Inna Fershteyn is a principal of the firm. A classically and professionally trained concert pianist, having played the piano for over 25 years, Ms. Fershteyn graduated from New York University, magna cum laude, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Business and Technology and was repeatedly named to the Deans List. Her high level of scholarship was recognized by grants and scholarships including the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) scholarship, Dean’s Scholarship, Founder’s Day award, and Jewish Foundation for the Education of Women scholarship. Ms. Fershteyn was also named a Dean’s Leadership Circle Scholar for which she represented New York University at various events, meetings, and receptions to alumni and the wider academic community. Ms. Fershteyn went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif. She was also elected a President of the International Law Society and organized International Law Career Days which attracted dozens of legal employers and hundreds of law students. Following graduation she practiced law at Am Law 100 firm Bryan Cave, LLP where she counseled and structured transactions for large multi-national and publicly traded corporations in the area of corporate finance and at Heller Ehrman White and McAuliffe, LLP where she served as head of the Associate Committee and joined the Trust & Estates department. After practicing for those prestigious law firms, Ms. Fershteyn decided to venture out on her own and founded the Law Offices of Inna Fershteyn and Associates, P.C. where her law practice focuses on Trust and Estate Planning, Asset protection, Business continuation planning and Elder law, and her clients range from individuals and entrepreneurs to privately held companies and large estates.
A New York State Certified Mediator, Ms. Fershteyn is experienced in negotiating and mediating commercial disputes. Ms. Fershteyn is fluent in Russian and Ukrainian and has represented numerous United States companies and investors in their business dealings in the former Soviet Union, as well as Russian companies in their business dealings in the United States.
Despite her busy law practice, Ms. Fershteyn is involved in the community. She is a frequent guest attorney appearing on Russian hit cable program "Contact" with journalist Alexander Grant, hosts a weekly live Russian-language radio show called: “Ask a Lawyer” and appears as a guest lecturer in community centers, banks, and other venues where she discusses topics of estate planning, business continuation planning, estate tax and asset protection. Ms. Fershteyn’s activism extends beyond the law. She is a President of the NY Association of Russian-Speaking Women Attorneys and is active in the PTA at the Benson Elementary School, where her older children are enrolled in the Russian Bilingual Gifted Globe Program. Ms. Fershteyn is also on the Board of Directors of Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House (JCH) of Bensonhurst, where her youngest child is enrolled. She is a member of American Jewish Committee (AJC) and traveled to Israel at invitation by Nativ, 2010 to represent America's top young Jewish leaders throughout the world.
Ms. Fershteyn is on the board of directors of Young Actors International Music Theater, Inc., a theatre for children aged 5 to 13 which produces Broadway-style plays and shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan and where her children actively participate. Ms. Fershteyn helped to establish The Menachem Educational Foundation, an organization that ensures that every Jewish child has access to the best education. Ms. Fershteyn is also a supporter of Project Neshama of Manhattan Beach with which she helped to organize a Sunday Hebrew School for Russian-Jewish children, now attended by over 40 children weekly.
Community awards and honors include the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Service Award from the United Progressive Democratic Club; Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for “outstanding and invaluable service to the community”; New York State Senate Legislative Resolution No. 1790 of 2009 in honor of Ms. Fershteyn; and a Citation from the Brooklyn Borough President. EDUCATION New York University (B.M., magna cum laude in Music Business and Technology); Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (J. D., cum laude; Order of the Coif). MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS New York State Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar Association; Member of Brooklyn and Manhattan Mediation Centers; New York State Certified Mediator; Member of American Bar Association. REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS - Represented individual estates of up to $60 million dollars, set up private foundations.
- Represented Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP in the sale of its Corporate Value Consulting business to the Standard & Poor's division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
- Represented Israeli life-science company Compugen in its initial and secondary public offerings.
- Represented Italian footwear company Intershoe in all aspects of retail operation in the United States including financing, licensing and real estate transactions.
- Represented international luxury goods companies in licensing and other transactions, including acquisitions and corporate control disputes.
- Represented public and privately-held corporations with respect to corporate governance and other general corporate matters; acted as general counsel and advisor to non-institutional corporate clients.
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