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Attorneys  

Steven M. Rabinowitz

During the nearly 30 years of his diverse practice — as a prosecutor, general counsel to a major real estate developer, civil litigator, criminal defense attorney, business counselor, union advocate, family lawyer, negotiation strategist, adjunct professor, and certified mediator — Steve Rabinowitz has developed a reputation as a lawyer who can resolve nearly any business or personal issue.  

Clients in crisis, whether going through a divorce, defending criminal charges or struggling with business upheavals, find reassurance in his calm manner and quiet strength.  Those with a fight on their hands take comfort in his skills as a trial lawyer — first honed as a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney — with dozens of trials and hearings in state and federal courts, as well as before arbitration and administrative tribunals.   Clients looking for someone equally skilled at resolving conflict peaceably will find a highly-trained mediator with nearly two decades of experience and a lawyer who has successfully brokered hundreds of deals, ranging  from plea bargains and divorce settlements to such business matters as the workout of a $500 million coal-supply agreement and the resolution of a patent dispute between competing companies in the high-tech biometrics field.   

A lifelong student of psychology and an adjunct professor of negotiation at Columbia Law School, Steve Rabinowitz brings an appreciation of human dynamics to all his work.  A skillful navigator across the emotional seas of divorce, he brings dignity and civility to an all-too-often stressful process.  In his commercial practice, Steve is attuned to the more subtle interplays of business deals, where he can often help clients build bridges across seemingly uncrossable divides.  Similarly, when defending union members facing workplace sanctions — as he does for the captains, chiefs and lieutenants in the FDNY, as well as for doctors in New York City’s public health system — Steve uses his understanding of labor/management conflict to mitigate those sanctions or avoid them altogether. 

One of the first practitioners invited to teach in Columbia Law School’s legal writing and oral advocacy program, Steve has regularly been praised by both bench and bar for the power and grace of his speech and writing.  Clients appreciate his ability to convey their stories with compassion and integrity.  And they don’t struggle through the contracts he drafts, since they are free of jargon and strive for simplicity.      

Because of his broad experience, excellent judgment, superior communication skills, and capacity for managing crisis and conflict, many clients retain Steve as their all-purpose family attorney or general counsel.  Many, too, come to him as a mediator to help them move past conflict and toward more productive pursuits. 

Mediation Training and Appointments

• Mediation Intensive Training, Center for Understanding in Conflict (2011)
• Advanced Mediation Program, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (1998)
• Program on Negotiation, Harvard University (1996)
• Court-appointed Mediator, N.Y. Supreme Court, Commercial Division (1996–present)
• EEO Mediator, U.S. Postal Service (2000-01)

Previous Positions

• New York County District Attorney's Office, Assistant District Attorney (1983-86)
• Mendik Realty, General Counsel (1986-87)

Teaching Positions

• Columbia University School of Law, Adjunct Faculty, Negotiation Workshop (2012-present), Legal Writing (2007-11), Profession of Law (Legal Ethics)
• Seton Hall University Law School, Adjunct Faculty, N.Y. Civil Practice  (2000-01)

Publications

• Author, “The Case for Settlement and Mediation,” Strategies for Family Law in New York (Aspatore Books, 2012 edition)
• Author, “Protecting Entertainment Clients from Stalking in New York State, Entertainment Litigation (Oxford University Press 2011)
• Co-Author (with D. Schuck and J. Poller), No-Fault Divorce Law Enacted In New York, Pryor Cashman Legal Update (August 2010)

Distinctions

• Named as a “Super Lawyer” in the area of Family Law by New York Super Lawyers – Metro Edition magazine (2010, 2011 and 2012 editions)

Professional Affiliations

• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (1999-2002; 2012 - present), Juvenile Justice Committee (1996-99)
• New York State Bar Association, Member, Dispute Resolution, Family Law and Criminal Justice Sections