| Bringing legal expertise to the real estate transaction
S haul C. Greenwald made a life-changing decision sometime during the early 2000s. At the time, he was immersed in a family-owned business in Queens, N.Y., that has manufactured and distributed small consumer products since the 1940s.
 As the company’s sales and marketing director, the business took Greenwald throughout the country and places as far away as Hong Kong and Switzerland, as he met with vendors, clients and directed corporate attorneys regarding application processes, company patents, copyrights and trademarks. The company’s clients included retail giants such as Walmart, Target, CVS, Kay Jewelers and Eckerd Drugs.
“I had a drive to do something else. I felt that I could use my creative talents and experiences to challenge myself to grow and be more productive in other areas,” recalled Shaul, 47, CEO of Riverside Abstract LLC in Brooklyn, N.Y. “I, with my wife’s blessing, made a life changing decision to go to law school. I took the LSAT, which is basically the law school entrance exam, and I did quite well.”
Shaul’s decision to make a career change was perhaps more challenging than remarkable, considering he was 32 at the time, and he and his wife Tammy already had four of their five children. “It was quite a difficult decision, but my wife was very supportive.”
Accepted to The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, Shaul and Tammy sold their home in Rockland County, N.Y., moved back to Brooklyn, and made several sacrifices in order for him to earn his law degree.
“I took advantage of a scholarship from Cardozo as well as a great program at Cardozo that allowed me to finish my first year of law school over two summers so I could continue working during my first year of law school. Year two and three were a bit more difficult due to my family and other obligations,” Shaul noted. “But we figured out a way to make it work. It was quite an interesting time.”
As he made his way through law school, Shaul at one point worked part-time for a title agency in Lake Success, N.Y., and did work for a law firm which specialized in real estate.
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“We didn’t have a fully developed staff yet, so when the downturn hit in late 2007 and 2008, it was easier for us to weather that period of time. We actually were growing our staff and sales while others were downsizing.”
Shaul Greenwald
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“I’d always thought I’d wanted to do something in the real estate field,” he said. “I focused on and took classes in Real Estate Law, Real Estate Taxation, Corporations, Trusts and Estates and other related subjects.”
At the New York title company, Shaul read and typed title commitments. He also was responsible for escrow account reconciliations, including paying of liens, taxes and reimbursements of funds due clients. His interest in applying his law degree toward real estate transactions steadily grew.
Shaul took another giant leap of faith in 2006, when he developed a startup title agency in Brooklyn. The business doubled its gross revenue from 2007 to 2008. “We were focused on smaller, residential refis,” Shaul said. “We didn’t have a fully developed staff yet, so when the downturn hit in late 2007 and 2008, it was easier for us to weather that period of time. We actually were growing our staff and sales while others were downsizing.”
In 2009, Shaul joined Yoel Zagelbaum, who had recently started Riverside Abstract. Subsequently, the pair also founded Riverside 1031 in 2011. Based in Brooklyn, Riverside is a full service, multi-state title company that has the team, as well as the tools, that guarantee successful closings. It also has offices in Lakewood, and in Montvale, N.J., and services clients throughout the New York metropolitan area. The company employs close to 100 staff members.
“We’re licensed throughout most of the country,” Shaul said. “All of our departments are run by attorneys, which gives our clients a better knowledge base. In addition, we have spent a lot of time and resources creating efficiencies through customized software solutions to be able to service our clients in the best possible manner and track our deals from pre-closing to post-closing and all points between.”
Shaul is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Georgia and Connecticut, and has an insurance producer’s license in more than 30 states.
He also credited the company’s non-attorney staff members and their growing sales staff for their dedication and professionalism.
Having just celebrated his 25th anniversary with Tammy, and with children ranging in age from 14 to 24, Shaul said he spends most of his free time with his family. He also enjoys getting involved with charitable causes and he studies Talmud on a daily basis, a central text of mainstream Judaism consisting primarily of discussions and commentary on Jewish history, law, customs and culture.
“I don’t golf and I really don’t get enough exercise, but I do set aside time to study the Talmud every morning and every evening,” Shaul said. “It’s quite fascinating. It has helped me with my analytical thinking and problem solving that I come across on a daily basis.”
Shaul said he has encountered many business and title situations that require him and his staff to think out of the box to help a deal close. “That grounding [in the Talmud] definitely helps.”
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