In 2002, real estate lawyer Keith G. Rubenstein, eager to bolster his shaky finances, signed on to an unusual arrangement to serve as a front for a Queens personal injury practice owned by a nonlawyer entrepreneur who made his fortune in taxicab medallions.
That deal, which netted Rubenstein a mere $21,000 over two years, resulted in his disbarment by a Brooklyn appeals court at the end of last month. But don’t feel too sorry for him. Last year, he outbid Madonna on a $35 million Upper East Side townhouse that he is planning to occupy only after a two-year gut renovation. He told The New York Times that he will add a pool and a Russian steam bath.
