Whitbeck Benedict & Smith

What Whitbeck Benedict & Smith does

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP is a privately held New York limited liability partnership law firm headquartered at 436 Union Street, Hudson, New York. Founded in 1936 (originally as Rapport Meyers LLP and rebranded to its current name in 2017), the firm has operated continuously in the Hudson Valley for nearly 90 years. It serves individuals, for-profit and not-for-profit businesses, developers, community organizations, and government entities including cities, towns, counties, school districts, and public authorities. The firm is woman-owned, holding NYS Women Business Enterprise certification granted in April 2023 to partners Virginia D. Benedict (Managing Partner) and Corinne R. Smith (Partner), alongside Senior Counsel Carl G. Whitbeck, Jr.

The firm's service portfolio spans seven integrated practice areas: Real Estate Transactions & Real Property, Land Use & Zoning, Permitting & Regulatory Compliance (including SEQRA environmental review), Municipal & Public Authority Law, Civil Litigation (including civil rights, commercial, personal injury, and Article 78 proceedings), Wills/Trusts/Estates with an elder law and guardianship component, and Business Law. Attorneys collaborate across practice areas via weekly firm meetings. The firm reports handling approximately 200 residential and commercial real estate transactions per year and maintains long-tenured institutional engagements, including representation of the New York State Bridge Authority (1994–2020) and prior service as corporation counsel to the City of Hudson and county attorney for Columbia County.

The business model is professional services legal fees, generated through billable hours and flat-fee arrangements, with title insurance services delivered as an authorized agent. No proprietary technology, software platform, API, or mobile application supports delivery. Go-to-market is sales-led through personal referrals, community involvement (e.g., library board service, local history talks, pro bono work for the Art School of Columbia County), bar association memberships (Columbia County, Rensselaer County, New York State Bar Associations), and community event sponsorships. There are no funding rounds, institutional investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity. Headcount is reported in the 11–50 range, with three named equity partners.

Name

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith

Legal name

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP

Website

https://wbsllp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP is a Hudson Valley, New York law firm founded in 1936, with three named partners serving individuals, businesses, government entities, and nonprofits across real estate, municipal, land use, litigation, estate, and business law practice areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate & Construction Law (BPAHAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM), Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD)

Keywords

• Civil litigation services
• Real estate transactions
• Municipal law services
• Estate planning services
• Land use zoning

Headquarters

HQ city

Hudson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Professional Fees: Law firm providing legal services to individuals, businesses, government entities, and community organizations. Revenue is generated through professional legal fees, likely billable hours and flat fees for various legal services including real estate transactions, litigation, municipal counsel, estate planning, and business law matters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP is a Hudson Valley law firm delivering legal services across seven practice areas: Real Estate Transactions & Real Property, Land Use & Zoning, Permitting & Regulatory Compliance, Municipal & Public Authority Law, Civil Litigation, Wills/Trusts & Estates, and Business Law. The firm represents individuals, businesses, government entities, and community organizations in transactions, litigation, and administrative proceedings, handling approximately 200 residential and commercial real estate transactions per year.

Product overview

Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP is a Hudson Valley law firm (formerly Rapport Meyers LLP) offering a unified suite of legal services across seven practice areas. The firm's core offerings include Real Estate Transactions & Real Property, Land Use & Zoning, Permitting & Regulatory Compliance, Municipal & Public Authority Law, Civil Litigation, Wills/Trusts & Estates, and Business Law. These practice areas are delivered as integrated legal service lines where attorneys collaborate across disciplines to serve clients in real estate transactions, land development, municipal governance, commercial matters, and estate planning. The firm handles approximately 200 residential and commercial real estate transactions per year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Transactions & Real Property Legal representation for residential and commercial real estate transactions throughout the Hudson Valley, handling sales, purchases, landlord-tenant matters, title insurance, financing, and closings for buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants.
• Land Use & Zoning Legal counsel and representation for developers, municipalities, community groups, and other parties in land development, planning and zoning board matters, environmental review (SEQRA), and legislative drafting.
• Permitting & Regulatory Compliance Environmental law services guiding clients through permitting processes for air emissions, water discharge, solid waste, hazardous waste, and mining permits from DEC and EPA.
• Municipal & Public Authority Law Legal counsel to municipalities and public authorities on bidding and procurement, legislative drafting, contract negotiation, board procedures, real estate matters, ethics, referendum, and employment matters.
• Civil Litigation Trial representation in civil rights, commercial, personal injury, family law, real estate litigation, tax grievances, and Article 78 proceedings.
• Wills, Trusts & Estates Estate planning services including wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, health care proxies, estate tax planning, Medicare/Medicaid planning, charitable planning, probate administration, plus elder law and guardianship under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law.
• Business Law Comprehensive legal services for for-profit and not-for-profit organizations including business formation, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, commercial financing, employment law, and education law.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Former Rapport Meyers LLPcoreOthersThe firm name changed from Rapport Meyers LLP to Whitbeck Benedict & Smith LLP. Historical news items reference the former name in context of community events and sponsorships.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cuddy & Feder LLP: Westchester/Hudson Valley full-service firm with strong land use, zoning, real estate, and municipal practice areas serving overlapping communities. Direct peer given similar niche focus on Hudson Valley municipalities and development clients.
• Levene Gouldin & Thompson LLP: Regional upstate New York law firm with comparable real estate, trusts and estates, and business law practices serving Hudson Valley and Southern Tier clients. Direct peer given similar general-practice focus and regional mid-market positioning.
• Jacobowitz & Gubits LLP: Mid-sized Hudson Valley law firm based in Walden, NY offering real estate, land use, estate planning, and business law services. Direct peer serving the same Hudson Valley region with overlapping practice areas.
• Carter Conboy Case Blackman & Malaney PC: Albany/Saratoga Springs law firm with significant municipal, real estate, and litigation practices serving the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. Comparable peer given overlapping municipal counsel, land use, and commercial real estate work in adjoining geographic markets.
• Drake Loeb PLLC: Hudson Valley and Orange County full-service law firm with overlapping practices in real estate, land use, zoning, and municipal law. Direct peer given similar geographic focus on the Hudson Valley and comparable general-practice delivery model.

Regional players

• Hinman Straub PC: Albany-based government affairs and municipal law firm representing state and local government clients in the Capital Region. Comparable as a regional municipal/government law specialist, though more Albany-focused than Hudson Valley.
• Couch White LLP: Albany-based law firm with strong real estate, land use, energy, and municipal practices serving the Capital Region and Hudson Valley. Comparable peer particularly on land use and zoning matters, though more Albany-anchored.

Broad incumbents

• Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP: Largest Albany-based full-service firm serving the Capital Region and Hudson Valley with overlapping municipal, real estate, land use, and education law capabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering many of the same practice areas WBS provides, but with substantially deeper scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wbsllp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rapport-meyers-llp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whitbeck Benedict & Smith