LIBFRE - Key Persons
Amy Forst was born and raised on Long Island. She is a mother and local business woman. After attending classes and working as a Teacher's Assistant for 3 years, she graduated with highest honors from Johnson and Wales University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management. In 1993, Amy moved to East Hampton and fell in love with the area. She was in the food and beverage industry for 15 years. For seven of those years she was a partner and owner of the Barefoot Contessa. Once her second child was born, Amy and her husband, Michael Forst, decided it was time to sell the store, and focus on raising their beautiful children. Amy is a partner and owner of Forst Construction, Inc. She volunteers her time with the PTA, Holy Trinity and LIBFRE. Currently she is a licensed real estate agent with Town & Country.
Helene Forst, nominated by Senator Kenneth LaValle for Woman of Distinction, is a veteran teacher, an environmental activist, and a published author. She earned a B.A. at SUNY at Stony Brook graduating Magna Cum Laude, an M.A. from SUNY at Stony Brook in Liberal Studies graduating Summa Cum Laude, and an M.S. in Special Education from Dowling College graduating Summa Cum Laude. Helene holds six NYS teaching certifications: Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grades 1-6, Reading, Special Education, and Secondary English. She was the founder and director of The Pioneer School charted by NYS Board of Regents, a school for LD/Dyslexic students. Helene taught at the East Hampton Middle School holding the position of Academic Intervention/Reading Specialist. She continues to teach in a private practice. She is the Vice-President and founding partner of Forst and Silverblank, Inc., an East End custom builder. As a former member of the East Hampton Volunteer Ocean Rescue Squad, she served as the Chair of the Public Relations Committee, documenting the organizations activities through press releases and articles, in addition to creating a Water Safety-CPR/Hands-Only training for the public. As an environmental activist she: Co-Chaired the East End Shoreham Opponents, Chaired the Environmental sub-committee for the Southampton/East Hampton Lyme Disease Task Force, Chaired the environmental committee for the East Hampton Cancer Task Force, and promotes and participates in the WWF's Earth Hour Initiative. She is the author of two YA novels, The Journey of Hannah Woods published in 2013 and Stoked - 1969, published in 2016. Her third YA novel, Behind the Hedges, is near completion.
Jack Forst has been President of Forst and Silverblank, Inc. for the past thirty-six years. He has built over 400 custom homes on the East End of Long Island. He is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, New York State Building Association, and Long Island Builders Institute.
Leon Friedman is the Joseph Kushner Special Professor of Civil Liberties Law at Hofstra Law School, teaching constitutional law and copyright. He is also a practicing lawyer, specializing in civil rights, First Amendment and intellectual property. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of the Harvard Law School. He served as staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Friedman has written or edited over a dozen books and has published over 100 articles in various law journals, newspapers and magazines. Among his works are The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Decisions, 4th edition (Facts on File, 2013).
Job Titles:
- Co - Chairperson, Treasurer
Michael Forst, a local third generation builder, graduated from East Hampton high school and went on to Dean Jr College where he studied Construction Management. He joined his family's construction company, Forst and Silverblank, where they were building 25 custom homes a year. In 2001, Michael and his wife Amy started their own company, Forst Construction, Inc., located at 26 Gingerbread Lane in East Hampton. Forst Construction is a design build firm of custom residential homes.
Michael has been an environmental activist his whole life. He fought against Shoreham and Milestone Nuclear Power Plants, and the Broadwater Gas Barge. He is a leader in the Green Building movement and lives in a net zero home that he and Amy built, leading by example for their two children. He is a dedicated and active Volunteer Fireman who has held the rank of Captain of the EHFD Hook and Ladder company. He is also a certified rescue swimmer for the Volunteer Ocean Rescue team. He has donated time with boy scouts and little league, where he coached for 4 years. He actively assists with the Jr. lifeguard programs. His newest volunteer venture is Stopping PSEG from devaluing his neighbors homes and making our town look like NJ. Righting the wrongs of the world!
Peter Guirguis, a partner in Mintz and Gold LLC, advises clients in a wide range of disputes and investigations involving commercial contracts, complex financial instruments, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, corporate control and governance, data use and privacy, executive compensation and employment, bankruptcy, real estate construction and financing. Clients and colleagues rely on Peter for his practical advice and negotiation skills.
Peter represents diverse clients, from individuals to major financial institutions, insurers, manufacturers and retailers, and numerous software and technology companies. Many of his matters involve a combination of intellectual property issues along with corporate control or management matters. Peter's matters are often international in nature and he is familiar with discovery and court procedures in federal and state courts around the country as well as arbitral forums in the Unites States and abroad.
Peter also advises individuals and entities in a wide variety of investigatory, regulatory and enforcement matters. He has conducted internal investigations and participated in civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings with respect to a wide variety of regulatory issues including investigations and civil actions by the DOJ, SEC, FTC, FCC, EPA, DEC, DEP, state attorney general offices, and investigations by foreign regulatory authorities.
Peter served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Kevin T. Duffy in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Rebecca Singer grew up in New York City, where her family had a local business selling unusual handmade items from all over the world, including jewelry, sculpture, decorative home products and handbags. She attended Bronx High School of Science and graduated from Cornell University.
She moved to San Francisco after graduation and became Personnel Director of The Institutes of Medical Sciences, before deciding to return to her roots, retail. She worked as a Buyer for Joseph Magnin in California before moving back to New York and joining Abraham and Strauss. She went on to Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Donna Karan. Rebecca rose to Vice President, Divisional Merchandise Manager at Lord & Taylor. Her career spanned Accessories, Shoes, and Women's Apparel, including Designer Apparel. She opened her current green business, Eco Art Productions, which takes the original artwork of American Artists, and screens their artwork onto organic handbags in 2009. Each artist receives a percent of the sales from their handbags. Rebecca is an avid gardener and craft collector.
Job Titles:
- Admin
- Counsel
- Founding Partner of Mintz & Gold LLP
Steven G. Mintz is a founding partner of Mintz & Gold LLP and manages the firm's Commercial Litigation and Appellate Litigation Departments. Mr. Mintz has been named a New York Super Lawyer every year from 2009 to 2017. After graduating as Valedictorian of his law school class, Mr. Mintz served as a personal law clerk to the Honorable Vito J. Titone of the New York State Court of Appeals (following his retirement from the bench in 1998, Judge Titone served as of counsel to Mintz & Gold). Following his clerkship, Mr. Mintz joined the litigation department of Squadron, Ellenoff, Plesent & Sheinfeld where he participated in complex business litigation, white collar criminal defense, labor and employment litigation as well as securities arbitration and litigation. Following the formation of Mintz & Gold in 1993, Mr. Mintz's practice has further diversified to include intellectual property, real estate, matrimonial litigation, and First Amendment litigation.
At root, Mr. Mintz serves as a "lawyer's lawyer" who provides advice and consultation to in-house counsel as well as to other lawyers and law firms. He represents public corporations, individuals, and privately held companies. As a result of his expertise in appellate litigation and his personal passion for developing New York State's jurisprudence, Mr. Mintz has argued appeals in New York State and Federal Courts including appeals before the New York State Court of Appeals on libel, equitable distribution, collateral source reduction, and accountant liability issues. In addition, he is often consulted by national and international law firms with issues related to practice before the New York State Court of Appeals. Mr. Mintz has appeared as a Commentator on the Fox Business Network.
Mr. Mintz has appeared in State and Federal Courts throughout the United States and regularly appears before various regulatory agencies including the SEC and EEOC, as well as self-regulatory bodies including FINRA. Mr. Mintz also regularly appears before various alternative dispute resolution forums.
He is a member of the Bars of the States of New York and New Jersey and is admitted to practice in the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Mintz received his B.A. from Emory University in 1985, and his J.D., summa cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 1988.