Jeffrey W. Berkman, Esq., LL.M. focuses his practice on corporate and securities law matters. He represents entrepreneurs, domestic and international companies, closely-held businesses, family offices, investors, and not-for-profit organizations in connection with business structuring, domestic and cross-border transactions, mergers & acquisitions, venture capital, private equity, secured financing, joint ventures, investment fund structuring, securities law matters, commercial transactions/contracts, and a wide-variety of other business law matters. Mr. Berkman has practiced law for over thirty years, working with entrepreneurs, investors, companies, investment funds, and joint ventures in various industries, including venture capital, private equity, technology, Internet, telecommunications, healthcare, food services, retail, fashion, management consulting, manufacturing, engineering, goods and services providers, professional practices, entertainment/film, and emerging media. He was previously General Counsel of a multimillion dollar venture capital firm with operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He has served on the Board of Directors of both public and private companies. Mr. Berkman was a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Rodger Miner (dec.), 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. He is an Adjunct Professor at Touro College – Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, teaching Drafting Commercial Documents (and previously Business Organizations II). Mr. Berkman is a lecturer for continuing legal education classes and a presenter at a variety of seminars and business workshops. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Middlebury College, his J.D. degree from New York Law School, and his LL.M. degree from New York University School of Law.

Mr. Black is a member with FRB’s Corporate and Securities Group. He has over 35 years of experience in corporate and government compliance, government contracts, trade regulation, and information technology. Mr. Black has been in-house counsel for most of his career, including Northrop Grumman’s Data and Information Division, CA Technologies, where he served as Vice President, Senior Counsel, and Associate Chief Compliance Officer, and at Overseas Military Sales Group where he was General Counsel and Chief Compliance. Immediately prior to joining FRB, he was a partner at Silverman Acampora, where he led their Government Contracts and Compliance Group. As counsel to several large government contractors, in various manufacturing and development industries, Mr. Black’s experience has included creating export compliance protocols, and managing multimillion dollar bid and proposal processes from the initial steps of government requests for information through the entire proposal procedure to final contract negotiation and award. For example, he created, launched, and managed a worldwide export compliance protocol for a major software company with more than 1,000 products sold worldwide. He has also successfully negotiated with the Department of Defense to avoid the suspension of his client’s contracts as part of a larger government-wide settlement. Mr. Black has created Codes of Conduct and established compliance help lines for his clients. This includes review of all submissions, investigation of each incident, and reports to executive management and Board Audit Committees. He can develop customized government and corporate compliance programs as well as training courses for company personnel on key compliance issues. Mr. Black’s expertise extends to corporate tax strategy, enhancing clients’ financial approaches. He also assists non-profit organizations, ensuring compliance with legal mandates as they pursue their goals. In addition, he has experience in dealing with issues related to privacy, especially the EU General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as well as other government acquisition and trade rules and regulations. A frequent lecturer on corporate and government compliance issues, Mr. Black is an adjunct professor at the Maurice Deane School of Law where he teaches Corporate Compliance and Ethics and has served as a visiting professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he taught courses in Government Contracts. He is a member of the American, New York and Nassau County Bar Associations. Mr. Black is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Attorney Professionalism and the Nassau County Bar Association Ethics Committee. He earned his B.A. degree from Hofstra University and his J.D. degree from Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.

Mr. Lawrence’s practice is focused on corporate and private securities matters, serving clients as lead counsel on all types of corporate transactions including private placements, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance, planning and strategies, licensing, manufacturing, supply, and distribution arrangements. He provides dedicated hands-on personal support to clients from negotiation to closing and beyond. Mr. Lawrence regularly represents clients in a wide range of industries including telecommunications, food and nutraceutical manufacturing and distribution, restaurants, emerging technologies, retail, light manufacturing, commercial and private lending, architecture and software development. He also regularly advises private issuers and principals with respect to operations and compliance matters in his active private equity practice. In mergers and acquisitions transactions, Mr. Lawrence has regularly represented both buyers and sellers of businesses. Over the past 15 years, he has successfully closed numerous deals with business owners selling their businesses to strategic buyers, private equity funds, and private equity-backed strategic buyers both domestically and internationally. With respect to securities offering and financing transactions, he has significant experience representing both issuers and founders on the one hand, and investors on the other hand, giving him years of experience related to private securities offerings, venture capital, and similar startup financings, and FINRA and SEC regulatory issues. As part of the firm’s Digital Assets Practice Group, his practice has expanded to include advising companies on blockchain, cryptocurrency, Web3, and NFT matters, with a focus on how the corporate and securities matters affect these types of projects. Mr. Lawrence earned his B.A. degree from Tulane University and his J.D. degree from Hofstra University.

Mr. Rappaport chairs FRB’s Taxation and Private Client Groups. He concentrates his practice in Taxation as it relates to Real Estate, Closely Held Businesses, Private Equity Funds, Family Offices and Trusts & Estates. Mr. Rappaport advises clients regarding tax planning, structuring, and compliance for commercial real estate projects, all stages of the business life cycle, generational wealth transfer, family business succession, and executive compensation. He also collaborates with other attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, bankers, and insurance professionals when they encounter matters requiring a threshold level of tax law expertise. Mr. Rappaport is known for his work on complex deals involving advanced tax considerations, such as Section 1031 Exchanges, the Qualified Opportunity Zone Program, Freeze Partnerships, Private Equity Mergers & Acquisitions, and Qualified Small Business Stock. He has served as a trusted advisor for prominent real estate funds, executives of multinational corporations, venture capitalists, successful startup businesses, ultra-high net worth families, and clients seeking creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems requiring tax-focused analysis. Mr. Rappaport earned his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

 Mr. Sechter has determined the value of closely held securities of companies and partnerships in a wide variety of industries. He has prepared valuations of closely held operating companies, asset holding companies, as well as other equities such as undivided interests in real estate, closely held common and preferred stock. In support of the foregoing, he has prepared documented valuation analyses for presentation to management, directors, members, and stockholders of client companies, as well as to attorneys, accountants, other fiduciaries, and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Sechter has been court appointed as a neutral financial expert and has testified as an expert witness in various courts and jurisdictions. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants BV Committee Member, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.