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22 December 2011 www.TheRealDeal.

com Seven years ago, for his 50th birthday, his wife, Melissa, bought him this British sports car, a 1953 MG. She tried to buy a 1954 for the year he was born, but couldnt find one, so she bought the 53.
PHOTOGRAPH FOR THE REAL DEAL BY CHRIS MARTIN

At

the

Desk

of:stephen

Meister
ttorney Stephen Meister is not the shy type. If hes not being quoted in the real estate press blasting an adversary, his opinions can be found in the regular Op-Ed pieces he writes for the New York Post, or heard on the airwaves of Fox. His dogged approach has won him some of the citys highest-profile real estate figures as clients, including Larry Gluck; Lev Leviev; Line Trust and Deuce Properties, lenders to the Extended Stay Hotels chain; and many others. He also represented a joint venture of SL Green and developer Joseph Moinian at 3 Columbus Circle, where he thwarted an attempted hostile takeover by mogul Stephen Ross of the Related Companies. He plots his legal strategy from his 50-attorney firm of Meister Seeling & Fein LLP, on the 19th floor of 140 East 40th Street. B y J ill N ooNaN

This signed Muhammad Ali robe was given to Meister by client and friend Larry Gluck in 2000, after the two worked on several projects together, including Glucks purchase of 500-512 Seventh Ave., which he bought with Joe Moinian and Joe Chetrit. Meister was also a partner in the project. Meister, a conservative, regularly writes Op-Ed pieces for the New York Post. This one implored Occupy Wall Street protesters to decamp for Washington, D.C. So, do his views ever stop him from working with a client? I represent Democrats and Republicans. Im a lawyer Im not running for political office.

A sketch Meister drew years ago of his son, Jason, whos now 29 and works at Grubb & Ellis. Meister says it shows his modest artistic ability, joking that Im sure nobody knows [that I can draw] because they all think Im just a raging litigator.

A YouTube video of Meister on Foxs Varney & Company, where he makes regular appearances. When he first appeared on the show he was just a guest, but now he is frequently part of Varneys two-person company.

A photo of his three kids: Jason, 29, Jessica, 24, and Micaela, 5.

A photo of the King Air E90 plane that Meister recently sold. The litigator started flying in the 1990s after getting fed up with traffic on his way out to the beach. Hes now an accomplished multi-engine pilot and says hes between planes.

A copy of Meisters book, Commercial Real Estate Restructuring Revolution, which came out last year. He says he wanted to write about tranch warfare the crazy fights between different lenders in the debt stack.

Meister buzzes this bright red button when he beats a particularly easy adversary in court. It was given to him a few years ago after one such case, though he declined to say who the adversary was.

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