Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph, LLP

Sam Himmelstein, our law partner and friend for a collective 100 + years, will be retiring from the firm he helped create, Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLP, at the end of May.

Sam is a legend in the tenant and social justice community. For more than 40 years he put his heart into fighting for tenants. He won countless cases, making law, keeping people in their homes, recovering rent overcharges, reducing rents, getting repairs, defending rent regulation. He generously helped hundreds of tenant attorneys and advocates.

Over the years Sam brought in a team of fearless and talented lawyers committed to social justice: Kevin McConnell, Billy Gribben, Liz Donoghue, Serge Joseph, Ronald Languedoc and Jesse Gribben.

Sam hired David Hershey-Webb in 2001 because he needed a lead singer for his band, the Love Handles (Hershey-Webb had also been advocating for tenants since 1985). The Love Handles packed NYC clubs (with an audience in part of clients, tenant attorneys and even landlord attorneys).

Sam is a showman. He was the co-founder of a beloved band and law firm. He’s charismatic and has a flare for the kind of Public Relations, which along with first-rate lawyering, builds a great law firm. We each personally have boundless gratitude for the way in which he has encouraged and supported both our legal careers and personal endeavors.

We are lucky to have worked alongside Sam. We are proud to be able to carry on the work of tenacious tenant advocacy with the best group of tenant lawyers in NYC, our partners and friends, William Gribben, Serge Joseph, Ronald Languedoc, David Hershey-Webb, Jesse Gribben and Cathy Grad, our associates Daniel Nakos and Milad Momeni, our paralegal Nathan Conway, and our dedicated staff, Marisol Dones, Josephine Muniz and Maya Cintron.

Together we’ll continue to get up every day and fight for tenants, homeowners, and the greater public good.

Education

New York Law School, New York, New York

J.D. – 1979
Honors: cum laude
B.A. – 1975
Honors: cum laude
Honors: With Honors
Major: Psychology