Founding Partner, Chairman
Garfunkel, Wild & Travis, P.C.
Robert Wild ’67 knew at an early age that he was going to
be an attorney. What he didn’t know was which Law School he
would attend. A strong, conscientious, undergraduate student,
Mr. Wild utilized a “belt and suspender” approach to the Law School
application process and found himself faced with an interesting
dilemma – acceptance letters from eleven Law Schools.
Ultimately, he chose St. John’s Law for its reputation and
proximity to a New York City firm at which he worked part-time
during his academic studies.
Graduating Law School in 1967, Mr. Wild found himself in a
precarious job market. With the United States aggressively
sending troops to Vietnam and the marketplace stalled by a flat
economy, law firms were not hiring new graduates en masse –
especially on Long Island where Mr. Wild desired to practice.
While investigating the United States Army’s Judge Advocate General
Program, Mr. Wild was offered a rare legal opportunity – an
associate position in a suburban Long Island village, Great
Neck.
Within months of being hired, unrest within the firm resulted in
Mr. Wild’s Practice Manager leaving the firm for other
opportunities. Firm politics caused Mr. Wild’s caseload to be
re-distributed among other associates. The resulting void
allowed Mr. Wild the opportunity to re-define his practice and
focus on the legal aspects of healthcare management. Twelve
years later, Mr. Wild formed the present firm of Garfunkel, Wild
& Travis, P.C. (GWT) with a strategic focus on Healthcare Law
and has been its Managing Director since its inception.
Now twenty eight years later, the firm has significantly
expanded. Garfunkel Wild & Travis has grown to eighty
(80) lawyers to meet the demands and challenges facing clients in
the Health Care industry and in other industries as well. In
order to address the ever changing legal and business needs of
clients, new practice areas were needed. Hence, additional
attorneys were added to the growing firm to maintain a client
focus. At present, fifteen St. John’s Law alumni practice at
GWT.
Mr. Wild reminds St. John’s Law School graduates, “Never lose
sight of the fact that being an attorney affords an individual
tremendous opportunity. However, being a lawyer comes with
even more responsibility. Responsibility to the bar, the
bench, our clients, other firms, our families and the greater
community we serve. Later in your career, you should be
grateful by the number of people you have helped and served
throughout your life.”
Recently named one of the country’s twelve “Outstanding Hospital
Lawyers” by Nightingale’s Healthcare News, an industry newsletter
reporting on the marketplace, Mr. Wild notes,
“everybody involved in the legal profession - the firms, the Law
Schools and the students must continue to ‘raise the bar’ to higher
standards without compromising ethics or quality – the status quo
for the legal profession should never be enough.” Mr. Wild
has also received distinction as a Best Lawyer for Healthcare Law,
recognition by Chambers, USA as one of America’s Leading Business
Lawyers, recognition as a “Super Lawyer”, the Good Scout Award from
the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the
Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award from St. John’s
University.
Outside of the office, Mr. Wild is actively involved on the
Board of the American Heart Association, Chairman of the Nassau
County Audit Advisory Committee and Chairman elect of the United
Way of Long Island. In addition, he enjoys boating and
fishing with his family and friends.