“I totally recommend him, I can’t actually imagine a more fair, more knowledgeable lawyer to work with.” – Jonathan Stern, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Client
My name is Jonathan Stern and what really brought me here, its actually, I’ve been working with Adam on behalf of my now 90 year old mother. So my mother was actually the one who originally came here, she was about 85 or 86. We heard about Adam through word-of-mouth, I can’t remember though more than that but he came very recommended because we were looking for a bunch of people and he clearly impressed us immediately to be the best man for the job.
Why did you seek legal representation from Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.?
Yeah, you know, my mother was offered a buyout. She lived at her apartment for 36 years, I think my parents moved in when I was in college at the time and they moved in thinking that the building would ultimately convert from rentals to apartments you can make coops or something. That never happened. So, here she is 36 years later. She has been a widow since 1995, getting old and these offers of buyouts would come in but they were really low and she had a central park west apartment on the 14th floor with a view of the whole park – a to die for set up. We knew what was being offered was not enough for her having been there for so many years and such an amazing apartment. We also knew that the de-regulated buildings in the apartment were probably $10,000 more a month than what she was paying. So, she wanted to see if she could get more to move out because she actually did want to move out but not for that kind of money.
The plan was, Adam did it in a few different stages. First was, I think he just went in there to kind of say to the landlord, here’s what you have and here’s what you are offering and it doesn’t match. That didn’t go so far, right away. I think it bumped things up a little bit but the strategy was wait and see. The problem was, at that point my mom was 85 years old so the risk was they would just wait her out and she would pass away but she’s still kicking and going strong. My role in it was that I work here in the city part time and Adam suggested rather than sublet my own place, that I was doing at the time, just move in and it worked for me because my mother was getting older and it was good for me to keep and eye on her. My kids are in college so it didn’t hurt for me to save on the sublet. So we positioned me and her that way, and I stayed for quite a long time while he negotiated.
Were there any setbacks during your case? If so, did Adam Leitman Bailey ever give up?
Yes, here is the deal… Adam, working with me and my mother, I was kind of the middle man here, came up with what our dream amount of money would be and it seemed like he almost got it a few times but then the landlord would pull back. The landlord is known for being a real cheapskate, [very fecal]. So many times we thought we had something and then it fell through and Adam was extremely encouraging. Sometimes firm with me because I would drag my heels a bit, this is new territory for me I didn’t know what I was doing and I am not a business person. He would be firm when he needed to be firm and very honest with me, but also kind of say, “Be patient, give it another try, let’s wait it out, let’s not do anything for 3, 4, 5, 6 months, just hang in there.” He was very encouraging through the whole process and there were lots and lots of ups and downs.
What happened was, the landlord was never willing – well for 24 or 48 hours offer the top and pull it away again and it seemed like he was just playing a game with us pretty much. Adam was very aware of what was going on and what he did was ultimately come up with a different strategy to enable us to walk away with as much money as if we had gotten our dream offer. Adam’s knowledge of the laws and rules and regulations, is really extremely impressive. Really that is what I was most impressed with so that he was able to negotiate a different way so the landlord didn’t quite have to put out so much and we would almost get the same amount of money by using the laws that are in existence. I should add here Adam is an extremely ethical guy and I felt like I was in really good hands. If he said, the laws say such and such, and we can try this instead of that I knew he knew what he was talking about, he would never step over any lines and he was able to use his extreme knowledge of buyout laws, and rules and regulations to get us close to where our dream amount of money was without the landlord just saying yes to it. That was an enormous win for us.
Do you think you would have gotten this result if you had gone to any other firm?
No. I should say, I was extremely impressed that I could email him and he would get right back to me unless he was in court but even if he was in court sometimes he’d get back to me sometime when he was at court on a break or if not later that day. I was kind of amazed. I thought when I first started working with him I’d email him and 5 or 6 days later or a week later I’d get something back. Always immediately would I get something back. So he was extremely accessible and it was very easy to ask questions, get answers.
I think that Adam was extremely persistent, he was aggressive when he needed to be aggressive and then sometimes he would pull back and not be aggressive because that could possibly push things in the wrong direction so he knew exactly how to collaborate it actually and he did listen to me. I mean I felt like I had a say and maybe that wasn’t always a good thing because I didn’t know what I was doing but I felt like I had a say. I never felt like he was pushing me or leading me. He was kind of laying out , here are the possibilities, here are the different ways we can go, what do you think? I always felt like I had a partner, a million times more knowledgeable partner in this process.
Would you recommend Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.?
I totally recommend him, I can’t actually imagine a more fair, more knowledgeable lawyer to work with. I should add, I never felt he was taking advantage of me either. I felt that the amount of work he put in and what he got out of it – he put in a tremendous amount of work for his value. I totally recommend him. I am 100% satisfied.