Thru the Lens: St. John’s University School of Law launches the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law

Shown (from left) celebrating launch of St. John’s Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law are: Melinda Katz, Joseph Mattone, Sr., and dean Michael Simons.

Queens, NY With a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by alumni, government officials, and business leaders, St. John’s University School of Law launched the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law. The institute was established through a transformational $3 million gift from St. John’s University and St. John’s Law alumnus Joseph Mattone, Sr., chairman and CEO of the Mattone Group, LLC, a development and construction company that manages over two million s/f of commercial, residential, and industrial properties in New York, Georgia, Illinois, Connecticut, and Florida. Mattone is also a senior partner at Mattone, Mattone, Mattone LLP, a full-service law firm.

Throughout his professional career, Mattone has promoted education and philanthropy. He was the first person to give $1 million to St. John’s University, and served as a founding member of its board of governors.

Housed in new, spacious quarters at St. John’s Law and led by a full-time director, St. John’s Law alumnus Robert Sein, the Mattone Institute will be the academic and pre-professional training hub for all St. John’s Law students interested in pursuing a career in real estate law. It will offer, among other programs, scholarships and fellowships, an expanded curriculum, practical skills-based training, externships and internships, continuing legal education, and conferences.

On hand to celebrate the Mattone Institute’s grand opening were St. John’s Law alumnae hon. Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the Court of Appeals and the state of New York, and Queens borough president Melinda Katz, who thanked Mattone and his family for providing a vital real estate forum to St. John’s Law and the wider community. Katz also presented Mattone with a proclamation declaring Wednesday, November 8, 2017 to be Joseph Mattone, Sr. Day in the borough.

Expressing his gratitude to the Mattones, dean and John Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics Michael Simons said, “St. John’s Law has a long history of producing excellent real estate attorneys, and the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law will cement our role as a hub for legal education, scholarship, and training in New York for years to come.