The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) has awarded Barbara Goodstein, partner at Mayer Brown LLP, the Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence. Goodstein received the award at the ELFA Legal Forum in Nashville. ELFA Legal Committee Chair Brian Kestenbaum, general counsel at LEAF Commercial Capital, presented the award to Goodstein in recognition of her significant contributions to the equipment leasing and finance industry and the association’s Legal Committee.

Goodstein has been an active member of the ELFA for over a decade. She currently is a member of ELFA’s Legal Committee Subcommittee on Air, Rail and Marine. She served as a member of the association’s Legal Committee from 2002 to 2004 and as a member of the ELFA Board of Directors from 2004 to 2007.

Goodstein has made numerous presentations and participated on numerous panels at the ELFA Legal Forum, an annual event for attorneys serving the equipment finance industry. She has also contributed legal articles to the association’s Equipment Leasing & Finance magazine. In particular, she has authored a number of articles on the impact of New York law on equipment financing. In doing so, she has both effected change in the law and educated attorneys about equipment financing in New York.

The Edward A. Groobert Award for Legal Excellence is named for ELFA’s long-time Secretary and General Counsel Edward A. Groobert, who was active in the legal affairs of the association from the mid-1960s until his retirement in 2010.