Our history
In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Irving “Bob” Coopersmith graduated from New York University Law School. His only job offer was clerking for $5 a week, the going rate for law school graduates during the depression. Irving, who was never known for risk taking, believed he could do better. He “hung out a shingle” and founded Coopersmith & Coopersmith, which has continued to serve clients for over 80 years.
Irving’s primary goal was to provide excellent legal service to his clients at affordable prices.
Starting with absolutely nothing, Irving built the practice through hard work and dedication to his clients. The mental toughness required to start a law firm at the height of the Great Depression continues within the offices of Coopersmith & Coopersmith today.
One of Irving’s very first cases made history and proved to be a landmark case, influencing future court rulings. In that case, a trademark case, Irving led his client to victory over the American Tobacco Company which argued that the use of logo “LS/MFT” (“Leef-Shniebolk Means Fine Tomatoes”) infringed on its use of that logo by its Lucky Strike brand of cigarettes (Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco).
Irving subsequently built a successful real estate practice with many transactions noted in the New York Times.
Because of the ongoing success of the practice and his close relationship with his son, Irving invited Richard to join the firm. Richard previously spent twelve years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the firm when he joined in 1977.
In 2012, the third Coopersmith, Hal Coopersmith, joined the firm 80 years after Irving first “hung out his shingle” thus ensuring continuing quality representation for many decades to come.
Our mission
The firm’s mission is to provide high caliber, responsive legal representation within the client’s time frame.
Richard explains, “Coopersmith and Coopersmith has a long history of excellent work, offering big firm expertise at small firm pricing, attention, and environment.” Clients enjoy the warm and cordial firm environment, including the smile on paralegal Sherri Rosen’s face when she answers the telephone or welcomes them into the office.
Hal emphasizes, “When you work with Richard or me, you know who’s doing your work and you communicate directly with either Richard or me. We make it a point to be accessible.”
Richard and Hal Coopersmith see their mission and legacy as something different from that of a big firm. They intentionally have kept their firm small, responsive, personal, and family for 80 years. They continue to represent many high-end restaurants, commercial real estate owners and tenants, international fashion brands, interior designers and architects, co-operative corporations and condominiums and buyers and sellers of those units, as well as individuals and families engaging in the estate planning process or settling an estate.
Once a client comes to Coopersmith & Coopersmith they rarely leave. Coopersmith & Coopersmith will assist many clients’ legal needs including trademarks, contracts, partnership and shareholder agreements, employment contracts among many other matters. In order to provide the highest quality legal services, if a matter falls outside the firms expertise, Coopersmith & Coopersmith will refer a client to a highly qualified attorney in a specialized boutique firm with whom they have a professional relationship.
Richard explains, “At the end of the day, we like to see our clients succeed and we enjoy following their successes. Our clients’ success is our true legacy”.