Lawyerly Lairs: Who Cares If You're Disbarred, If You Own a $35 Million Mansion?
A struggling personal injury lawyer was disbarred last month, for splitting fees with non-lawyers, aiding the unauthorized practice of law, and other offenses. Sounds pretty unexciting, right?
But Keith Rubinstein is no ordinary PI lawyer; don't cry for him, Argentina. Last year, he beat out Evita -- i.e., Madonna, the Material Girl herself -- in a bidding war for a $35 million townhouse on the Upper East Side. For more about Rubinstein, see this interesting article, by Anthony Lin in the New York Law Journal.
Rubinstein is used to swanky digs. He previously lived in a West Village townhouse that Will Smith rented for $60,000 a month during the filming of "Hitch."
Speaking of lawyerly landlords, Charles T. Munger, a founder of Munger, Tolles & Olson, has been in the news lately for real estate reasons. Munger owns the building that houses the popular Dutton's bookstore in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Dutton's is closing its doors in April, in part due to rising rents.
But don't blame the bookstore's fate on Charlie Munger. From the Los Angeles Times:
The property [housing Dutton's] is owned by billionaire investor Charles T. Munger and his wife, Nancy. A founder of the Los Angeles law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, he partnered in 1978 with Warren E. Buffett to run Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a holding company.
Munger was in Washington on Monday and could not be reached. He said in a statement that he would allow Dutton's to use the space rent-free during the liquidation and that he would cover the $550,000 debt in exchange for the store's closing. Dutton described the offer as "very gracious and generous." As part of the deal, Munger said, Dutton would retain the Dutton's trade name.
With a net worth of $2 billion, Munger can afford to be "very gracious and generous." Anyone know how bonuses were at Munger this year?
Of course, Keith Rubinstein and Charlie Munger made their fortunes outside the law -- through real estate and investing (Berkshire Hathaway), respectively. The moral of the story may be: if you want really big bucks, look beyond the law.
Lawyer Disbarred For Splitting Fees, Other Misconduct [New York Law Journal]
Dutton's shelf life finally runs out [Los Angeles Times]
(16) Comments
First! And billing time at 9p (not the good).
Second. Billing time at 11:43. Kick me in the groin so I feel something other than this.
Munger's PPP has been lagging for quite a long time. Their ability to attract top talent despite their sweatshop reputation just shows how valuable a vague connection to BRK can be.
billings at 3:23. welcome to nyc.
Munger is vice chairman of BRK. Don't think he has had much involvement with the law firm that bears his name for many years.
Looks like Munger was smart to make his money and get the hell out of this service profession. We are all well paid janitors. Cleaning up other peoples $hIT..
Munger's PPP is lagging because they have so little leverage. Very top-heavy firm, and frankly, even though they are obviously top-shelf, I don't think they have the bodies to really handle multiple huge cases at the same time unless they are partnering with another major firm, which they often are.
They're probably too independent-minded to ever merge, but aside from that, they'd make one hell of an acquisition candidate.
There are more JD/MBAs out there than Munger Associates--what were JD/MBA signing bonuses, class year credits, etc?
Some firms give JD/MBA's seniority credit?
Michael, is that you @ 9:01?! I thought you died in the explosion!
is rubenstein going for blue steel in that picture?
Have had 2 cases over the years with Rubenstein--neither P.I. A nice guy but very slippery. Absolutely unbelievable that he would have the smarts to become a real estate mogul. He has also been in the Post over the years. Just shows what you could do with a Widener law degree. Where is that school?
Delaware
Damn, 9:41 beat me to it.
I'm concerned that those billing late last night/early this morning couldn't spell for $hit in their posts. Have someone proofread your brief before it goes out today, eh?
Who gives a crap about Munger? Dredging the very depths, ATL. Second-tier crap firms are not fit for discussion here! Even when their founders have $2 billion.