Meet NYC’s Top Legal & Government Relations Experts
Meet the Team
BRAD GERSTMAN, ESQ. | Managing Partner
Brad Gerstman is a New York attorney, lobbyist, and political strategist with more than two decades of experience representing businesses, developers, institutions, industry associations, and advocacy organizations navigating complex government matters.
His practice focuses on solving difficult problems where politics, law, and government power intersect. Clients turn to Brad when projects face regulatory obstacles, political opposition, legislative challenges, or sensitive government scrutiny.
Brad’s work frequently involves high-stakes matters where business interests intersect with government authority and political decision-making. He has advised clients navigating regulatory scrutiny, politically sensitive projects, legislative challenges, and complex agency matters where outcomes are often influenced as much by government process and political dynamics as by legal considerations.
Before entering private practice, Brad served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx, where he prosecuted criminal cases and gained extensive experience conducting investigations, evaluating evidence, and presenting cases in court. That prosecutorial background provides a unique perspective when representing clients facing government investigations, regulatory enforcement actions, or politically sensitive matters.
Over the course of his career, Brad has advised clients on matters involving:
- Government investigations and regulatory enforcement
- Politically sensitive development and business matters
- Legislative and policy initiatives
- Regulatory disputes involving city and state agencies
- Complex matters requiring engagement with elected officials and government leadership
Brad works closely with clients to develop strategic approaches that move projects forward, resolve government challenges, and protect their interests within New York’s complex political and regulatory landscape.
Meet the Team
NICOLE EPSTEIN, ESQ. | Partner & Vice President of Government Relations
Utilizing the related worlds of law, government, business, and media, Nicole Epstein Schwartz is committed to fighting for our clients at every level. Specializing in a variety of areas including land use, zoning, construction, department of building matters, education, transportation, health care, and agency law, Nicole is responsible for spearheading advocacy initiatives of all sizes. In doing so she not only publicizes our clients concerns, but also fights to hold necessary actors, be it government or otherwise, accountable for their actions- and her success has proven unparalleled.
Prior to beginning her professional career, Nicole graduated from Stony Brook University magna cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology and was inducted as a lifetime member to Psi Chi, the National Honor Society for Psychology. After graduating from Stony Brook, Nicole received her J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in 2015. During law school, Nicole worked for Luxottica Group’s IP department, a multinational company, where she negotiated and drafted multi-million-dollar contracts for high-profile public figures.
Most recently, Nicole has been named as one of the most powerful people in Public Relations in City & State’s Political PR Power list (2020-2022) and recognized by the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University as an ‘Outstanding Woman in Law’ (2021). Nicole is also the Chairwoman of the Government Relations Committee for the Nassau County Bar Association.
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RICK D. CHANDLER | Chief Advisor, Construction Solutions
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JON HAGMAIER | President, Education Consulting
Jonathan Hagmaier is a nationally recognized education and edtech leader whose journey from classroom teacher to principal to successful entrepreneur sets him apart in the industry. With over 16 years in public education, Jonathan has firsthand experience with the challenges educators face and the solutions they need. In 2006, he co-founded Interactive Achievement (IA), where he led the development of the award-winning onTRAC® platform—a transformative tool for K-12 assessment and data analytics that reshaped how educators use data to drive student achievement.
Under Jonathan’s visionary leadership, IA grew from a small startup into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, serving school systems across 13 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. In 2016, IA was acquired by PowerSchool in one of the largest edtech acquisitions of its kind at the time.
Building on that success, Jonathan launched Veracity Verification Solutions in 2022—an innovative edtech management platform that enables school districts to build and manage a centralized knowledge-base of approved technology products, vendor contracts, and procurement activity.
Widely regarded as a thought leader at the intersection of education and technology, Jonathan is one of the rare individuals who has excelled at every level of the education ecosystem—from the classroom to the boardroom—giving him an unmatched perspective on how to drive real, lasting impact in education and business.
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DANIEL SODROSKI, Esq. | Partner, Commercial Real Estate
Dan is a licensed New York attorney with a remarkable track record in real estate, corporate, and commercial law. With a career spanning over a decade, Dan has held pivotal roles in law firms, corporations, and entrepreneurial ventures, consistently delivering results in high-stakes transactions and strategic business initiatives.
Dan represents and advises prominent building owners, property managers, developers, Fortune 500 corporations, and high-net-worth individuals on a variety of real estate transactions, including drafting and negotiating commercial and retail leases, license agreements, acquisitions and dispositions, financings, land use/zoning, permitting, and dispute resolution. Dan’s ability to seamlessly integrate legal acumen with business strategy makes him a trusted advisor for clients navigating sophisticated legal and real estate challenges.
Prior to joining Gerstman CRE, Dan served as General Counsel for a publicly traded development company managing an international real estate portfolio, handling all aspects of transactions, entitlements, and litigation strategy. Prior to that, he was chief counsel for a venture-backed real estate startup in New York City.
Education & Accomplishments
- Susquehanna University, B.A., 2012
- Duquesne University School of Law, J.D., 2015, Executive Editor (Duquesne Law Review)
- Admitted to practice in both SDNY and EDNY.
- Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US)
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AMBASSADOR ADRIAN NERITANI | Senior Advisor
Amb. Neritani served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations in New York (concurrently serving as non-resident Ambassador to Cuba). After completing his term as Ambassador to the UN, he joined the President of the UN General Assembly as his Legal Counsel. Later on, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed Amb. Neritani to serve as Political Director of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), a UN Security Council mandated body to identify perpetrators responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Amb. Neritani began his diplomatic career in 1991, when he was chosen to lead the United States affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania. He remained with the Foreign Service until 1999, serving as Regional Officer in charge of China and the Far East, and later, as First Secretary/DCM and Charge d’Affaires a.i. at the Albanian Embassy in Beijing, China. At the beginning of his career Adrian was a Lecturer at the University of Shkodra, Albania, and most recently, an Adjunct Professor of Law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Currently, Amb. Neritani is an Attorney and Counselor at Law in New York City, focusing in areas of international law and business transactions. Adrian serves as a pro bono legal adviser of the UN Women for Peace Association, a New York based not for profit organization committed to ending violence against women and girls around the world. He is also a board member of the International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in New York. Prior to relocating to New York, he operated a private practice in Chicago.
Amb. Neritani holds Bachelor Degrees in Political Science and Law from the University of Tirana, a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy from the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta, and a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Business and Trade Law from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, USA. He is a member of the New York Bar.
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PAMELA S. KURUCZ | VP of Grant Writing and Management
Meet the Team
AYALL SCHANZER | Counsel
Ayall Schanzer, JD MBA, is joined our firm as Counsel. bringing over two decades of experience at the intersection of law, real estate, and corporate strategy. He began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan under Robert Morgenthau, followed by a role as a corporate litigator at Rosenman & Colin LLP, where he represented major financial institutions in complex litigation and regulatory matters. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Queens College, a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.
In addition to his legal credentials, Ayall has held senior leadership roles in real estate and tech, including CEO of Friedland Realty and Chief Strategy Officer of Salient Corporation. As a principal at Greiner-Maltz and Profit Scout LLC, he has overseen large-scale commercial transactions, capital raises, and strategic acquisitions. His combined legal and business acumen allows him to advise clients on complex corporate matters, real estate strategy, and high-stakes litigation with uncommon insight and versatility.
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