Bio

Michael Manzi is a Partner in the Real Estate Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Mr. Manzi has practiced real estate law in New York for 28 years with a concentration on commercial leasing and the representation of cooperative and condominium boards, as well as sponsors. He also has extensive experience in a wide variety of real estate transactions including financing, sales and acquisitions. In representing landlords and tenants, he guides the parties to a mutually acceptable and beneficial relationship memorialized in the final lease agreements that comport with the most recent developments in the law. In his representation of cooperative and condominium boards, he guides them through the many problems that they confront—from daily operations to special matters. He enjoys the unique challenge that these boards face: how to run a business that involves the daily lives of a wide variety of individuals. He’s not just a legal advisor but a counselor and diplomat. Mr. Manzi received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the Institute of Film and Television at New York University, where he also taught writing courses and served in the administration of the Dramatic Writing Program. He then moved from academia to law and earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law where he served as Managing Editor of the Fordham International Law Journal. Upon graduation he joined the firm of Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, PC where he practiced until joining Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Ever since adopting a greyhound nine years ago, he has been active in the rescue of retired racing greyhounds, and his experience in keeping two dogs and three cats in a Manhattan apartment has made him the go-to person for pet issues in cooperatives and condominiums. When not practicing law or walking dogs, he indulges a variety of other interests, including an inexplicable love of baroque opera.