John Farrell, a Partner with the Firm, will head the Firm’s new office in Hauppauge, New York.
Firm Partner John Farrell Will Head Hauppauge Office
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC has announced that the Firm has opened a new office in Suffolk County, located at 1300 Veterans Highway, Suite 100 in Hauppauge. The new office reflects the Firm’s growth and experience in Suffolk County.
John Farrell, a Partner with the Firm, will supervise the office. Mr. Farrell concentrates his practice in the areas of zoning and land use planning, real estate transactions, environmental law, litigation and appeals, and municipal law and legislative practice. He represents developers, property owners and franchisees in land use approval cases, municipal litigation and real estate transactions.
This is the Firm’s third location. Sahn Ward Coschignano has its main office in Uniondale and an office in New York City.
“We are proud to open our Hauppauge office,” said Michael Sahn, the Firm’s Managing Partner. “This new office will help us better serve our existing Suffolk County clients and also allow us to represent more clients in Suffolk. John Farrell’s knowledge of Suffolk County, and the fact that he resides in Babylon, makes a perfect fit for a Suffolk office. We also have other attorneys and staff who live in Suffolk, so working in Hauppauge will be very convenient.”
For more information, call (516) 228-1300 or visit www.swc-law.com.
Will Lead the Firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice
Kyle Lawrence
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC is proud to announce that Kyle Lawrence has joined the Firm as Counsel. He concentrates his practice in corporate and securities law, as well as real estate law and transactions. He will take a leading role in the Firm’s growing Corporate and Securities Practice.
As an experienced corporate and business law attorney, Mr. Lawrence advises clients on all types of corporate transactions, including private placements, mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate finance, business planning and strategies, licensing, manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements. He serves as lead counsel to a wide range of longstanding business ventures and entities, as well as numerous entrepreneurial endeavors. He also serves as outside general counsel to various privately owned companies, for whom he provides advice and guidance on all aspects of day-to-day corporate and business matters.
Mr. Lawrence represents clients in a wide range of industries, including food and nutraceutical manufacturing and distribution, restaurants, emerging technologies, retail, light manufacturing, lending, architecture and software development. He also advises private issuers and principals with respect to fund formation, operations, and compliance matters in his active private equity practice.
The Firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice represents established, privately held businesses, as well as newly formed and emerging early- and growth-stage companies. The Firm’s corporate law clients include regional and national businesses, real estate ventures, manufacturing companies, professional services firms, software development and emerging technology companies, franchises, and charitable and not-for-profit entities.
Mr. Lawrence is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department. He is also a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Nassau County Bar Association. In addition, he is a Founding Member of the Hydra Collective, a professional networking organization created by and for the next generation of leaders in their respective fields. He also volunteers his time with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Mauro Foundation.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Tulane University in 2001 and a Juris Doctor from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law from Hofstra University in 2006.
“I am excited to join the Firm and become a part of this growing practice,” Mr. Lawrence said. “I am looking forward to working with the Firm’s growing roster of clients and providing them with the necessary guidance in complex corporate transactions.”
“We welcome Kyle to the Firm,” said Michael Sahn, the Firm’s Managing Partner. “His knowledge and experience in corporate and securities law will be a tremendous resource to the Firm’s clients.”
For more information, call (516) 228-1300 or visit www.swc-law.com.
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About Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC
Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC is one of the region’s most highly regarded and recognized law firms. The firm is committed to providing its clients with the highest quality representation, counsel, and advice. Practice areas include zoning and land use; real estate law and transactions; litigation and appeals; municipal law and legislative practice; cellular and telecommunications law; environmental, corporate, labor and employment law; tax certiorari and condemnation; matrimonial practice; and estate planning. The firm strives to assist its clients in a wide array of issues, serving them with skill and experience, resourcefulness, and responsibility. For more information, call (516) 228-1300 or visit www.swc-law.com.
New York, New York — One week before the March 5 deadline for Congress to come up with a bill to replace the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Trump administration’s challenge to a federal court ruling to allow DACA to continue operating. Kerry Bretz, Partner, Bretz & Coven, LLP, says the ruling will allow the approximately 700,000 DACA recipients, known as “Dreamers,” to stay in the country.
On September 5, 2017, the Justice Department announced that the DACA program would end on March 5, 2018, and no new applications would be accepted. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions argued that DACA is unconstitutional, stating it provides across-the-board amnesty to those who entered the Obama-era program since 2012. A series of lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California against the Trump administration to prevent the end of DACA and, on January 9, 2018, a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to renew the permits of existing DACA recipients.
The Trump administration challenged the lower court’s ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court. On February 26, 2018, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, meaning the Court of Appeals’ decision stands.
“I am glad to see the U.S. Supreme Court allow the judicial process to take place,” Mr. Bretz says. “Those who have been in this country under the protection of DACA should continue to stay here. I believe the president overplayed his hand in trying to challenge the lower court’s decision while the Court of Appeals continued to review the case. Any DACA recipient who needs assistance with their permit renewals should meet with an immigration law attorney immediately.”
For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
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About Bretz & Coven, LLP
Bretz & Coven, LLP is an immigration law firm located in New York, New York and Clark, New Jersey. The firm serves clients in and around the tri-state area, including Brooklyn, New York City, the Bronx, Queens, Kings County and Richmond County. Its team of dedicated attorneys is known for taking on cases that other lawyers turn down. Bretz & Coven assists individuals and their families understand the process of obtaining citizenship, New York residency or a green card and offer them a full range of options, including adjustment of status, asylum, available types of visas, waivers, removal defense and special programs and treaties. The attorneys can also help immigrants avoid deportation. For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK — With New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposing to give companies the option to enter into the payroll tax system as a way to protect employees, who reside in higher-taxed areas of the state, from paying more in taxes, Thomas R. Fazio, Partner, Blodnick Fazio & Associates PC, says that the employers should consult with a business law attorney before enrolling in the program.
On February 12, Governor Cuomo proposed a payroll tax system in which companies can voluntarily join so that their employees are protected from federal tax increases. According to the governor, this would benefit workers who live in high-tax areas and are now affected by the federal tax law because the state and local tax (SALT) deductions have been capped at $10,000.
Under the program, participating employers would be assessed a payroll tax on wages greater than $40,000 a year. The program would be phased in over three years, starting in 2019: 1.5 percent the first year, 3 percent the second year, and 5 percent the third year. In return, companies would receive a tax credit to make up for the associated costs. Employees would not see a decrease in their take-home pay.
“There may be some benefits to this program, but the addition of another proposed tax on top of the other taxes that companies have to pay can make this more confusing,” Mr. Fazio says. “It is important that, before making the move to enroll, employers should consult a business law attorney to determine if this is the proper course of action to take.”
Blodnick Fazio & Associates PC is a boutique law firm specializing in handling complex litigation, corporate formations, structure and finance; construction law; medical professional licensing; the corporate practice of medicine issues; real estate law; arbitration and mediation; matrimonial law; employment law; and municipal and school law. Its staff of attorneys has more than 100 years of combined experience and is admitted to practice in the Courts of New York, New Jersey, and Florida, including the Eastern and Southern District Courts of New York; New Jersey federal courts; the Federal Court of Claims; the First, Second, Fourth and Federal Circuit Courts; and the U.S. Supreme Court. The firm is located in Garden City, New York. For more information, call (516) 280-7105, or visit www.blodnickfaziolaw.com.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Kostantinos Mallas, Partner, Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC, says making “Lavern’s Law” a reality will mean that cancer patients who were misdiagnosed may now have more time to seek justice against the physicians and/or hospitals who did not properly determine it was cancer.
On January 29, 2018, the governor met with New York State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and New York State Assembly Majority Leader Carl Heastie to work out the details of the bill, which was sponsored by New York State Senator John DeFrancisco. As part of the agreement, the statute of limitations to file a lawsuit would be changed from two-and-a-half years from the date that the misdiagnosis occurred to two-and-a-half years from the date the patient learned of the misdiagnosis, up to seven years from the date that the medical error occurred. On February 2, 2018, the governor signed the bill into law.
The bill is named for Lavern Wilkinson, who died of cancer on March 7, 2013. She was admitted to Kings County Hospital on February 2, 2010 for chest pains; an X-ray showed a cancerous mass in her chest, but the radiologist failed to alert Ms. Wilkinson of the discovery. Ms. Wilkinson was readmitted to the hospital in 2012, but, by that time, the cancer had already spread to her body. Her family attempted to sue the hospital after she passed away, but, at the time, the statute of limitations had expired.
“We are glad to see these elected officials come together and fight for the rights of the patients whose misdiagnoses resulted in illness or death after the cancer spread throughout their bodies,” Mr. Mallas says. “This bill will give these cancer victims more time to file lawsuits against the wrongdoers.”
The original version of the bill applied to all medical malpractice cases. That version passed the Assembly in 2015, but did not make it out of the Senate. The new bill only applies to cancer victims. “Had the original version of Lavern’s Law passed, more patients who were misdiagnosed or received poor medical treatment could have gotten the compensation they justly deserved,” Mr. Mallas says. “It is a shame the bill did not make it to the governor’s desk sooner.”
For more information, call (718) 238-2400 or visit www.gmlawny.com.
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About Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC
The law office of Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC is a boutique law firm concentrating in the areas of personal injury, real estate and commercial litigation. The firm emphasizes providing legal services in a professional and efficient manner to make your legal process as stress-free as possible. The experienced attorneys at Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC have combined the quality and expertise of larger law firms with the responsiveness and the attention to detail of smaller firms. The firm’s goal is to provide clients with quality legal services while maintaining close personal contact. Georgaklis & Mallas PLLC strives to serve as many people as possible and can accommodate those clients who speak English, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Creole, and Bulgarian. For more information, call (718) 238-2400 or visit www.gmlawny.com.
Grandfather’s Influence Made Him Enter the Field of Law
Brian Andrew Tully, Esq. of Tully Law, PC
Melville, NY — Growing up in Malverne, New York, as a child, Brian Andrew Tully was close to both sets of grandparents — literally. His maternal grandparents lived next door, where he played games, spent Saturday nights watching TV with them, learned to swing a golf club, and received a penny for every weed he pulled out from their lawn. On Sundays, he spent time with his father’s parents attending church, sitting with them at the kitchen table eating rolls and cookies they picked up from the bakery, and enjoying large family dinners.
Andy Tully, his paternal grandfather, was an attorney. One day, he had a talk with Brian, who was a college student at the time studying criminal justice. Andy saw the potential in his grandson and, along with his wife, recommended that Brian should take the same career path. A few years later, Brian enrolled in Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in Huntington, New York, and obtained his Juris Doctor.
For 20 years, Brian Andrew Tully, Esq., of Tully Law, PC has been honoring and protecting elders in New York and their caregivers by leading them from a place of confusion to a place of protection, provision and peace by providing them with advanced planning, long-term care services, and life care planning.
He started his practice in Huntington in 1998. What gravitated him toward the field of elder law were the closeness with his grandparents and witnessing firsthand how his parents and relatives cared for his grandparents when they became too ill to care for themselves.
“What I didn’t realize is that my childhood and teenage years were gratefully focused on my amazing grandparents — those grandparents right next door and those I looked forward to seeing every Sunday,” Mr. Tully says. “So, yes, lawwas a choice but elder law was not. It was natural for me to continue to be with and help other people’s grandmothers and grandfathers. Looking back, I can say with certainty that I didn’t choose elder law; it chose me.”
In 2004, Mr. Tully launched the ElderCare Resource Center (www.eldercareresourcecenter.info), an online resource guide for the elderly and their caregivers. With more than 2,200 links to elder care resources, the website provides legal resources and other information on age-related health issues, finding a caregiver, where to find senior housing, and Medicaid and Medicare issues. It also includes a palliative care resource guide which explains how to plan for long-term and end-of-life care. In 2005, the ElderCare Resource Center was named the Small Education Business of the Year by the Huntington Regional Business Partnership.
In 2011, Tully Law relocated to Melville. The following year, the firm received the Partnership Award from Disabled and Alone/Life Services for the Handicapped, Inc., a nonprofit organization which assists families in estate planning, and Mr. Tully was featured in Newsweek’s “Nationwide Leading Elder Care & Estate Planning Attorney Showcase.”
He has received accreditation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to represent and assist veterans and their spouses in the preparation, presentation, and prosecution of claims for benefits, including the Aid and Attendance Pension. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association and is certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc.
From 2011 to 2017, Mr. Tully has been named to the New York Metro Super Lawyers list in the practice areas of Elder Law and Estate Planning & Probate. In 2017, he was certified as a Member of the Lawyers of Distinction.
In addition to his work as an attorney, Mr. Tully provides seminars on elder law and estate planning at assisted living facilities. He has also spoken on the topic of detecting and preventing elder financial abuse. As a public service, he publishes a downloadable guidebook each year titled “How to Plan for Aging Parents,” which looks at life care planning and traditional elder law plans.
“It has been a pleasure serving the elderly population of New York and their families for the last 20 years,” Mr. Tully says. “I look forward to helping those families who are caring for their loved ones by making the life care planning process easier for them during times of difficulty.”
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK — Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC has announced that the Firm has promoted Elaine M. Colavito to Partner. Ms. Colavito concentrates her practice in matrimonial and family law, civil litigation and commercial transactions.
Ms. Colavito is President-elect of the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association. She joined the organization in 2012 as a Member of its Board of Directors and also served as its Treasurer and Vice President. In 2013, she received the group’s Bessie Ray Geffner, Esq. Memorial Award for her demonstrated interest in improving the justice system, professionalism of the bar and service to the community at large.
From 2014 to 2017, she was named to Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list in the area of Family Law, and was among the 2015 Super Lawyers “Top Women Lawyers in New York.” In 2017, she was named a Trailblazer in Divorce and Trusts and Estates by The National Law Journal and received the Top 50 Women in Business and Leadership in Law awards from Long Island Business News.
She currently writes a monthly column for The Suffolk Lawyer, a publication of the Suffolk County Bar Association, titled “Bench Briefs.” She is also the author of an article entitled “Social Networking Sites and the Right to Privacy: Kathleen Romano v. Steelcase and Educational Institutional Cooperative Services, Inc., Index No. 2233/06” that appeared in the Winter 2011 edition of the Medicine and Law Committee Newsletter, a publication of the American Bar Association. She has also lectured before the NYSBA Young Lawyers section.
Ms. Colavito is admitted to practice in the state of New York and before the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to serving with the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association, she is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association, the Nassau County Bar Association and the Nassau County Columbian Lawyers. She graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and magna cum laude from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.
Ms. Colavito is a resident of Brentwood.
“I am pleased to be named Partner with the Firm,” Ms. Colavito said. “It has been a great experience for me to be a part of a Firm that recognizes its attorneys for their hard work but also understands the importance of work-life balance.”
“We congratulate Ms. Colavito and recognize her leadership, expertise and service to the Bar and the community,” said Michael H. Sahn, Managing Partner, Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC. “She is an important part of our Firm’s ability to serve our clients.”
For more information, call (516) 228-1300 or visit www.swc-law.com.
New York, New York — After staying in the United States for more than 15 years, 200,000 Salvadoran non-citizens, who were granted Temporary Protected Status when they came to this country after earthquakes damaged their houses back home, have been told they must leave the U.S. Kerry Bretz, Partner, Bretz & Coven, LLP, says this directive by President Donald J. Trump will hurt these protected individuals who have since contributed to this country.
In 2001, two earthquakes hit El Salvador, killing approximately 1,000 people and destroying more than 100,000 homes. Those Salvadorans who came to the U.S. were granted Temporary Protected Status by then-President George W. Bush. Both he and his successor, then-President Barack Obama, renewed the Salvadorans’ status every 18 months, citing the Central American country had still not stabilized yet from the disasters and ongoing violence from the drug cartels.
On January 8, 2018, President Trump announced that he is ending Temporary Protected Status for these non-citizens effective September 2019. He stated that, if they stay beyond the deadline, they will be considered illegal immigrants and face deportation. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the country has since rebuilt from the earthquakes and it is no longer considered to be in a state of emergency.
“This measure affects thousands of Salvadoran non-citizens living on Long Island and the New York metropolitan area,” Mr. Bretz says. “Some may be eligible for other forms of relief, like the cancellation of removal or political asylum, but others already have final orders of removal. None of them have criminal histories, as it would have made them ineligible for the program. Temporary Protected Status has allowed them to work legally and pay taxes, as so many have done.”
For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
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About Bretz & Coven, LLP
Bretz & Coven, LLP is an immigration law firm located in New York, New York and Clark, New Jersey. The firm serves clients in and around the tri-state area, including Brooklyn, New York City, the Bronx, Queens, Kings County and Richmond County. Its team of dedicated attorneys is known for taking on cases that other lawyers turn down. Bretz & Coven assists individuals and their families understand the process of obtaining citizenship, New York residency or a green card and offer them a full range of options, including adjustment of status, asylum, available types of visas, waivers, removal defense and special programs and treaties. The attorneys can also help immigrants avoid deportation. For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK — Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley LLP (MHMS) has announced that Jennifer J. Maldonado has joined the firm as an Associate. She will serve in the firm’s Medical Malpractice Department. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Maldonado worked for a respected medical malpractice defense firm in Manhattan.
Ms. Maldonado also served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. During her time there, she prosecuted various crimes and gained valuable courtroom experience as she conducted numerous hearings and tried cases to verdict. She was also selected as a Team Leader of the Criminal Court Bureau, where she assigned lower-level misdemeanor cases to new Assistant District Attorneys and strategized with newer attorneys on how to effectively try cases.
Her legal experience also includes serving as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt and as a Legal Extern with the City of Long Beach Corporation Counsel’s Office and the New York City Law Department.
Ms. Maldonado graduated from the University of Scranton with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center with a Juris Doctor. She currently resides in Long Beach.
“I am confident Ms. Maldonado will be a tremendous asset to our firm,” said James M. Murphy, Managing Partner, MHMS. “She has extensive experience as a trial attorney, as well as experience working in medical malpractice defense law.”
For more information, call (516) 747-4082 or visit www.mhms-law.com.
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About Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley LLP
Based in Garden City, New York, Montfort, Healy, McGuire & Salley LLP provides businesses, hospitals, medical professionals, and insurance companies with knowledgeable legal advice about insurance defense, and personal injury issues. Since 1950, the firm has represented clients throughout New York City and Long Island in disputes related to hospital liability, medical malpractice, municipal law, premises liability, insurance coverage, motor vehicle claim defense, product liability and construction and industrial accident defense. The firm has received the AV Preeminent peer review-rated through Martindale-Hubbell and admission into the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. For more information, call (516) 747-4082 or visit www.mhms-law.com.
New York, New York — After campaigning on the promise to round up and deport the 11 million non-citizens covered under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) living in the United States, President Donald J. Trump announced today that he has endorsed a deal with Congressional Republicans and Democrats to provide those non-citizens known as “Dreamers” a pathway to citizenship. Kerry Bretz, Partner, Bretz & Coven, LLP, says the president’s reversal on his immigration stance is welcome and will allow non-citizens who came to the United States as children to live and work in the U.S.
President Trump announced that he is backing an immigration deal that would codify the protections under DACA. This would prevent 700,000-800,000 young immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” from being deported. However, as part of the deal, the president wants Congress to provide funding for the wall to be built along the U.S.-Mexico border, end “chain migration” — which allows those to enter the country because their relatives reside in the U.S. — and cancel the diversity visa lottery program. The announcement preceded a decision from a federal judge in San Francisco to block the Trump administration from ending DACA.
“I am pleased to see President Trump change his mind on DACA,” Mr. Bretz says. “If the president holds true to his decision about DACA, Dreamers may be able to continue to live and work in this country without fear. However, lack of agreement on the other issues — the border wall and ending ‘chain migration’ and the diversity visa lottery — might sink the deal.”
For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
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About Bretz & Coven, LLP
Bretz & Coven, LLP is an immigration law firm located in New York, New York and Clark, New Jersey. The firm serves clients in and around the tri-state area, including Brooklyn, New York City, the Bronx, Queens, Kings County and Richmond County. Its team of dedicated attorneys is known for taking on cases that other lawyers turn down. Bretz & Coven assists individuals and their families understand the process of obtaining citizenship, New York residency or a green card and offer them a full range of options, including adjustment of status, asylum, available types of visas, waivers, removal defense and special programs and treaties. The attorneys can also help immigrants avoid deportation. For more information, call (212) 267-2555 or visit www.bretzlaw.com.
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