Hamburger acquisition bulks up firm's corporate practice
As RIAs grow more sophisticated, so does legal work to support them
3 min read- Hamburger Law acquired Kupfer & Associates to bolster its corporate legal services for RIAs.
- Acquisition expands Hamburger's practice by adding experienced lawyers and existing clients.
- Hamburger aims to elevate its corporate practice to match its regulatory and litigation strength.
Brooke’s note: The first thing a breakaway broker is concerned about in achieving independence is that they don’t get in trouble. The Hamburger Law Firm has built a reputation for seeing and eliminating the landmines in this process. But of course any RIA knows that the real work begins after the legal papers are filed away in a drawer. In what may be a good leading indicator for the industry, Brian Hamburger is taking steps to insure his firm can stretch to meet these needs — even if it means recruiting the talent needed to do so in forceful ways.
Brian Hamburger was standing next to Corey Kupfer in a Drug Enforcement Agency office when he first got an inkling he’d like to put Kupfer’s legal skills to work.
No, the RIA world is not in the midst of its own Tiger Woods-style scandal. The well-known founder of the Hamburger Law Firm was on a June outing with a group of New York City-area entrepreneurs.
They were learning about the high-pressure, under-fire world of the DEA, when Hamburger fell into conversation with Kupfer. Hamburger, whose firm is based in Englewood, N.J., heard how Kupfer helped his small business clients grow.
Small business owners
MarketCounsel buys Beneficial Concepts Group with an eye toward calming smaller RIAs' compliance fears
Hamburger thought it’d be great if Kupfer could bring those skills to RIAs that are Hamburger’s main clients. After all, RIAs are also small business owners. Maybe Kupfer would like to join Hamburger’s firm?
“No way,” Kupfer said, adding a curse and then an explanation. “I’m an entrepreneur.”
“Great,” Hamburger said. “How can we make this work?”
Story Timeline
That was the birth of the partnership, which was formalized early this week, with the acquisition of the Kupfer & Associates, with offices in Brooklyn and Manhattan, by Hamburger Law.
Along with Kupfer, two other lawyers and one staffer from his firm are joining Hamburger, bringing the total number of lawyers at Hamburger to 12. Negotiations continue with the two other lawyers who worked with Kupfer.
Bringing a familiar ferocity, Brian Hamburger binges on Ivy League grads and wirehouse and securities-firm veterans in MarketCounsel restaffing
Hamburger will maintain the Kupfer’s law office in the Empire State Building, using it to meet with clients in Manhattan.
Kupfer and his team are joining Hamburger in order to expand the latter’s corporate practice. Hamburger noted that providing corporate legal support to RIAs is similar to the work done for any small business in a highly regulated environment.
Head and shoulders
Hamburger said that over the years, he had poured the most energy into making sure his regulatory and litigation practices were head-and-shoulders above that of competitors.
“We would tell clients: Our corporate practice was no better or worse than any competing firm,” he says.
He hopes that will change with the Kupfer acquisition. Another effect of the acquisition will be that Hamburger’s practice broadens, because Kupfer will bring along existing clients.
In other words, MarketCounsel and the Hamburger Law Firm have long been strong in the area of helping RIAs form and keeping them in compliance. This acquisition may help them compete to provide continuing legal support to increasingly sophisticated RIAs.
“I think this takes them beyond just writing contracts and will provide them with the ability to actually consult on the business side of the equation,” said John Furey, principal of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Advisor Growth Strategies.
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