ROBERT S. OCKO

Robert Ocko is the managing partner of the corporate and real estate practice groups at Harrington, Ocko & Monk, LLP.  Rob has over 30 years of experience representing corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and individuals in the areas of corporate, business, commercial and residential real estate; state, federal and international tax law; estate planning and trust and estate administration. He has advised clients in numerous merger and acquisition transactions in both the business and commercial real estate areas. Rob also represents financial institutions and private lenders in commercial and residential secured lending transactions. Rob has negotiated and drafted numerous leases, contracts, operating, partnership and shareholder agreements as well as represented clients in sales, acquisitions and mergers of business. Rob’s real estate transactions have included sales, acquisitions and development of office buildings, industrial properties, mixed use properties, hotels, multi-family and residential units, vacant land and commercial land with development rights.

Rob represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing agencies as well as proceedings before the Surrogate’s Courts of the State of New York.

After graduating with Honors from Franklin & Marshall College in 1979, Rob attended Boston University School of Law, graduating in 1982 as a winner in the Farrar Estate Planning competition. Rob received a Masters Degree in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 1983. He then spent two years as a law clerk to the Honorable William M. Fay of the United States Tax Court in Washington D.C., where he worked with Judge Fay in writing over fifty decisions. After his clerkship, Rob joined the tax department of Lord Day & Lord, Barrett Smith, in New York City, as an associate where he was primarily involved in corporate mergers and acquisitions and commercial real estate transactions. In April, 1991, Rob became counsel to Quinn & Suhr in White Plains, New York, where he remained until he formed the predecessor firm to Harrington, Ocko & Monk, in December, 1992.

Rob is a member of the Tax and Real Property Sections of the New York State Bar Association. He is the co-author of: Federal Tax Deductions, published by Warren, Gorham & Lamont (1992); Passive Loss Rules, BNA Tax Practice Series (1989); and Recent Developments Under the Partnership Audit Rules, New York University Forty-Sixth Institute on Federal Taxation (1988).

Besides playing golf and commiserating being a Jets season ticket holder, Rob and Helene, although empty-nesters, now see their adult children more than when they lived at home.

Representative Matters:

• Represented purchaser in its $11.1 million acquisition of a 75,000 square foot commercial office building in Rye Brook, NY occupied by first class medical and professional tenants.

• Counsel to the developer of a mixed-use condominium project in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, comprising 90,670 sq. ft. In this role, we negotiated and prepared a marketing agreement with The Corcoran Group.

• Represented Fordham University in the sale of its Marymount Campus in Tarrytown, NY, including drafting and negotiation the sales contract and several leases for houses located on the property to be occupied after the closing.

• Represented an investor group in connection with its multi-million dollar acquisition of a portfolio of condominium units in Port Chester, NY from the prior sponsor’s lender, who has foreclosed on the properties. In this role, we advised and guided our clients in the acquisition, and negotiated the purchase agreement. We also prepared the operating and management agreements for the new ownership group.

• Represented an investor group in connection with its acquisitions of a 60,000 sq. ft. office building in Westchester County. In this role, we also advised and assisted our client in obtaining $7.2 Million of financing as well as the acquisition, we negotiated and drafted the leases for the owner.

Published Works

• Federal Tax Deductions (Co-Author), Warren, Gorham & Lamont

• Passive Loss Rules (Co-Author), BNA Tax Practice Series

• Recent Developments Under the Partnership Audit Rules (Co-Author), New York University, Forty-Sixth Institute on Federal Taxation

• Significant Changes Enacted to New York State’s Power of Attorney Law, HOM Law Update