Law Firm’s Has Deep Roots In Keyport

It was many years ago that Ezra Karkus & Benjamin Kantor began the Keyport law firm, establishing what would be long lasting and deep roots in Keyport Borough. Now, 75 years later, the law firm has evolved into Kantor & Linderoth and sits comfortably on West Front Street.

Larry Kantor, son of the firm’s originator Benjamin, and Gary Linderoth have been working together since 1986. As a general law practice, the firm deal with everything from family law to criminal law. Linderoth said the firm commonly represents several generations of families, cultivating relationships and remaining a reliable service in the Bayshore area.

“Our roots are very deep here,” Linderoth said.

The Kantor & Linderoth Office was once owned by NJ Natural Gas, which used it primarily for more than a dozen typists to type customer bills. When computer began to do that work, Kantor bought the building and the firm has found a home there ever since.

“You feel like you know the town and the town knows you,” Kantor said. “We’ve seen Keyport change a lot.”

In recent years, the town’s biggest evolution has come as a result of Superstorm Sandy. For Kantor & Linderoth, it meant a busy time representing their existing clients for insurance claims. But when Sandy’s devastation was fully realized, many of the firm’s clients simply moved.

“A lot of our clients no longer live here. Now, our practice is turning back to where it was before. So its exciting to get back to normal,” Linderoth said.

Linderoth, one of the original founders of what is now the Keyport Bayfront Business Cooperative, said just like many Keyport business owners his firm was able to ride out the storm and help make Keyport strong once again.

But as Keyport moves forward, both Kantor and Linderoth are fond of its rich past.

“The history of Keyport is undersold,” Kantor said, recalling his grandfather and father taking the ferry from Perth Amboy to Keyport to buy horses to make furniture deliveries. Keyport, Kantor said, was once the gateway to Monmouth County for many visitors.

Both Kantor and Linderoth intend to continue serving Keyport and its surrounding towns diligently, working with Keyport residents and business owners to help Keyport evolve while remembering its history.

“You can rely on us to do a good, solid job. That’s why we’ve been here so long,” Linderoth said.

Kantor and Linderoth can be reached at 732.264.9300 or online at kantorandlinderoth.lawoffice.com.