{"id":31221,"date":"2021-08-03T16:12:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T16:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=31221"},"modified":"2021-08-04T20:56:41","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T20:56:41","slug":"mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Illustration by Peter Oumanski<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First things first: Mitch Schuster is not the kind of guy who normally sits down for an interview about his job. “I\u2019d love to be able to tell you all the gory details. But, you know, that would kind of defeat the whole purpose of what I do,\u201d he starts off. \u201cThe way I try to explain it is this: I help manage problems for the kind of people who value their privacy.\u201d Some of Schuster\u2019s clients are blameless; others are reaping the consequences of bad decisions. Either way, the negative publicity generated by their actions could be damning to not only those who hire him, but also their families, their employees, or their brand. The key is to deal with these sorts of situations quickly, quietly, and professionally. That\u2019s why his Rolodex of athletes, actors, business leaders, and other A-listers know what to do when they find their name in the headlines: Better call Mitch.<\/p>\n

Much like TV\u2019s Ray Donovan, he says, \u201cI get calls from clients at all hours of the day. That call may come from a player, an agency, or the principal of a hedge fund.\u201d (Unlike Ray, however, his methods don\u2019t involve breaking faces and blackmail.)\u00a0Far from a TV fantasy, crisis management has never been more in demand. The 24\/7 digital news cycle makes it incredibly easy for incriminating information to spread rapidly. Meanwhile, social media means there are more opportunities to exploit an individual who has fame and fortune.\u00a0\u201cThe days of athletes and Hollywood celebrities being the only targets are gone,\u201d Schuster says. \u201cHedge fund principals, CEOs, officers of publicly traded companies, and, really, anyone who has accumulated wealth or status and has something to lose\u2014they are all now in the crosshairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

To those VIPs, Schuster\u2019s main job responsibility is minimizing public attention. \u201cMy motivation, before anything else, is always to do what is best for the client. Period,\u201d he says. \u201cMy ego is never a factor in how a situation is managed. There are cases I could have publicized but I chose not to. I\u2019ve had people approach me about doing a TV show, but I have always refused for fear of exposing my clients.\u201d\u00a0That insistence on maintaining discretion was evident as he talked about his job in our phone interview. No names were mentioned, and all examples of his successes remained couched in hypothetical terms. Even as he talked, his phone buzzed: A client he only identifies as \u201ca professional athlete\u201d was arrested; the rest of Schuster\u2019s day will be spent ensuring the public does not find out who or why.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome things, of course, do become public, but I would say at least 95 percent of what I do has been quietly resolved and kept under the radar,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd that makes me very happy.\u201d He quickly points out he does not work alone and steers compliments toward his colleagues. \u201cI consider my team second to none when it comes to connections,\u201d he insists. \u201cAnd the importance of that just cannot be overstated.\u201d\u00a0A native of Dix Hills, Long Island, Schuster focused more on baseball than schoolwork growing up and the discipline he learned on the diamond still serves him well today. \u201cI\u2019m competitive,\u201d Schuster says. \u201cBaseball brought that out in me. I still hate to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mitch
Image courtesy of Mitch Schuster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2000, he joined New York City law firm Meister Seelig & Fein LLP<\/a> and quickly became their crisis management specialist\u2014not that anyone really saw it coming.\u201cThis is certainly not a role you would find in most traditional law firms,\u201d he says. \u201cIt just happened very organically.\u00a0\u201cShortly after I joined the firm, there was a young client who wanted to pursue a claim after a very negative, very ugly, and very personal article was written about her,\u201d he explains. \u201cOur managing partner felt that a little of my, let\u2019s call it, \u2018New York attitude\u2019 might work in helping to resolve the case. Fortunately, I was able to help and persuaded the magazine to retract the article and issue an apology.\u201d<\/p>\n

That win helped kick off Schuster\u2019s career. The client \u201cthen introduced me to someone else in the entertainment industry, who was about to go through a very negative public situation of his own,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe helped him through it, and then he connected me to someone he knew who was being blackmailed. Again, we were able to resolve that issue so that nobody ever heard about it.\u201d Schuster concedes that his blue-collar, New York upbringing armed him with the tools needed for the job; given the types of people he often deals with, \u201cstreet smarts\u201d can be advantageous. \u201cSometimes those on the other side are driven by money and opportunity and sometimes they are being driven by their emotions,\u201d he explains. \u201cWhen you are in my position you must be prepared for all contingencies if you want to achieve an amicable resolution.\u201d At the end, all that matters, he admits, is \u201cdoing what is best for your client.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, that comes with risks. As Schuster says, \u201cOne time, I received a call late one night, from a guy well known for his violent history. The message was that he was coming to get me. That was certainly not the best night\u2019s sleep I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d\u00a0\u201cAnother time, I had to meet in person with a blackmailer,\u201d he says. \u201cNow, he was a pretty big guy, trained in martial arts, and clearly high on drugs. But, sometimes, you just have to put on a brave face and chest up. It didn\u2019t hurt to know that I had two former law enforcement professionals sitting in a parked car outside the meeting location just in case things went sideways. In the end, it just comes with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some attorneys keep track of their wins and losses, Schuster measures success by a different standard. \u201cWinning may not necessarily mean whether money is paid or not,\u201d he explains. \u201cWinning means resolving the matter, so the client does not face adverse consequences, personally or professionally. How you get there can vary. But it\u2019s not my job to judge my clients; it\u2019s my job to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28404,"featured_media":31224,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[],"yoast_head":"\nMitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-04T20:56:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/08\/Mitch-Schuster_Feat.jpg?fit=1280%2C720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/\",\"name\":\"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan - Grazia USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-03T16:12:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-04T20:56:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Grazia USA\",\"description\":\"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan - Grazia USA","description":"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan","og_description":"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.","og_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/","og_site_name":"Grazia USA","article_modified_time":"2021-08-04T20:56:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/08\/Mitch-Schuster_Feat.jpg?fit=1280%2C720","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/","name":"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan - Grazia USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-08-03T16:12:19+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-04T20:56:41+00:00","description":"Meet Mitch Schuster, the crisis management expert who makes VIPs\u2019 problems disappear.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/mitch-schuster-the-real-life-ray-donovan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mitch Schuster: The Real-Life Ray Donovan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/","name":"Grazia USA","description":"Driving tastemakers in Fashion, Beauty and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Grazia USA","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/31221"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}