Maxwell Breed is a Partner in Pryor Cashman’s Litigation and Real Estate groups. As part of his varied litigation practice, Maxwell focuses on providing counsel and strategy for real estate portfolios, trade groups, developers, and interest-holders.

Trusted for his experience with ownership, business-control, and lease controversies, rent regulation, and co-op and condominium matters, Maxwell represents companies and individuals in and out of court, and frequently serves as outside general counsel for real estate owners and operators.

Before joining Pryor Cashman, Maxwell was co-chair of the litigation group and member of the management committee at a well-known New York firm.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

  • Serve as outside strategic counsel to the New York Apartment Association, successor to the Rent Stabilization Association and Community Housing Improvement Program.
  • Serve as outside counsel for, among others, owner-operator of 50+ Manhattan properties and its in-house securities investment fund.
  • Favorably settled multi-action dispute concerning Tribeca condominium offering after obtaining dismissal, on the merits, of adversaries’ claims (Taverna v. Hieber Reade St., LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 34301[U] [Sup. Ct. NY Co. 2023]).
  • Defeated, through multiple appeals, a misreading of provisions of the Rent Act of 2015 that sought to re-regulate preferential-rent units deregulated under the Rent Act of 2011 (191 Realty Assoc., L.P. v. Tejeda, 193 A.D.3d 561 [1st Dept. 2021], affirming, 65 Misc.3d 150[A] [App. Term 1st Dept. 2019]).
  • Overturned a court’s invalidation of a cooperative corporation share-voting agreement before obtaining judicial reformation of that agreement (Oliver 889 LLC v. 889 Realty Inc., 212 A.D.3d 531 [1st Dept. 2023]).
  • Obtained decisive ruling in “business divorce” involving LLC owner of a 75-unit West Village property (Goldstein v. Pikus, 2015 NY Slip Op 31438[U] [Sup. Ct. NY Co. 2015]).
  • Obtained dismissal of Chapter 11, Subchapter 5 bankruptcy on behalf of cooperative corporation seeking to enforce proprietary lease for prime Broadway retail space in Flatiron District.
  • Represented lender in novel action to enforce mortgagee purchase option in a co-op’s 99-year ground lease.
  • Represented contributing property owner in joint development of mixed-use site opposite Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Education

  • Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 2006)
  • Duke University (B.A., 2003)

Recognition

  • Named to the Super Lawyers – New York Metro list in Real Estate (2022-25); and as a “Rising Star” in Real Estate (2016-21).

Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York