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Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School was founded in 1901 as a private law school in New York City. The institution's endowment is governed by a board chaired by Francis J.
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School was founded in 1901 as a private law school in New York City. The institution's endowment is governed by a board chaired by Francis J. Aquila, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, and vice-chaired by Sasha L. Linney of GoldenTree Asset Management, linking its investment governance directly to senior practitioners in M&A law and credit investing. The endowment allocates across a hybrid portfolio that blends traditional securities with direct real estate. Publicly recorded holdings include four Brooklyn properties: the commercial building at 250 Joralemon Street, the student residence Feil Hall at 205 State Street, and residential assets at 2 Pierrepont Street and 148-150 Clinton Street. The board's composition — drawing from Sullivan & Cromwell, GoldenTree, and real-estate operators including Silverstein Properties and Crow Holdings — signals a governance model that favors principal-aligned investment oversight, with alumni such as Larry Silverstein and Michael Levy among the institution's network. Beyond the endowment portfolio, Brooklyn Law School operates as an ABA-accredited institution and an AALS member. The board includes Stuart Subotnick, chairman emeritus and CEO of Metromedia Company, and notable alumnus Allen Grubman, the entertainment-law founder of Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, who has been a major donor. The endowment's structure does not publicly separate philanthropic and investment governance, and there are no disclosed adjacent investment vehicles or club co-investment programs. The endowment's structural differentiator is its direct real-estate component embedded within a law-school balance sheet — a rarity among similarly sized educational endowments. Governance sits with a board of practicing attorneys and asset managers rather than a dedicated in-house investment office, creating a model where investment decisions are overseen by principals whose primary careers are in dealmaking and credit rather than institutional portfolio management.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1901
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Brooklyn
Corporate office
Brooklyn, NY, United States
Principals
Francis J. Aquila
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Stuart Subotnick
Chairman Emeritus
Sasha L. Linney
Vice Chair of the Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions for the Brooklyn Law School endowment?
Investment oversight resides with the Board of Trustees, chaired by Francis J. Aquila, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. The vice chair is Sasha L. Linney of GoldenTree Asset Management. The board includes senior figures from Metromedia, Crow Holdings, and Silverstein Properties, embedding dealmaking and credit expertise into endowment governance without a disclosed separate investment committee or in-house CIO.
What real estate does the Brooklyn Law School endowment own directly?
The endowment directly holds four known properties in Brooklyn Heights: a commercial building at 250 Joralemon Street, the Feil Hall student residence at 205 State Street, and residential buildings at 2 Pierrepont Street and 148-150 Clinton Street. These holdings give the endowment an unusual real-asset tilt compared with other law-school portfolios.
Where does the endowment's funding come from?
The endowment is built from donations and accumulated capital generated by Brooklyn Law School, a private institution founded in 1901. Notable donors include Allen Grubman, founder of the entertainment-law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, and other prominent alumni in real estate and corporate law — although the school does not publicly break down the endowment's funding sources beyond its nonprofit 501(c)(3) structure.
Does the Brooklyn Law School endowment commit to external funds or only direct investments?
No public breakdown of the endowment's allocation between direct holdings and fund commitments is available. The known direct real estate suggests a preference for holding hard assets on the balance sheet, but the full portfolio composition — including any alternatives or fund-of-funds commitments — is not disclosed.
What is the relationship between the school's board members and the endowment's investment posture?
The board's composition effectively shapes the endowment's investment posture. Francis Aquila is a senior M&A lawyer, Sasha Linney manages institutional credit portfolios, and emeritus chairman Stuart Subotnick runs Metromedia, a private operating company. This architecture provides direct access to deal flow and investment judgment, functioning more like a family-office investment committee than a traditional academic endowment office.
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