Category: Twomey Latham

Donations Help Local Families in Need

In giving back to the community this holiday season, Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP donated more than 30 meals to Island Harvest Food Bank. The donated food was picked up at East Wind Long Island in Wading River, where the Firm held its annual holiday party on December 17. By working together with East Wind and Island Harvest, Twomey Latham has helped feed local families in need, which continues a firm tradition of supporting food pantries.

 

Founded in 1992 by Linda Breitstone, Island Harvest has become Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization. The volunteers and staff deliver millions of pounds of quality surplus food — that might have otherwise gone to waste — to a network of 570 Long Island-based food pantries, soup kitchens and nonprofit organizations that offer feeding services for those in need. Since its inception, Island Harvest has delivered 130 million pounds of food, supplementing 108 million meals.

 

The donations signify Twomey Latham’s active involvement in the communities it serves, including pro bono services, charitable giving and volunteer work.

 

“The culture of caring and compassion extends to all areas of the Firm,” said David M. Dubin, Senior Partner, Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP. “We give back to the local community because we are the local community. It’s where we live and work. It’s where we raise our families. We are deeply involved because we understand the importance of being an active part of the Long Island community, especially during the holiday season. It’s at the core of the Firm’s philosophy and has been since our inception.”

 

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

 

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff of attorneys, paralegals, and support staff in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP (“Twomey Latham”) represented East Hampton Shucker Company (“EHSC”) in connection with the launch of its $1 million seed funding round.

EHSC, founded by John Nicholas, designs specialty kitchen tools and devices for shucking oysters, with both professional and home chefs in mind.

 

“We’re incredibly excited to introduce this market disrupting product,

designed for both commercial and in-home use, that opens oysters faster and safer than any other device.  Our goal is to support the environmental multiplier effect by increasing oyster consumption while at the same time becoming a catalyst for more investment in oyster farms, which will clean more waterways globally,” Mr. Nicholas said.  “Twomey Latham continues to be a great partner for us.”

The Twomey Latham team was comprised of Scott Handwerker and Reza Ebrahimi.  “We are proud to partner with such a great company and founder,” said Mr. Handwerker.  For more information on Twomey Latham, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

For more information on EHSC, write john.nicholas@easthamptonshucker.com or visit www.easthamptonshucker.com/.

 

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP (“Twomey Latham”) represented Bloc Collective Limited (“Bloc”) in connection with the launch of its $1.5 million seed funding round.

Bloc Collective Limited is a ready-to-drink canned cocktail company founded by Rob Dickens, who has a background in global advertising and marketing strategy, and Sebastian Tollius of the three Michelin Starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park. Bloc is launching in what Forbes called the fastest-growing alcohol sector and has created a unique emotion and community-based marketing approach.

“We’re incredibly excited to be bringing forward not only a delicious, sessionable canned cocktail, but also a brand idea that helps support the cultural revival going on in big cities post-COVID,” Mr. Dickens said. “Twomey Latham is an essential partner for us, and their thorough approach has helped us create a fantastic foundation for growth.”

“It’s an absolute privilege to partner with such a bright, young company just getting off the ground in a unique and exciting space,” said Scott Handwerker, who joined Twomey Latham as Of Counsel in October 2020 to help the firm grow its venture capital and emerging growth company practices.

For more information on Twomey Latham, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

For more information on Bloc, write hi@bloc-collective.com or visit www.bloc-collective.com.

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP has announced that MaryKate Brigham has joined the firm as an Associate. She concentrates her practice in estate planning, trust and estate administration, elder law and real estate law.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Brigham practiced at a law firm in Cutchogue. While attending law school at the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, she was a Student Attorney with the Disaster Relief Clinic, assisting clients on Long Island in obtaining funds for repairing and rebuilding their homes following Superstorm Sandy. She also assisted with the Senior Citizens Law Program through the Suffolk County Office for the Aging, which provides legal assistance to low-income senior citizens.

Ms. Brigham is admitted to practice in the state of New York. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Suffolk County Bar Association. She is also involved in the community, serving with the East End Lions Club and the Theta Phi Alpha Long Island Alumnae Association.

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University and her Juris Doctor from Touro Law Center. She resides in Mattituck.

“I am pleased to join the firm and look forward to working with my new colleagues and the firm’s clients on their estate planning, real estate and elder law matters,” Ms. Brigham said.

“We welcome MaryKate to the firm,” Steven Latham, Senior Partner, Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP, said. “We are continuing to expand our roster of experienced attorneys. Ms. Brigham’s diverse practice area experience will greatly benefit the firm in its efforts to provide the best possible legal services to its clients.”

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 25 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Katerina Grinko, Attorney, Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP, says President Joe Biden’s plan to reverse the previous administration’s immigration policy will remove undue burdens placed on foreign nationals associated with obtaining green cards and becoming U.S. citizens.

On February 2, President Biden signed six executive orders in an effort to reform the nation’s immigration system. This included reversing former President Trump’s policies regarding asylum seekers, reuniting migrant children with their families by undoing the 2018 “zero tolerance” policy and creating a family reunification task force to be headed up by Alejandro Mayorkas, who was confirmed as the Secretary for Homeland Security the same day.

President Biden is also working towards scrapping the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which kept asylum seekers at the Mexican border while waiting for their cases to be heard at U.S. Immigration Court. He is also looking to get rid of the Trump administration’s “public charge rule,” which made it difficult for undocumented immigrants to obtain green cards if they were receiving government assistance.

While Ms. Grinko was glad to see the Biden administration take swift action to undo the barriers to citizenship, she says more needs to be done. “The biggest hope lies in opening a path to legalization for those noncitizens who live in the U.S. for many years, pay taxes and have no criminal history, such as Dreamers, those under Temporary Protection Status and immigrant farmworkers,” she says. “There is also a strong need to reduce the current substantial visa backlogs and delays. With immigration courts resuming their caseloads, and more assistance for asylum seekers and other vulnerable populations, there is certainly very much to be excited about.”

Ms. Grinko has a general practice with a focus on immigration, real estate, landlord-tenant, zoning and general business matters. She is a Member of the Suffolk County Bar and American Immigration Lawyers Associations. She represents children picked up at the border on a pro bono basis through her work with the KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) organization.

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

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About Twomey Latham
Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP has announced that Daniel R. Bernard and Bryan Drago have been elevated to Partner.

Mr. Bernard focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, estate tax planning, business succession planning, and estate litigation, with an emphasis on estate planning for snowbirds. He earned a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law which allows him to assist clients with advanced estate tax planning.

After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Temple University, where he double majored in finance and economics, Mr. Bernard received his Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark, where he served as the Senior Managing Editor of the Rutgers Law Record. While in law school, he worked as a student attorney in the Rutgers Federal Tax Clinic and interned in the Tax Court of New Jersey and the Morris County Surrogate Court. After completing law school, he served a one-year clerkship with the Honorable Barbara C. Stolte in the New Jersey Middlesex County Family Court.

Mr. Bernard is the author of two published articles: “Non-Custodial Parents’ Right to Their Children’s College Records,” 40 Rutgers L. Rec.48 (2012) and “The NFL’s Stance on Gambling: A Calculated Contradiction,” 4 UNLV Gaming L.J. 273 (2013).”

Mr. Bernard is admitted to practice law in New York, Florida and New Jersey. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Drago’s legal practice focuses on estate planning, taxation, charitable giving and tax-exempt organizations, business succession planning, as well as elder law and long-term care planning. His taxation practice has also included handling multiple disclosures of unreported foreign investments with the Internal Revenue Service.

In March 2011, Mr. Drago joined Twomey Latham. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Drago was a founding member of a publication based in Brooklyn, New York. He was also employed as a communications designer for National Grid from 1999 to 2011.

He is a Member of the New York State Bar Association. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Buffalo and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School.

“We congratulate Daniel and Bryan on their new positions within the firm,” said Stephen B. Latham, Senior Counsel, Twomey Latham. “Both attorneys have excelled in their abilities to provide the necessary guidance for their clients in complex tax, estate planning and elder law matters. We wish both Mr. Bernard and Mr. Drago the best of luck in their endeavors within the firm.”

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP (“Twomey Latham” or the “Firm”) has announced

that Scott Handwerker has joined the Firm as Of Counsel.

Mr. Handwerker concentrates his practice in corporate law, emerging growth companies, mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) and private equity. In his new position, he will be a member of the Firm’s Business and Corporate Law group and help the Firm continue to expand with its newly formed venture capital practice.

“I am absolutely delighted to join Twomey Latham and I look forward to helping the Firm grow its well- established corporate practice,” Mr. Handwerker said. “I am especially excited to assist the Firm in expanding its work with startup companies and venture capital funds.”

Mr. Handwerker has strong roots on the East End. Beginning at fourteen years old, he spent three summers working as a Beach Boy at the Amagansett Beach Association. After turning sixteen and being eligible to take the ocean lifeguard test, Mr. Handwerker spent the following six summers as an ocean lifeguard in East Hampton, Amagansett and Montauk. “I fell in love with the ocean from my first summers out on the East End as a child,” he said, “so it was only natural for me to take a job that put me on the beach for eight hours a day, six days a week during the summers.”

Between Mr. Handwerker’s undergraduate and legal degrees, he spent two years working as a bartender and manager at the Living Room Restaurant in East Hampton, which is where he began studying wine, one of his deepest passions.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Handwerker was an Associate with Goodwin Procter LLP in Manhattan. He was a member of the firm’s Business Law department and its Private Equity and Debt Finance groups. He started his career with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in Manhattan as a member of its Corporate group. Two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Handwerker relocated full-time to his home in East Hampton and quickly realized that he wanted to join an outstanding East End-based firm with a diverse set of practice areas. “Twomey Latham is in a league of its own on the East End,” he said.

He is admitted to practice in New York and is a member of the New York State and New York City Bar Associations. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Emory University and his Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law.

“We are proud to welcome Scott to the Firm,” said Stephen Latham, Senior Counsel, Twomey Latham. “He brings a high level of expertise that allows us to add another facet to our Business and Corporate Law group.”

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

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* A photo of Mr. Handwerker is attached.

About Twomey Latham

Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP (“Twomey Latham” or “The Firm”) has announced that Martha Reichert has joined the Firm as an Associate.

Ms. Reichert concentrates her practice in real estate and land use. She has extensive experience appearing before municipal and regulatory boards throughout eastern Long Island. Prior to joining the Firm, she had her own practice, the Law Office of Martha F. Reichert, in Hampton Bays. She appeared and represented clients before the Town of East Hampton, the Villages of East Hampton, Sagaponack and North Haven, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. Before forming her own practice, she was Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Southampton.

Ms. Reichert is a member of the New York State and Suffolk County Bar Associations. She is admitted to practice in the state of New York and before all state courts. In addition, she is Vice President of the Montauk Historical Society, a Member of the Hampton Bays Citizens Advisory Committee and a Co-Founder of the Montauk Community Garden.

A resident of Hampton Bays, Ms. Reichert grew up in Montauk, where her family owned a marina. “It should come as no surprise that my first word was ‘fish,’” she said. “Like most people who fall in love with Montauk and the East End, I am drawn to the water and love nothing more than exploring Montauk’s rugged coastline and the many trails running through its woods.”

As a child, she would take rides with her father in his private plane before going to school. She remembered looking below and seeing the East End’s natural beauty. “I believe that gave me a unique perspective on the vast expanses of farmland and forests that existed on the East End at that time and undoubtedly influenced my passions for land use, planning, and land conservation,” she said.

Ms. Reichert earned her Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, where she graduated summa cum laude, and her Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School.

“I am very excited to join Twomey Latham,” Ms. Reichert said. “The Firm has an excellent reputation and has expanded its practice throughout Long Island. I look forward to being part of that growth as we provide the best service to our clients.”

“We are proud to welcome Martha to the Firm,” said Stephen Latham, Senior Counsel, Twomey Latham. “The East End real estate market has really taken off this year, creating new opportunities for the Firm. Ms. Reichert’s experience in dealing with municipalities and government agencies will be an asset to our land use and real estate practices.”

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

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* Photo of Ms. Reichert is attached.

About Twomey Latham

Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — Jeffrey W. Pagano, Partner, Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP, says employers in New York State must now comply with the new requirements of the state’s Sick Leave Law that was introduced in New York’s 2021 budget. He also urges companies to seek assistance in developing and implementing a comprehensive paid leave policy in order to avoid litigation.

On September 30, 2020, the New York Sick Leave Law went into effect. Under the law, companies must provide employees one hour of paid or unpaid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by the employee. The new law allows employees to take leave when they or their loved one’s mental or physical health condition requires medical care; they or their loved one has been a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking; the employee needs to enroll their children in a new school; or to take any actions to ensure the health and safety of themselves, their loved ones and their co-workers.

According to the law, employers with 100 or more employees must provide employees up to 56 hours of paid sick leave a year. Those with five to 99 employees and companies with four or fewer employees and a net income of more than $1 million in the previous tax year must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave. Those with four or fewer employees and a net income of $1 million or less in the previous tax year must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave. Although employers must pay the employee at the regular rate of pay, they can provide additional benefits to the employees as part of their own sick leave policy.

Employees will begin earning sick time on the first day of employment or on September 30, 2020, whichever is later. However, they will not be allowed to use it until January 1, 2021.

Mr. Pagano is a Partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. He routinely defends employers facing class and/or collective action wage-hour claims throughout the U.S., whether arising under federal or state law. He has also been called upon by numerous companies to structure internal and external employment and operating policies and procedures that minimize non-compliance with applicable interstate and intrastate wage-hour statutory schemes.

“I am urging employers to update their sick leave policies as soon as possible,” Mr. Pagano says. “If they need assistance developing a policy and they want to make sure they are in compliance with state law, they should contact a labor and employment law attorney immediately.”

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — On June 17, the 2020 Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP Community Service Scholarship recipient was announced during Riverhead High School’s virtual Awards Ceremony. This year’s winner was Elizabeth Buckley.

 

Elizabeth had overcome a great personal loss while still excelling in school, and spent her spare time during her academic career volunteering. She served as a Historian of the Key Club, Treasurer of Students Against Drunk Driving, a Member of the cheerleading team and a featured dancer for the Riverhead Blue Masques, among other activities. In addition, she committed over 160 hours of service on a mission trip to Haiti with her local church.

 

Twomey Latham places a significant focus on the community and charitable service and awards this scholarship to graduating high school seniors who share that focus.

 

Elizabeth was awarded $1,000 to help with college expenses.

 

For more information, call (631) 727-2180 or visit www.suffolklaw.com.

 

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About Twomey Latham

Twomey Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP is a full-service law firm with a 65-person staff with over 30 attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants in five offices across Long Island. The firm’s practice areas include Business and Corporate Law, Labor and Employment, Insurance, Banking, Commercial Litigation, Taxation, Trademark and Copyright, Environmental Law, Real Estate Development and Transactions, Construction, Land Use and Zoning, Municipal Law, Personal Injury, Immigration, Arts and Entertainment, Wills Trusts and Estates, Estate Litigation, Elder Law, Family and Matrimonial Law, and Not-For-Profit Law.