Partner
Location: Melville, New York
The founder of the firm, George J. Haggerty, a life long New York State resident, was admitted to practice law in the State of New York in 1985 and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in 1987.
Mr. Haggerty attended St. John's University in Jamaica, New York, having attained his Bachelors of Arts degree in Government in 1981. Mr. Haggerty went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree, also from St. John's University, in 1984.
In 1983-84, while a law student at St. John's School of Law, Mr. Haggerty was employed by the New York State Attorney General's Office, Nassau County Regional Office, as a student legal investigator. He was assigned to the Consumer Protection Bureau, concentrating in automotive repair fraud and assorted consumer protection cases. In light of Mr. Haggerty's unique background and prior experience in the automotive repair industry, the New York State Department of Law engaged his diagnostic skills in their efforts to analyze and evaluate appropriate cases involving automotive manufacturers under the State's new consumer protection statute known commonly as the New York State Lemon Law. After graduation from law school, and early in his professional career, Mr. Haggerty pursued several consumer cases under the Lemon Law statute. As a consequence, Mr. Haggerty has been often quoted in magazines, literature and periodicals concerning Lemon Law and consumer automotive issues.
As a result of his early success in complex and technically based litigation, Mr. Haggerty began to develop a practice clientele that included the defense of major national real estate franchisee-brokers involved in residential Urea Formaldehyde Insulation cases. The successful litigation of real estate issues for the franchisees of national brand brokerages led to a vibrant practice that began to include the representation of private individuals, mortgage lenders and brokers in connection with transactional as well as litigated matters.
In 1988, the firm was retained by the mortgage division of national insurance carrier Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The lender, then known as Metmor Financial, began an aggressive entry into the New York mortgage marketplace that required the analysis of the legal underpinnings of its acquired New York State based portfolio, as well as to conduct closings for its internally originated loans. As a consequence of this relationship and further expansion, the firm began the representation of a multitude of out of state lenders seeking New York State based counsel for a variety real estate related legal services in New York.
As a consequence of Mr. Haggerty's outstanding work, the firm now enjoys national reputation and industry contacts, the firm now conducts mortgage and Co-op lien closings, CEMA transactions, loan terminations for Co-ops, portfolio analysis and many other legal services for national lending programs, both governmental as well as private lenders.
Mr. Haggerty's reputation for integrity and professionalism has earned him the respect of his peers, who have consistently nominated him to serve on the Executive Committee of the Real Property Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. It is in this role that he had, since 2007, Co-Chaired the Section's Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law. The President of the New York State Bar Association had appointed Mr. Haggerty to serve on its Presidential Special Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, in order to study the impact of unlawful legal practice in a cross section of practice areas. In 2009, Mr. Haggerty served as a member of the Nassau County Bar Associations Special Committee on UPL. Mr. Haggerty has or has been member of assorted NYSBA Task Forces involved in legislative initiatives concerning the title insurance and real estate industry. Mr. Haggerty has authored numerous Legislative Memoranda of Law for the New York State Legislature, the Real Property Law Section as well as the NYSBA, in relation to his vast knowledge and extensive experience in the realm of real estate.