Crains New York - June 11, 2012 - (Page 26)

Coming in for a Saft landing Dewey partner winds up on his feet after exiting troubled firm on the brink of a meltdown? decide to leave Dewey? EXECUTIVE MOVES previously vice president of strategic partnerships at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Spike TV: Scott Fishman, 53, was promoted to senior vice president and executive producer. He was previously vice president and executive producer. CBIZ MHM: Charles Berk, 50, was promoted to managing director and co-practice leader for corporate-recovery services at the financial services provider. He was previously managing director. Esther DuVal, 39, was promoted to managing director and co-practice leader of corporate-recovery services. She was previously managing director. Don Reiser, 58, joined as managing director. He was previously a director at Marcum. Patricia Gambale, 47, joined as marketing manager. She was previously a marketing manager at Marcum. Everyday Health Inc.: Joanna Breen, 48, joined the online health company as vice president, video and television programming. She was previously chief executive at Howdini.com, which she founded. Orlando Reece, 44, joined as vice president, head of broadcast and digital video sales. He was previously senior vice president of advertising sales at Grab Networks. Stephanie Sy, 35, joined as senior editor and correspondent. She was previously a correspondent at ABC News. S BY AMANDA FUNG tuart Saft is one of several partners who recently bolted from bankrupt law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. After five years as the head of Dewey’s global real estate practice, the 65-year-old packed up his team of seven associates, three paralegals and two secretaries, as well as his laundry list of bigname real estate clients, MOVERS & and moved to SHAKERS Holland & Knight, where he is now a partner and co-chair of its New York real estate practice group. Mr. Saft has more than four decades of experience in the field. Most of the information I got was from reading the newspapers. I knew Dewey wasn’t paying all the compensation we were owed and it was being rolled into future years, but we were going through a huge recession, and my business was good. Does Dewey owe you money? Yes, a lot. Do you expect to get paid back? All things considered, it is unlikely. Notwithstanding that fact, it was still the best five years of my career. When did you start looking for a new firm? I thought I wouldn’t have to do anything until June. But when an article came out about the Manhattan district attorney investigating possible wrongdoing at the firm and by its former chairman, Steven Davis, I knew I was out of time. That was Friday, April 27, and I spent the entire weekend putting out fires with my clients who had their money in escrow with Dewey. I had to orchestrate a move in which all the clients that I service were being serviced during the transition. I came in the afternoon of April 30 with the intention to move to Holland & Knight, and I did [the next day]. Holland didn’t even plan for me to arrive that early, so they let me use the chairman’s office until they could arrange space for me. Why did you pick Holland & Knight? Stuart Saft When the first New York Times article came out about Dewey [March 15], I was besieged with calls, and I knew I had an obligation to my clients to explore my options. I met with a dozen firms and toyed with the idea of opening a boutique firm. When did you finally Holland & Knight was in first place for a while. Having had experience at large firms like Dewey, I didn’t need to duplicate it. I decided not to go to a big Wall Street, white-shoe firm. I wanted something different. It was ultimately an easy decision. It just felt right. Have you been able to get any deals done during all this? Did you know that Dewey & LeBoeuf was The funny thing is,while things were going on, I was representing a group that is in contract to buy the top third of the Woolworth Building. The other was the sale of the residential portion of a mixed-use building on Sixth Avenue. Those two deals helped me take my mind off the chaos. Both close this month. —eva saviano GE Capital LIKE A BANK: WE CAN LOAN YOU MONEY. UNLIKE A BANK: WE CAN ALSO LOAN YOU RYAN. At GE Capital, we’re not just bankers, we’re builders. Our experience in aviation is unmatched. After all, we’re part of GE, the company that built the first jet turbine. We’re also a world leader in aircraft leasing. So when Ethiopian Airlines needed to modernize and expand their cargo fleet quickly, Ryan and his team were able to get them the wide-body jets they needed to continue their ascent. No matter what your company needs, chances are we have someone with the know-how to make your business more competitive – and we’re happy to share. Stop just banking. And start building. GE works. GECapital.com Ryan Barrett GE Capital Aviation Services 26 | Crain’s New York Business | June 11, 2012 http://www.Howdini.com http://www.GECapital.com http://www.GECapital.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - June 11, 2012

Crains New York - June 11, 2012
Table of Contents
Local hospitals suffer growing pains
Meet two of the busiest property buyers in town
Sin City: Pot, pop and ponies, by the numbers
New York, New York
Brooklyn Heights morphs into retail hot spot
The Insider
Real Estate Deals
Viewpoint
Greg David: Why city’s med centers must merge or die
Small Business
Plus: NY’s top hospitals list
Classifieds
For the Record
Tourists’ ticket to exclusive events
How to overcome the tech talent shortage
Executive Moves
Dewey partner down but not out
Hot and spicy at Singapura
The Weekahead

Crains New York - June 11, 2012