Steven Ficurilli ’22 is an associate at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, where his practice focuses on commercial real estate, including acquisitions and dispositions, debt financing, commercial leasing, joint ventures and condominium work.
Ficurilli was a criminal justice major in college, although law school wasn’t always his goal. “When I finished undergrad, I was searching for a career,” he says. He was looking for jobs in the criminal justice field. “I wasn’t getting interviews or finding something that I really wanted to do. After a while, I thought I needed to do something, so I took the LSAT and Hofstra Law offered me a full scholarship.”
Because of his background in criminal justice, he thought he would end up practicing criminal law, but by keeping an open mind and trying classes and experiences in a wide range of practice areas, he landed on a career in real estate law that he didn’t anticipate, but thoroughly enjoys.
Selecting Varied Experiences in Law School
While at Hofstra Law, Ficurilli took criminal law courses, including the Clinical Prosecution Practicum, but also took a variety of other courses in diverse areas. “I took bar prep courses and classes I thought would be interesting, such as classes in international law,” he says. “I didn’t take a single real estate class other than real property,” he says.
In the summer after his 1L year, he accepted an internship with the SEC which extended into the fall of his 2L year. He also accepted internships with JOEY JACKSON LAW, PLLC, a criminal defense firm in New York City founded by Hofstra Law alum Joey Jackson ’95, with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, and with a medical malpractice lawyer in the spring of his 3L year.
Ficurilli also worked throughout law school, a decision he has mixed feelings about now. “I was working throughout law school, bartending and serving in restaurants. I took internships and worked rather than participating on a journal. Not participating on a journal was a disadvantage at some places when I was interviewing, so I do recommend that students participate on a journal. But at the same time, my odd journey brought me to where I am. I was strongly encouraged to not work during law school but that isn’t what I thought would be best for me and my circumstances. By working, I got life experience outside of law, and gained transferable skills, including learning how to deal with people, and how to juggle a lot of different responsibilities.”
Choosing Real Estate Over Litigation
In addition to his other experiences, in the summer of his 2L year, Ficurilli held a summer internship at Kramer Levin through the on-campus interview (OCI) process. “One individual who interviewed me was a partner in the real estate department. He seemed like a great guy and was easy to talk to. Every person I interviewed with seemed like a human being; they were good people who had lives and personal goals outside of work. I felt like the firm would be a good place to be. I based my decision off where I would go by where I would enjoy the people the most. As a lawyer, you know you will be working a lot, so you might as well work with people you like. Kramer seemed like a friendly, welcoming place.”
At Kramer Levin, he had an opportunity to explore several different areas of practice, which led to his interest in real estate. “I did a full suite of rotations through the practice areas during my summer internship,” he says. “I came into the firm heavily litigation minded, but I jumped seriously into getting experience in different practice areas. I found the day to day of real estate more interesting, exciting, and faster paced than litigation.”
After graduation, he had to choose between the real estate and litigation departments at the firm. “It was an incredibly hard decision,” he said. “I love litigation and writing motions, and I loved the experience I had in litigation. But when choosing a post-graduate career, what it came down to for me was what a day-to-day life would be like for me. What I would be doing in real estate seemed like something I wanted to do more than what a junior associate in litigation would be doing. Real estate was my favorite rotation at the firm, and I was glad I ultimately got accepted to the group.”
Gaining Experience in Commercial Real Estate
Ficurilli’s current active matters include commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions, debt financing, and joint ventures. He assists in drafting deal documents and conducts due diligence, including reviewing title reports, surveys, loan documents and leases. “I’m reviewing everything in order for the transaction to go through and looking for anything that might undermine what we’re working for,” he says.
“Drafting is a bigger part of the work I do than you would think because the real estate group is a smaller group. We have smaller deal teams, and I get opportunities I might not have at a larger firm. I get to draft transaction documents such as purchase and sale agreements and loan documents. I have been able to do substantive work and I have a good amount of client-facing communication. Every day is different.”
“Everything needs thought and modification. You spend a lot of time working on these matters, but you’re never bored. That’s what excites me the most.”
Ficurilli enjoys the complexity of the deals the firm handles. “The coolest part for me is the magnitude of the deals we do,” he says. “One of the first deals I was involved with was a $220 million deal. I thought it was a big deal, but it was actually one of [that client’s] smaller deals. What is interesting is that the problems that the clients come to us with are very complex. You really have to think. There is no set process. Everything needs thought and modification. You spend a lot of time working on these matters, but you’re never bored. That’s what excites me the most.”
Keeping Up with Litigation Skills Through Pro Bono Work
While he didn’t choose a career in litigation, Ficurilli didn’t completely abandon it. “A big factor in choosing Kramer Levin was the opportunity to do pro bono work in litigation even while working in real estate with the firm.
“Pro bono work is highly encouraged at the firm, especially since the transactional markets haven’t been as busy in the past couple of years. In those down times, we are encouraged to take on a pro bono case. I’ve had [many] opportunities. I have one long term case and have done some smaller cases that were more like consultations that could have been litigation. I have been dipping my toe into litigation every now and then with the pro bono cases; I get to write a motion now and then.”
Through his pro bono work, Ficurilli has worked on a number of different issues, including immigration and asylum questions, eviction issues and even real estate purchases and leasing for pro bono clients, which provides him with the opportunity to interact with other teams and practice areas within the firm. Ficurilli’s current pro bono case is an Article 78 proceeding, in which he is assisting the Legal Aid Society’s Wrongful Conviction Unit in obtaining records from the NYPD related to the wrongful arrest and conviction of an individual who has maintained their innocence since their arrest in the early 1990s. “It is good work that hopefully will lead to good results for the client.”
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