyn, New York.
In real estate, Mr. Wolfson has substantial experience with sales and acquisitions (multi-family, commercial, vacant land, and gas stations), leasing, coop, and condo law. He has litigated property damage, nuisance, quiet title, adverse possession, trespass, and other similar claims. A number of his clients own and manage large real estate portfolios.
For other businesses not related to real estate and construction, he provides representation in many areas such as corporate formation, partnership issues, insurance, employment law, mergers and acquisitions, dispute avoidance, and resolution.
Many of his clients have been with him for years. He has achieved this through his recognition of the importance of customer service.
Consequently, he approaches each engagement with the stated intention of creating and maintaining long-term client relationships.
In 2007, Mr. Wolfson resigned as an associate from a prominent New York City law firm and started his practice. Since then, his hard work, unrelenting drive, and commitment to his family and career have resulted in his highly successful business of today. In greater furtherance of those efforts, he joined SGR, a firm that complements his abilities, enables him to increase his base, and provides even better service to his clients.
Mr. Wolfson is admitted to the New York State Bar, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Northern Districts of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He graduated from Brooklyn Law School. While in law school, he clerked for Justice Laura Jacobson, Supreme Court, Kings County, New York. He also worked part-time as a law clerk at a prominent Manhattan real estate law firm. Mr. Wolfson is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, New York, where he resides with his wife and family.