Forest Hills Lawyers

We are a knowledgeable, experienced and aggressive law firm focusing on Personal Injury, Bankruptcy, Wrongful Death and Divorce. Since our modest beginnings in a small law office in Atlanta in 2006, we have expanded to multiple locations in Georgia and New York. We offer experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated legal representation to the local community and will continue to do so for many years to come. You might not see a lot of billboards, radio ads or TV ads for our firm. That's because we believe our clients are our best form of advertisement. We treat all our clients with the...

Carmen T. Rodriguez is an associate at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. who specializes in complex litigation, mass torts, and 9/11 related injuries.

Glenn is an associate attorney at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. and specializes in the area of motor vehicle accidents and general liability. He was named a Top 40 Under 40 lawyer by The National Trial Lawyers Association and has the experience to help you in your case. Contact him today for a free consultation.

As a partner with the Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. law firm in New York City, medical malpractice attorney Elizabeth Montesano has achieved unprecedented success advocating on behalf of those victimized by medical malpractice and other acts of negligence and wrongdoing.

Serving clients throughout the state, Ms. Montesano has earned a reputation as a deeply compassionate attorney who aggressively pursues the most favorable outcomes possible for those she serves. Throughout the course of her career, she has recovered millions of dollars in settlements and awards on behalf of those suffering as the result of birth injuries, missed and delayed...

Christopher McGrath is a partner at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. and serves in the Garden City office. He has won many multi-million dollar verdicts for his clients in the area of personal injury. Contact him today to set up a free consultation.

David J. Dean is a senior trial attorney at Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C. who is responsible for trying some of the firm's largest and most challenging cases.

Edward joined Leav & Steinberg LLP in 2016, bringing with him years of experience in personal injury and other matters. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2004, and obtained his law degree from New York Law School in 2008. While in law school, Edward interned in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. After graduating law school, Edward practiced law in Miami, Florida, before returning to New York to practice personal injury law in New York City.

Edward has successfully represented clients in State and Federal Courts. His experience includes trials, alternative...

Andrew’s first job as a lawyer was with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, where he was a Deputy Attorney General for approximately seven years. As a government trial attorney, he learned “his way around a courtroom” as well as how to effectively and persuasively write legal documents. As a Deputy Attorney General, Andrew gained invaluable litigation experience in both State and Federal Courts, arguing motions before judges, negotiating settlements before mediators, taking and defending over 800 depositions, and trying both bench and jury trials.

After working with the New Jersey Attorney General, over the next eight years, Andrew further honed...

Gregory Messer has been practicing law for over 43 years. He started his career as a Legal Aid attorney in Albany, New York. In 1980, he opened his law practice in Brooklyn, New York, and has specialized in bankruptcy law since that time. Mr. Messer has been a member of the standing panel of Chapter 7 Trustees for the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York since 1980. He has represented debtors, creditors, trustees, defendants, purchasers of assets, and other parties in bankruptcy cases. He has served as a Chapter 7 Trustee, Chapter...

Cesar is an International Attorney specialized in business law, litigation, and cross-border investments. He assists start-ups and seasoned investors to structure their business efficiently, reducing risk and setting them up for success. His experience in dispute resolution and litigation allows him to provide comprehensive and top-notch advise zealously protecting the interest of his clients. He holds a J.D. and International Arbitration LL.M. from the University of Miami School of law, an LL.M. for Foreign-Trained Lawyers from Brooklyn Law School, and a Licenciatura en Derecho “Cum Laude” from the Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras. He is admitted to practice law in the states...

My passion is family law. It is what drove me to become a lawyer, motivated me through law school, and gets me excited to start my day. Family law has always been a part of my life, in experience, study, and practice. A childhood spent in and out of domestic court piqued my interest in the different elements of such a complex and human-driven area of the law. My goal is to make every client feel heard in a situation where communication may have broken down. I will vigorously advocate for all of my clients, because I am...

Since beginning his career, Joseph has dedicated his practice to the representation of victims of medical malpractice. This includes the representation of children who have suffered birth injuries as well as families who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of physicians and medical facilities.

Since joining our office, Joseph has also applied this experience in our Pharmaceutical litigation department with the representation of clients injured by prescription medications.

As a skilled and dedicated personal injury attorney with experience in medical malpractice litigation, Joseph is one of the top associates on the team currently handling the representation of both families...

Elsa Ayoub, Esq. has extensive experience representing multinational corporations and individuals with respect to the best short and long-term visa strategies for their specific needs in a wide range of industries, including media, financial services, advertising, education, entertainment, banking, consumer products, health care services and health care management services. She represents corporate clients and their foreign national employees in all phases of the immigration process, as well as in the transfer of their foreign national executives, managers, and key employees to the United States. Elsa also counsels individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in their field of endeavor and who...

Named a Super Lawyer for 2023, Michael Ciarlo has been practicing Real Estate law since 1999, providing successful and experienced results for his clients. During this time, his extensive knowledge of commercial, business, and real estate litigation has benefited the clients of the firm. He has a wide range of experience negotiating, analyzing, resolving, and litigating all aspects of real estate, business, co-op, condo, and landlord/tenant matters. Mr. Ciarlo brings a significant depth of understanding to his role in advising large and small businesses, co-ops, condominiums, landlords, tenants, and individuals in their disputes and litigation. Mr. Ciarlo graduated from New...

Glen A. Kendall has an exceptional track record representing small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in complex, high stakes litigation and arbitration across the New York area.

He regularly serves as lead counsel in business and employment matters involving breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, employment discrimination, restrictive covenants, defamation, trade secret misappropriation, and copyright and trademark infringement. Mr. Kendall also handles trusts and estates matters involving probate, will contests, contested accountings, and fiduciary removal proceedings. Clients entrust Mr. Kendall because of his compassion, zealous advocacy, and creativity in problem-solving.

A significant portion of Mr. Kendall’s practice involves...

Steven D. Heller is an experienced US immigration lawyer, specializing in waivers of inadmissibility, consular processing, and Treaty Traders/Investors. He is the Director of Heller Immigration Law, Ltd., a UK-based US immigration law firm established in 2008, and Of Counsel to Chavin Immigration Law Office in London. He currently divides time between the UK and New York.

Attorney Heller has been practicing US immigration law since 1992, having worked in both the public and private sectors, including positions with the US Embassy-London, USCIS Headquarters in Washington, DC, and INS/USCIS offices in New York and Newark. He was also...

Arthur Larkin is a civil rights litigator with nearly thirty years’ experience in the state and federal courts, and over the past twenty years he had handled some of the highest profile wrongful conviction and class action lawsuits in New York City. He has negotiated settlements worth over $75 million in those lawsuits as well as numerous other lawsuits. With fifteen years’ experience defending the City in such matters, Arthur knows how best to present a winning case at trial and/or during settlement discussions.

Emily Ingall is an attorney in Offit Kurman’s Family Law Practice Group. She represents clients in cases involving divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, alimony, property distribution, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, adoption, and domestic custody disputes. She has focused her practice on all matrimonial matters, providing her services to clients in New Jersey, New York, and Maryland. Ms. Ingall received her Juris Doctorate from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2020 with a concentration in Family Law. While obtaining her J.D., Emily interned at the Benjamin N. Cardozo Divorce Mediation Clinic. She served as a Research Assistant for Matrimonial...

Mr. Phemister has been practicing law in New York since 1998. Since then, he has been fortunate enough to have handled several thousand cases and taken well over a hundred verdicts at trial.

Initially, his practice focused on personal injury but over the years, he began working on cases where people were claiming they were assaulted by the police, or wrongfully arrested and held against their will.

As time went on, Craig began seeing more and more of these cases until he had the eye-opening experience of seeing a judge in New York declare that a man who spent nearly 18 years...

A former investigative journalist, Mark is a successful anti-fraud attorney with more than twenty years of experience in complex civil litigation. He has represented qui tam whistleblowers under the False Claims Act as well as victims of fraud under the federal securities laws and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). His efforts have resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for clients.

Prior to founding Mark A. Strauss Law, PLLC, Mark was a partner at Kirby McInerney LLP, a respected plaintiffs’ class action firm that was named one of the “Most Feared Plaintiffs’ Firms” by Law360.com....

Attorney.

Joseph G. Macaluso is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School. He has been in the private practice of law in the fields of personal injury and medical malpractice since 1990. Upon graduation from Law School, he was recognized as Best Trial Advocate of his graduating class. He was also recognized as an Overall Best Trial Advocate of a National Trial Advocacy competition. Since then, Macaluso has practiced as an injury lawyer who has successfully litigated many cases. He has handled a wide variety of injury and medical malpractice over the years. The cases...

With over 20 years of experience, Dustin Bowman is committed to providing skilled and knowledgeable legal representation. His practice areas include Landlord Tenant, Real Estate, Construction, Consumer, Municipal Law, Government & Administrative, Divorce, Family, and Personal Injury Law matters. Whether in or out of the courtroom, Mr. Bowman is dedicated to both outstanding service and zealous advocacy. He has built a strong reputation as an effective and efficient attorney for New Yorkers with legal needs.

Mr. Bowman received his B.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 1995. He earned his J.D. from the Hamline University School of Law in 1998....

Divorce Done Differently. Choose Vacca Family Law Group for Court-Free Creative Family Law Solutions. At Vacca Family Law Group, we focus on resolving family and divorce-related legal disputes through non-adversarial methods, avoiding the emotional and financial turmoil associated with courtroom proceedings. Our approach centers on mediation and collaboration, allowing our clients to maintain more control over the outcome of their cases and reach innovative solutions that are tailored to their family’s needs. As a leading family and divorce law firm in New York, we know that each family’s situation is unique. We have seen the damaging effects of traditional, litigated divorces and...

Robert Gitelman is a partner in the firm’s Products Liability and Asbestos Department, based in our New York City Office. Mr. Gitelman was an integral part of the Environmental team that helped obtain a $52 million settlement for contamination of municipal water suppliers with MTBE by petroleum refiners and retailers. Mr. Gitelman also worked on the In Re: World Trade Center Disaster Site Litigation, which resulted in more than $850 million dollars in settlements of injuries sustained by rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero from toxic contaminant exposures.

Prior becoming an attorney, Mr. Gitelman worked in various capacities in the...

Ms. Shkolnik is an associate with the firm’s Product Liability, Pharmaceutical Department. Prior to joining the Pharmaceutical Department, she focused on premise liability, products liability, labor law, intentional torts as well as civil suits involving victims of sexual assault and/or battery.

Rachel focuses on premise liability, products liability, labor law, intentional torts as well as civil suits involving victims of sexual assault and/or battery.

Deborah Hrbek has a niche practice with specific expertise in providing legal support to independent creative professionals in the art, entertainment and media industries. Essentially, Hrbek provides general counsel services to small businesses in the creative sector, on all sides of the table. She represents independent publishers as well as writers, photographers as well as photography agencies, visual artists and fine art galleries, indie record labels and professional musicians, makers and ceramics / stained glass studios, venues, promoters and performers and more. Most of our work involves the review, drafting and negotiation of contracts. We also help business partners form...

Consumers, Business, Labor & Employment, Education, Civil Rights, Real Estate, Landlord & Tenant, Banks, Insurance, Licensing, Administrative, Litigation…” OUR PHILOSOPHY OF LEGAL PRACTICE •We will provide the highest quality of legal representation •We will be responsive to your needs as a business or individual •We will handle your legal matters competently •We will handle your legal matter with experience •We will respond to your problems in a timely manner •We will represent your interests effectively and forcefully •We will listen to you REASONABLE LEGAL FEES It is important that a client be informed up front of our hourly billing rates and be given an estimate of the approximate number of...

With 30 years experience in tort litigation, Paul T. Hofmann stands tall as a champion for victims whose lives are forever changed. Named a Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Hofmann specializes in personal injury matters, with special emphasis on maritime, railroad and construction worker claims.

Hofmann has a B.A. from Rutgers College and J.D. from New York Law School. He is a member of American Association of Justice and the Maritime Law Association. He chaired the ATLA Admiralty Section and writes and lectures extensively.

Hofmann says that our mission is to maximize each clients recovery by thorough research, preparation...

Hello! And welcome to my short biography. My legal background is in Business Law, Commercial Litigation, Wills, Trusts & Probate. I handle business formations and contracts. I handle business disputes and real estate disputes including construction issues. I have represented clients in both state and federal court and handled appeals. I have represented clients in arbitrations and mediation. I am a designated arbitrator for FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Agency). I worked at the Pentagon for the Department of Army early in my career. I graduated from...

John C. Laurence received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University and his J.D. from New York Law School. He also received his LLM for Intellectual Property and Information Law Technology Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Patent Bar), and the District Court of the Southern District of New York. John has experience in many facets of intellectual property law, including preparing, prosecuting, and enforcing trademarks, patents, and copyrights. John has helped individuals and businesses identify, develop, and enforce their intellectual property rights. John has drafted and prosecuted patent...

MICHAEL GUNZBURG has 30 years of extensive civil litigation experience as a New York City personal injury and medical malpractice attorney. He has also represented a variety of business clients in civil litigation, business transaction and real estate matters. Many business people sometimes find themselves in disputes that require experienced trial counsel to handle and resolve. Michael Gunzburg has extensive experience resolving civil disputes, involving personal injury, medical malpractice and business matters at arbitration, mediation or before a jury at trial.

Michael Gunzburg graduated from Boston University with a B.S.B.A. in 1982 concentrating in business management and accounting, and graduated from...

I am a former engineer and programmer turned lawyer helping clients in all aspects of intellectual property, technology & business law. Over the past 13 years I have represented and counseled clients in numerous patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters, including litigation, licensing, protecting technologies through patents, trademarks, copyrights and other methods, assessing risks for new product launches, assessing the strengths of IP portfolios, devising licensing strategies, helping with mergers and acquisitions, and many other.

Mr. Robbins is a partner in the New York City law firm of Kaufmann Gildin & Robbins LLP and specializes in commercial arbitration and mediation. He represents investors, brokers and firms in disputes and brokers and firms before regulatory agencies. He is also an expert witness in malpractice cases arising out of securities arbitrations. He and his firm have been responsible for the return of tens of millions of dollars to investors and have represented many brokers accused of wrongdoing in arbitrations and regulatory matters. Mr. Robbins served as Special Deputy Attorney General...

Mesothelioma lawyer Robert I. Komitor is a partner at Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, and serves as lead trial lawyer specializing in products liability, negligence, and personal injury cases involving mesothelioma, hazardous wastes, and pollution. Bob was named one of the nation's Best Lawyers, in the area of mass torts, in Gregory W. Smith and Steven W. Naifeh's The Best Lawyers in America 2005-2012 (Woodward/White). Bob has consistently won some of the highest damage awards in the nation. For three consecutive years, he made The National Law Journal's list of lawyers winning the highest verdicts. He was trial lawyer on the "New...

Partner

David is a graduate of the State University of New York at Farmingdale and obtained his law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. He studied immigration in law school and was a two time participant in the immigration clinic. He also worked for a summer at the largest immigration firm in the country. Before joining Gottfried & Gottfried, LLP, David worked for a small personal injury firm on Long Island as a trial attorney. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York.

Presentations / Conferences

David has been...

JUSTIN M. SWARTZ, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP in New York and Co-Chair of its Class Action Practice Group, represents employees in class action wage/hour and discrimination cases, as well as individual discrimination cases and other employment matters. He is also Co-Chair of the firm’s Public Interest Committee.

Mr. Swartz is currently litigating cases challenging the practice of classifying workers as independent contractors and failing to pay overtime compensation. He and Outten & Golden LLP's Public Interest Committee have represented hundreds of low-wage workers in minimum wage and unpaid overtime cases, including construction workers, farm workers, and low-wage cleaning...

LAURENCE S. MOY is Deputy Managing Partner, and has been practicing law almost exclusively in the area of representing individuals in employment matters since 1985. Mr. Moy co-chairs the firm’s Financial Services Industry Practice Group. He enjoys representing clients and groups of clients in these highly specialized fields by counseling them, as well as negotiating and litigating on their behalf.

Mr. Moy has extensive experience in arbitration before FINRA (and, previously, the NASD and the NYSE), the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), and JAMS, as well as trials, appeals, and other litigation experience before federal and state courts concerning employment and...