Legal
LAWYER PROFILES
JOEL BURSTEIN
Joel is an experienced attorney with over 30 years experience, including a long and distinguished career as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New Mexico and as a private practitioner, where he practiced in a variety of areas including regulatory prosecution, licensing matters, and trial and appellate practice.
Prior to joining the New Mexico Attorney General’s office, Joel served as a staff attorney for the New Mexico Court of Appeals and as a law librarian and Assistant Professor of Law at a variety of institutions including the Universities of Arkansas, Tulsa, and Texas and the New Mexico Supreme Court. During the course of his academic career, among other responsibilities, Joel supervised and trained professional and non-professional staff, conducted training programs related to online legal research, and taught a variety of law school courses in the areas of appellate advocacy, research and writing.
Most recently, prior to arriving at GreenPoint Legal, Joel supervised and trained interdisciplinary teams of attorneys in the United States, Israel and the Philippines with respect to legal research and writing and editing, including legal case analysis. Joel holds a JD and MA in Library Science from the University of Denver, and received his BA from Drake University in Iowa.
RICHARD DAVIS
Richard joined GreenPoint Legal following approximately 17 years of experience in private practice in California and legal practice, on an outsourced-basis, in Israel. Most recently, Richard’s practice has focused on providing legal research and writing services to attorneys throughout the United States. Prior to relocating to Israel, Richard represented clients throughout California in all stages of litigation including jury trials and appeals; with a particular emphasis on employment litigation, as well as civil rights, medical malpractice, bankruptcy, corporate litigation, personal injury and criminal defense matters. Richard received his JD from the Santa Clara University School of Law, and holds a BA, with Honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is admitted to practice in California.
SHMUEL LAUER
Sam, as he is known in the states, joined in July of 2009 as project manager of GreenPoint Legal, bringing over 13 years of experience as a successful attorney in New York City. His work consisted of primarily tort law including automobile accidents, construction site accidents, products liability, premises liability, medical malpractice as well as attendant coverage issues, Surrogates Court issues (wills and administration), and bankruptcy. Sam has handled hundreds of liability cases, depositions, motions, arbitrations, mediations, trials, and appeals. His experience also covers legal research and outsourcing in numerous jurisdictions and legal fields.
After fulfilling his lifelong dream to relocate to Israel, Sam chose to join GreenPoint’s Legal team because it because it afforded him the best opportunity to optimize his expertise and provide legal services in much the same capacity as before. Sam has always played an active role in the community. He worked for over a decade as an Emergency Medical Technician in many positions. He volunteered regularly at the Tomchei Shabbos of Queens, an organization that helps distribute food to the needy.
HOWARD SMUKLER
Howard joined GreenPoint Legal, bringing over 20 years of legal experience in a wide variety of capacities, both in house and in private practice in the United States and Israel. Howard has particular experience in contractual issues, corporate transactions, including general corporate law and mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing, and intellectual property, and technology procurement. More recently, he spent several years working for two large pharmaceutical companies drafting bio-tech agreements. Howard has assisted in the production of university textbooks and learning materials, in addition to training researchers at a large legal publishing house.
Howard is a published author, publishing and editing a work entitled “Legal Care for Your Software,” that details many of the potential legal pitfalls inherent in the development and procurement of software. He holds a JD from University of California Hastings Law School, an MA in political science from NYU, and a BA in Government from the Miami University, and is admitted to practice in California.
ADAM WEISS
Adam joined GreenPoint Legal following over 15 years of increasingly complex law-firm experience in New York. Adam has significant expertise in a variety of areas including commercial litigation, personal injury litigation, estate planning, real estate law, bankruptcy, and trademark and intellectual property infringement. The level of Adam’s achievements as a trial attorney is exemplified by a case that he tried to a verdict that made the New York Law Journal top 100 verdicts of 2010. Adam is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of New York Law School and received a BA from Yeshiva University. Adam is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey as well as in the US Eastern District and Southern Districts of New York.
BARBARA NEWMAN
Barbara joined GreenPoint Legal following over 25 years of increasingly complex legal experience concentrated primarily in the areas of residential real estate law and commercial landlord-tenant litigation. Over the course of her practice, Barbara serviced a wide array of clients in all phases of real estate contractual matters, taxation, and property condominium conversion, as well as personal injury, property insurance and general civil litigation.
Barbara also brings significant expertise with respect to landlord-tenant litigation, including administrative hearings, municipal court hearings and tax appeals, as well as negotiating and successfully challenging state authorities on a variety of regulatory issues and municipal orders. She has extensive experience drafting motions and writing appellate briefs. In 1999, Barbara relocated to Israel, where she completed the requirements for Israeli licensure, and, thereafter, gained experience within the legal outsourcing industry, both in research, writing, and editing, as well as document review.
Barbara received her JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and her BA from Barnard College of Columbia University, New York. Barbara passed the New York bar and currently is licensed to practice in New Jersey and Israel.
TZIPORA HORNSTEIN
Prior to joining GreenPoint Legal, Tzipora Hornstein practiced for nearly a decade as a litigation, family law and real estate associate in Pennsylvania and New York. Tzipora has significant expertise in the areas of family law and custody proceedings, personal injury litigation, bankruptcy law and trusts and estates. In addition to gaining broad experience in legal research and writing, Tzipora’s core competencies include the drafting of pleadings and motions, the negotiation of settlement and custody agreements, and the representation of clients at trial and in deposition.
Tzipora is a graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and received her BA from Yeshiva University. She is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.