Bar Admission: New York

Education:

• J.D., Rutgers School of Law, Newark, New Jersey, 2011
• Legal Research and Writing Teaching Assistant, 2010-2011
• M.S. (Public Administration), Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, 1995
• Member of Pi Alpha Alpha®, Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration
• M.S. (Space Operations), Air Force Institute of Technology, Dayton, Ohio, 1984
• BS (Meteorology), Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, 1981
• 4-year ROTC Scholarship

Other Education:

• Certificate of Paralegal Studies, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 2005
• Honors Graduate, Member of Lambda Epsilon Chi, National Paralegal Honor Society
• Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 1995
• Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 1986
  Distinguished Graduate

Associations:

• New York State Bar Association, Member of the Sections on Trust and Estate Law.
• Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Member of the Committee for Military Law and Justice.
• Orion Resource Group.
• Military Officers Association of America.
• Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, with VVA Chapter 126.

Presentations/Events:

• Moderator, Legal Issues Concerning Animals and the Military, New York City Bar, June 21, 2018
• Speaker, Is That a Service Dog, an Emotional Support Animal, or an Imposter? Ramapo Kennel Club, Pequannock, NJ, October 11, 2017

Volunteer activities:

• Participated in veteran legal services event sponsored by Fordham Law School, October 2018.
• Represents veteran seeking to upgrade less-than-honorable discharge status, ongoing.
• Advisor to Veterans Are Still Warriors, Veterans Serving Veterans, a non-profit dedicated to helping vets navigate NYC bureaucracy (e.g., housing, family), 2012-2015.
• Chair of Architecture Review Committee for Glen Wild Lake [condo] Association, responsible for preserving aesthetics around 120-acre lake. Drafted rules & regulations that improved application and authorization process as unit owners transitioned from summer cabins to year-round residents, 2008-2017.

Military decorations:

• Defense Meritorious Service Medal
• Meritorious Service Medal
• Air Force Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
• National Reconnaissance Office Superior Service Medal

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As an attorney with a finance background, Illana Leiser approaches the practice of law from an analytical perspective. This can be especially useful in litigated estate and trust matters involving alleged fraud or mismanagement of assets.

Ms. Leiser transitioned into law after more than a decade in finance, during which time she worked at highly regarded firms, including Neuberger Berman and Federated Investors. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner professional (CFP®). These designations require rigorous educational requirements, testing, proven experience, and a strict code of ethics. As an equity analyst, Ms. Leiser regularly examined financial statements of major corporations and honed her ability to identify potential trouble spots.

In addition to working with our firm, Ms. Leiser also maintains a separate law practice.

• Brooklyn Law School, J.D. (Silver Pro Bono Award; CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in the Civil Practice Workshop and Information Privacy Law)
• Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University, M.S. in Mathematics
• Pace University, B.A. in Mathematics (Graduated Cum Laude)

Bar Admissions

• New York
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

Affiliations

• Member, New York State Bar Association (Member of Trusts and Estates Law, Trial Lawyers, Elder Law and Special Needs, Young Lawyers, and Real Estate Sections)
• Member, American Bar Association (Member of Solo, Small Firm and General Practice, and Young Lawyers Divisions)
• Member, New York City Bar Association

Volunteer Work

Ms. Leiser believes in giving back to the community. She helps low-income New Yorkers by providing free legal assistance in matters pertaining to wills and estates through the Planning and Estates Law Project (PELP) of the New York City Bar Association.

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Early in her career as an attorney for the City of New York, handling over 100 trials engendered in Ms. Teitel a feeling that justice can and should be attained through preparation and hard work. She learned the way to strategize litigations to accentuate the positives. With the law office of David Luther, she advocates for fiduciaries and beneficiaries of trusts and estates and helps them achieve resolution and peace of mind.

Early Experience

Beginning in 2001, Ms. Teitel began to focus in the area of commercial litigation representing small businesses with cross border ties. From this practice, and the mentoring of trusts and estates litigators, she began to concentrate in the varied practice of trusts and estates and handled all aspects of this practice, including, litigation, estate planning, and estate administration. During her tenure at a small boutique firm in New York City, she worked on litigations regarding various high net worth estates in the New York County Surrogate’s Court and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to her trusts and estates focus at that firm, she was lead counsel for a Panamanian company in an international arbitration before a tribunal at the American Arbitration Association. In that case, she asserted the company’s rights under a telecom contract against the company’s investors; In that case, prepared witnesses for trial in Venezuela; and relied upon the substantive foreign law of Venezuela to make her arguments to the tribunal.

Work for Kings County Surrogate’s Court

After 10 years of working as an associate at law firms in New York City, Ms. Teitel was appointed as Court Attorney Referee, in 2010. he Kings County Surrogate’s Court, she was called upon by Surrogate Margarita Lopez Torres to conference cases and assist in the resolution of over 50 disputed matters. Ms. Teitel drafted opinions for the Surrogate, and she heard and reported to the Surrogate on kinship hearings and Article 17A guardianship matters. It was here that she gained invaluable exposure to the inner workings of the Surrogate’s Court and the process of how best to negotiate effective results for her clients.

In 2011, Ms. Teitel transitioned to private practice and successfully represents parties before the Surrogate’s Courts of New York City and sometimes outside the City. The proceedings she commences and defends for her clients range from turnovers, ejectments, removal of fiduciaries and accountings. Ms. Teitel continues to work with international clients and always welcomes matters that have an international component. Ms. Teitel also advises clients in their estate planning.

Court Appointments

Ms. Teitel regularly receives appointments as Court Evaluator in New York Supreme Court before the Judges who handle guardianship matters. She is regularly appointed as Guardian ad Litem in New York County Surrogate’s Court. In the past, Ms. Teitel was a Court Examiner in Guardianship cases appointed by the Appellate Division, 2nd Department, where she reviewed Guardians’ annual accountings and reported to the Kings County Supreme Court, lending to her well rounded approach to advising clients in varied situations.

As Mediator

Ms. Teitel is a trained mediator and accepts cases from the New York State Supreme Court, New York County Commercial Division, and the New Jersey Superior Court. As passionate about the process of resolution as she is about advocating for her clients, mediation was a natural addition to Ms. Teitel’s services. She accepts a few cases a year and is interested in the theory and scholarship of mediation of commercial disputes.

In Public Service

Ms. Teitel is a strong advocate of educating and exchanging ideas in her local community and abroad. She served for several years as an observer to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law in its working groups on Secured Transactions and Arbitration. As an ardent supporter of free speech, she served on the Board of Directors of the New York City non-profit, Women’s eNews for 2 years where she assisted eNews in creating their annual agendas and their annual gala event awarding honorees for their commitment to journalism and legal advocacy for women and women’s issues around the world.

She is devoted to teaching, public speaking and publishing her written work.

Publications

• Contributing co-author of white paper on ADR in the Trusts and Estates field (New York State Bar Association Journal, 2011)
• “The Use of Arbitral Secretaries in International Arbitration” published in The American Review of International Arbitration (Fall, 2008)
• Enforcement of Judgments and Arbitral Awards in the United States (Center for International Legal Studies, 2004)
• Co-Author of International Secured Transactions Chapter on the United States (Center for International Legal Studies, 2003)

Public Speaking

• Marine Park, Brooklyn – Carmine Carro Senior Center (Estate Planning Information Session, October, 2016)
• Park Slope, Brooklyn – YMCA (Estate Planning Information Session, April, 2016)
• Brooklyn Parents of Twins Club (Estate Planning for Families, January, 2012)
• Long Island University Paralegal – Instructor of Trusts and Estates (Spring 2011)
• College of Commercial Arbitrators (New York, New York, Fall, 2008)
• Instructor – International Arbitration (SICA-FICA, San Salvador, El Salvador – March, 2007)
• E-discovery: Collection of Data from the European Union (New York State Bar Association, New York, New York – March, 2006)
• International Commercial Arbitration (Center for International Legal Studies, Steamboat Springs, Colorado – February, 2005)
• Drafting International Contracts in the United States (CILS, Buenos Aires, Argentina – June, 2004)

Bar Admissions

• New York State (1996)
• New Jersey State (1996)
• Colorado State (2005)
• on inactive status
• United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of New York, New Jersey District Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Languages

Spanish (proficient), Japanese (conversant) and Russian (basic understanding)

Education

• Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York – J.D. February 1996
• CALI Award for Excellence: Alternative Dispute Resolution, February 1996
• Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York – Double Major – B.A. Interdisciplinary Political Systems of East Asia and B.A. in Political Science, May 1992

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David Luther’s achievements in his trusts and estates practice have been recognized with the highest ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, Avvo, and Lawyers.com; a Super Lawyers designation from Thomson-Reuters; and selection by The American Society of Litigation Advocates as one of the “Top 100 Trusts and Estates Lawyers in New York State.”

What truly distinguishes David Luther from most trust and estate practitioners are the numerous distinctions he has earned as a trial attorney and trusts and estates litigator. These include being selected as a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America trial lawyer honorary society, selection by the American Academy of Trial Attorneys as a Premiere 100 Trial Attorney for New York, recognition as a National Trial Lawyers Top 100 trial attorney for New York, recognition by Corporate America magazine as Legal Elite –Best for Probate Litigation, selection by Acquisition International magazine as Best for Trusts and Estates Litigation, and winner of the Corporate LiveWire 2015 Award for Excellence in Estate Litigation – New York (sponsored by the International Association of Lawyers and Swissport).

David Luther is a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps.  He served overseas with the 26th Marines Regiment.   

After his military service, Mr. Lang began his legal career by serving as a New York County Assistant District Attorney. Mr. Lang rose to the position of Senior Trial Counsel in the Major Felony Program, prosecuting major crimes committed by career criminals. He distinguished himself in the case of State v. Carbone, where he proved the innocence of a mistakenly arrested honor student, obtaining a jury trial conviction of the real perpetrator of the crime – a look-alike for the student. Mr. Lang was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Frauds Bureau, where his focus was white collar crime investigations, and where he pioneered Medicaid fraud prosecutions. Following his distinguished career as an assistant district attorney, David Luther was appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office, where as Chief Assistant to the Special Prosecutor he investigated and successfully tried official corruption cases.

Mr. Lang transitioned into private practice at Phillips Lytle, one of the oldest and largest law firms based in Upstate New York.  There, he handled a broad spectrum of commercial litigations, including banking, tax, real estate, technology, and products liability cases.  Among Mr. Lang’s favorable trial verdicts while with Phillips Lytle was a U.S. District Court jury trial verdict of ‘no tax liability’ in a case brought by the Internal Revenue Service seeking to hold a bank vicariously liable for the tax liability of a commercial loan customer.   

In 1991, Mr. Lang joined the international law firm Loeb & Loeb LLP, where he was a senior litigation partner for 18 years.  At Loeb, he handled major cases commercial and probate cases on behalf of financial institutions, senior executives, and high net worth individuals.  He also developed an in-house litigation training program and spearheaded the firm’s pro bono efforts on behalf of at-risk children.   His pro bono work has attracted national attention, including a full profile in Inside Children’s Rights, and mentions in articles in the New York Law Journal, Corporate Board Member Magazine, and The Clarion Ledger.  In recognition of his many contributions, Mr. Lang was awarded the 2006 Loeb & Loeb Professional and Community Service Award.

Although then focusing mostly on commercial, probate, and tax litigation, Mr. Lang he may best be remembered at Loeb for obtaining the dismissal of the government’s bribery case against a West Coast businessman, in the midst of a jury trial.  The defendant had been recorded making a bribe, had made a videotaped confession to the FBI at the time of his arrest, and had previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the same charges Mr. Lang was called upon to defend at trial.  David Luther defended the case based on a theory of entrapment, proved perjury on the part of the lead federal agent, and secured the dismissal at trial of the case by the same judge before whom the defendant had previously pleaded guilty. 

In 2010, Mr. Lang left Loeb and founded Law Offices of David M. Luther (now Law Offices of David M. Luther and Associates PLLC).  At this point in his career, David Luther’s experience included representing the widow of Ice cream business magnate Tom Carvel in a highly contentious major estate litigation and obtaining a favorable Queens County Surrogate’s Court jury trial verdict in a case of a forged codicil to a will.  Mr. Lang soon found that, as a result of his probate court experience and client demand, his law practice increasingly focused on trusts and estates controversies.

Since then, Mr. Lang’s legal practice increasingly focused on trust and estate litigation, estate administration, and related controversies.      

Mr. Lang’s legal career reflects his commitment to public service, honest government, civil rights, and his passion to protect at-risk children from neglect and abuse.  He continues to be an ardent champion of individual liberties who embraces the opportunity to represent parties and witnesses seeking justice in the areas of probate litigation, trust litigation, investigations, and related controversies.  In handling these matters, Mr. Lang puts makes full use of his court room and investigative experience.

No case is too challenging for David Luther and no client is undeserving of his experience, judgment, and dedication.

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