Mr. Garfinkel is the managing partner of AGMB and he is the partner in charge of AGMB’s Real Estate and Banking Practices.

Neil B. Garfinkel’s legal experience is diverse and his practice focuses on all aspects of commercial and residential real estate and banking law.

Mr. Garfinkel’s clients include trade associations, national and international banks, mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate brokers, real estate developers and purchasers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate.

Neil B. Garfinkel proudly serves as Broker Counsel to the Real Estate Board of New York (“REBNY”), New York City’s leading real estate trade association. In addition to counseling REBNY members on the vast array of laws and regulations that affect the real estate brokerage community, Neil hosts the REBNY Legal Line, a daily legal hotline provided exclusively for members of REBNY, and authors the REBNY Legal Line Question of the Week, which is distributed weekly to all members of REBNY.

Through his affiliation and participation with REBNY, he has become acutely aware of the many issues that face his real estate broker clients on a daily basis. Accordingly he counsels his clients on commission disputes, licensing and disclosure requirements, agency issues, fair housing laws, employment and wage laws, strategic alliances and affiliated business relationships and disciplinary actions instituted by governmental entities.

in May 2018, Neil was appointed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to serve on the New York State Real Estate Board, which has general authority to promulgate rules and regulations affecting real estate brokers and salespersons in order to administer and effectuate the purposes of New York State Real Property Law as it pertains to real estate licensees.

Mr. Garfinkel and AGMB serves as counsel to the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association and the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers. He regularly counsels his mortgage banking and mortgage broker clients regarding all aspects of their businesses. Mr. Garfinkel has traveled extensively throughout the country to provide training programs to the employees of his banking clients. Mr. Garfinkel has also counseled his clients on loan portfolio acquisitions and sales. He is well versed in the complex areas of federal and state licensing and lending laws and assists his clients in obtaining banking and broker licenses, as well as structuring affiliated business relationships under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Mr. Garfinkel resides in Great Neck, New York with his wife, Shari (they have two children). Neil is a Trustee in the Village of Kensington and also served on the Village’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Achievements
Phi Beta Kappa
Cornell International Law Journal, Symposium Editor
Little Neck Jewish Center, Past President and Young Leadership Award
UJA – Leadership Award

Membership and Affiliations
Real Estate Board of New York – Broker Counsel
Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association – Counsel
New York Association of Mortgage Brokers – Counsel

New York State Department of State – Certified Instructor of Real Estate Classes
Senior Real Estate Specialist

New York State Bar Association
National Association of Realtors
New York State Association of Realtors
Long Island Board of Realtors
National Association of Mortgage Brokers
New York Association of Mortgage Brokers (Diamond Member)
Mortgage Bankers Association of New York
Community Bankers Mortgage Forum
Cornell University Real Estate Council
Cornell Club of New York
International Shotokan Karate Federation (Blackbelt)

Media and Publications

Speaking Engagements:
Mr. Garfinkel enjoys teaching and speaking about a variety of real estate and lending topics. He is certified by the New York Department of State as an instructor of real estate courses, and frequently teaches at REBNY, real estate broker offices and various bar associations.

Media:
He has appeared on various television shows, including the CBS Local News, CNBC, Bloomberg News and New York 1 News. He has appeared on nationally syndicated radio, has been published in the REBNY Reporter, the Realtor and has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Reuters, AP, Dow Jones, Forbes.com, Bankrate.com, CNN.com, as well as numerous other publications.