Stewart Wurtzel, Esq.

Nassau Suffolk Law Services and the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) are pleased to recognize Stewart Wurtzel as Pro Bono Attorney of the Month for his years of service with the Landlord/Tenant Attorney of the Day Program for VLP. Mr. Wurtzel has been a volunteer for over 10 years and was previously honored as Pro Bono Attorney of the Month in 2009.

As a frequent volunteer with VLP, Mr. Wurtzel has dealt with a wide variety of matters. His cases often involve people who have fallen on hard times and are in danger of losing their home. As with family law cases, emotional issues and complicated family dynamics also play a role in many cases. However, he feels “one of the most rewarding parts of the work is being able to improve people’s lives even if it’s only for a little while because you have given them extra time to get their lives together.”

Mr. Wurtzel started volunteering for a number of reasons. It was a way to give back to the community and help people in an area where he already had legal expertise. He specializes in real estate litigation, cooperative and condominium law at Tane Waterman & Wurtzel, P.C. a full service real estate law firm in New York City. As a Nassau County resident working in Manhattan, pro bono was also a way to meet more members of the Nassau Bar. He and his firm strongly encourage their associates to do pro bono work. He believes there are tremendous rewards in helping others and giving of yourself and your experience. It also benefits attorneys in building their skills (whether in their primary field or not) and meeting people and networking. The firm encourages attorneys to get out and contribute in different ways. For example, six attorneys of the firm recently acted as judges at the ABA’s National Moot Court competition.

A devoted New Yorker, Mr. Wurtzel received his J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and his B.A. from New York University. He is the father of two grown children and lives in Island Park where he serves as President of his 128 unit Condominium. His other public service activities include serving on the Board of Directors of the New York Law Institute, the oldest circulating law library in the State of New York. He is also an active participant in and a member of the Executive Committee of the Attorney Roundtable of Long Island.

Pro bono work has been a positive and rewarding experience for Mr. Wurtzel. “Roberta Scoll [Staff Attorney with Nassau Suffolk Law Services and coordinator of the Landlord/Tenant Attorney of the Day Program] and all the volunteers at VLP are great,” Mr. Wurtzel states. He praises the high caliber of the people there and in fact, his law firm has hired two people that they met through the program – an attorney and a paralegal. He
encourages attorneys to volunteer and is happy to say that he has referred others who are now active volunteers with VLP. Ms. Scoll is thrilled that Mr. Wurtzel is being honored as Pro Bono Attorney of the month. “He well deserves this honor,” she said. “I can count on Stewart to volunteer every month and he is a pleasure to work with. His compassion and strong conviction for justice for our clients, makes him an invaluable asset to our program”.

For regularly volunteering his time to VLP for over 10 years, we honor Stewart Wurtzel as Nassau County’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Month.
The author, Edie Reinhardt is an attorney and content marketing consultant specializing in helping firms develop and leverage their content to achieve their business goals.