Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP is pleased to announce that Managing Partner David Heymann has been recognized by Long Island Business News as an influential and prominent leader in the 2023 Book of Long Island Business Influencers.
David Heymann’s approach to the law combines experience, personal style, intelligence, practicality and judgment. In his practice, he is part corporate lawyer, part real estate lawyer and serves as both an outside and in-house counsel for his clients. He is also their business lawyer, trusted advisor and sounding board on major decisions and judgment calls. As managing partner for Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP., Heymann plays a similar role for the 50+ year old firm.
Heymann joined Meltzer Lippe in 2015 when Post Heymann & Koffler LLP, a boutique firm he co-founded in 1994, merged with Meltzer Lippe to take advantage of its sophisticated practice, particularly in tax, real estate partnership transactions (David’s principle area of practice), and M& A work.
Under Heymann’s leadership, the firm has expanded to more than 70 attorneys and added bankruptcy and elder law practices. Its Manhattan office has outgrown its former space and now occupies the entire 19th floor at Heron Tower, 70 East 55th Street and, come this April, will also occupy the entire 18th floor.
In spring 2021, despite the challenges of Covid, the firm opened a Boca Raton, Florida office with two trusts and estates attorneys and one paralegal. The office supports the practices of these attorneys and conveniently serves the firm’s New York metro area clients who winter in or have retired to Florida.
Heymann is very serious about maintaining a collegial, family friendly, charitable and respectful culture, whatever the internal and external challenges may be. He has few rules, but expects strict adherence to a few basic principles: Treat everyone as an adult and respectfully; get your work done, do it well and in a timely manner; allow people to be who they are.
“The next generation of attorneys is critical to the firm’s wellbeing, so it is very important for me to remember how I wanted to be treated as a young attorney. A good leader looks to empower people, thereby creating new leaders. If you are constantly telling people how to do something, you stifle their creativeness. I want innovative thinkers.
My role is about more than making this firm successful during my tenure. Together with the other firm leaders, it is about making sure the next generation of high quality lawyers and leaders is created to ensure the firm’s continued success for many generations to come.”
Equally important to Heymann is giving back to the community and, if necessary, calling out wrongs in our society as evidenced by Meltzer Lippe’s multiple charitable contributions throughout the year and his spearheading the letter sent by a number of Long Island based firms to law school deans regarding the recent rise in anti-semitism on campuses.