|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
The hallmark of Ira Furman's law practice is that he brings to bear on behalf of
his clients an unusually diverse background of professional experiences and accomplishments.
This biographical outline is designed to provide some insight into the man behind
the law degree. Furman is an attorney at law licensed in New York and the District of Columbia. In addition to state-court practice in those jurisdictions, he is admitted to federal district courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and was admitted in 1991 to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. Just prior to the private practice of law, Furman was Deputy Director for Public Affairs at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He served as spokesman for the Safety Board in connection with major aviation, rail, highway, marine, and pipeline accident investigations. In addition to his work in Washington, D.C., he responded as part of the agency's "Go-Team" to the site of numerous aviation disasters and also worked at passenger and cargo rail accident sites all across the country. In September 1985 his efforts at inspiring new federal regulations prohibiting alcohol and drug abuse in railroad operations were recognized with a special government award. After his return to New York to practice law, Furman engaged in a pro bono (without compensation) effort to bring to light evidence of consistent fraud in safety procedures and record keeping by Eastern Air Lines at LaGuardia Airport. His presentation of this evidence to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Justice Department preceded the federal indictments of airline officials and the closing of Eastern. Additional pro bono efforts in furtherance of public safety include Furman giving his time to testify as an expert before the United States Senate Aviation Subcommittee about shortcomings in Federal Aviation Administration management of aviation safety. He also provided free consultation on proposed air safety legislation to the then-ranking member of the Committee. Since leaving the NTSB, Furman has also used his unique background in the investigation of aircraft accidents to assist in news coverage of aviation disasters and to further the interests of clients who are the victims, or relatives of victims, of air crashes and other accident-related events. To better serve such clients, Furman has associated with the Rapoport Law Offices, a Chicago-based law firm with an international reputation for assisting victims of air disasters. Furman's close association with the Rapoport firm is in what is known as an "of counsel" capacity. This relationship affords clients the combination of Furman's litigation and investigative background with the extensive resources of a premiere law firm known for its exceptional representation of victims, or their family members, of personal injury or wrongful death. Before starting his own Long Island firm, Furman had been an associate and later a partner in a New York law firm. It was there that he honed his litigation skills and began his concentration in an aspect of legal practice known as commercial litigation. He now undertakes cases on behalf of corporate clients and small businesses, and especially those in which his first-hand knowledge of government bureaucracy and regulatory issues can be used to the client's advantage. He regularly associates with counsel in Geneva, and has represented business clients in Switzerland and France. In support of his commercial litigation practice, Furman relies on the truly unusual circumstance of his having begun his federal government service as a Deputy Director at the Federal Trade Commission during the Carter Administration. While there he earned several achievement awards, including a special award in 1979 by the FTC Chairman for "Contribution to Effective Operations" of the agency. In his practice of law, Furman has opposed the Federal Trade Commission in federal district court, and advised other clients on FTC regulatory matters, and successfully represented several corporate and individual defendants in adjudicative proceedings before the Commission. Other federal regulatory work has included representation of clients before the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Department of Transportation, and even the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). His work with the NIGC was on behalf a corporate client that managed a casino for the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. In order to work most effectively for his client, Furman underwent a federal and state background investigation and obtained a personal gaming management license from the State of South Dakota. Other commercial disputes with which Furman has considerable experience involve legal action on behalf of individuals who have been cheated or disadvantaged by stock brokers and brokerage houses. This representation involves operating within the special protocols of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) dispute resolution process. In his representation of clients, Furman may also rely on his skill as a licensed private investigator and his ownership for more than a decade of Esquire Private Investigations, Inc., a New York State licensed and bonded investigation firm. Before his government service, Furman was for more than eight years Director of Communications for Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. While there he created and produced a daily consumer news program that he syndicated nationwide. Furman also worked on television programming for Consumers Union and produced a documentary film aired for the Senate Commerce Committee to accompany his testimony advocating improved federal standards for child-safety seats. Earlier, his first profession spanned several years of newspaper reporting and editing, including winning a New Jersey Press Association award in 1969. Furman received his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. As a law student he served as a judge on the Honor Board, an elected panel of five student judges responsible for interpreting and enforcing the code of ethics at his law school. He earned an award for the best-written legal brief in an annual school-wide competition, and was also the recipient of the prestigious Miller Cup, an award given to the winner of the school's Moot Court competition judged by members of the federal bench. His undergraduate degree was earned at Hunter College in The Bronx, City University of New York, where he held a four-year New York State Regent's Scholarship. His ongoing pro bono efforts include service as a member of the New York State Bar Association's Mass Disaster Response Team. This small group of lawyers is charged with providing free legal assistance to victims of disasters, man-made and natural, and with policing the legal profession to prevent illegal or inappropriate solicitation of victims and their families. Furman also serves on the Nassau County Bar Association's Conciliation Committee, a mechanism whereby consumers of legal services can obtain speedy arbitration of fee disputes with attorneys. In addition, Furman serves without compensation as the president of the Board of Directors of the Woodward Mental Health Center in Freeport, New York. He has a decade of association with the Woodward Center, a state-certified not-for-profit agency recognized for its day-care treatment in a school setting of youngsters with severe emotional disabilities. He also devotes time as a director of the Nassau County Police Reserves, an organization that assists state and county police and provides college scholarships to children of police officers. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
