SMITH CARROAD WAN & PARIKH, P.C. - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations for Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh
BARBARA HESSE is the Director of Operations for Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Hesse's duties include general management of the clerical staff, new placement deployment, remittance implementation, and database and software programming and maintenance. Ms. Hesse has been employed by our firm since 1986, where she began as a data entry clerk.
Barbara enjoys spending time with her two granddaughters.
Jacqueline Nelson is the Executive Assistant to Timothy Wan, Esq.
Ms. Nelson graduated with a degree in Business Management from Stony Brook University. Her background is managing multimillion dollar projects/companies with precise execution. Her area of expertise is acting as the primary liaison with all our outside of New York network of attorneys.
JANET WECKERLE is the Operations Supervisor and Senior Investigative Paralegal, Team Leader at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh.
Ms. Weckerle joined the firm in November 2018, starting as the Front-Desk Receptionist, and has steadily moved up several times, to her current position. Her primary duties include determining suit worthiness of consumer collections matters, communicating with clients, skip tracing, and assisting the Office Manager in the harmony and well-being of the office.
In her free time away from the office, Janet enjoys painting and drawing. She is also an aficionado of craft breweries and wineries.
JOELLE CAROSELLA is the Senior Administrative Paralegal at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh.
Ms. Carosella joined the firm in February 2021, starting as a legal assistant, and in just a short few months has moved up to her current position. Her primary duties as the senior administrative paralegal include new claim entry and processing, communicating with clients as well as marshals and sheriffs, and daily financial processing.
In her free time, Joelle enjoys cooking and watching bad reality TV and true crime shows. She is a whiskey enthusiast and enjoys spending time with her fiancé and three cats.
Job Titles:
- Senior Litigation Associate
KEVIN M. KNAB, ESQ. is the Senior Litigation Associate Attorney at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Mr. Knab attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook, earning a B.A. in History in 1986, and attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a Juris Doctor in 1989. He was admitted to practice law in New York in January 1990.
A self-professed "jack of all trades, master of none", his legal experience includes jury trial experience, active litigation in debt collection, as well as experience in real estate, wills and estates, matrimonial, personal injury, and criminal law matters.
In his time away from law, Kevin enjoys travel, attending sporting and theater events, and almost always shows up early for everything.
KIMBERLY SCIACCA is the Senior Litigation Paralegal, at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh.
Ms. Sciacca graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Political Science from Queens College in 2015. Following her graduation, she began working in the legal field as a paralegal and joined the firm in August 2020. Her primary duties include calendaring and tracking court appearances and assisting our attorneys in the litigation process.
PETER D. EISELE, JR., ESQ. is the Litigation Associate Attorney at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Mr. Eisele graduated from St. John University, majoring in Legal Studies in 2017, and earned his Juris Doctor in 2020.
After taking time off to pursue other interests, Mr. Eisele was admitted in 2023.
PRAGNA PARIKH, ESQ. is a Partner, and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Parikh's areas of expertise include managing the day-to-day operations of the firm, acting as client relations liaison, and ensuring compliance with local governmental rules and regulations.
Ms. Parikh was admitted to the New York State Bar in December 2002, after graduating from New York Law School in 2001, and New York University in 1997 with a degree in Political Science. She joined the firm in 2003, after previously practicing exclusively in the areas of collections law and creditor's rights. In 2018, Ms. Parikh was made a partner.
Pragna is a fitness aficionado, enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, and collects designer handbags and expensive jewelry.
THOMAS BENNETT is the Investigation & Judgment Enforcement Manager at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh.
Mr. Bennett began his career the week he graduated from high school in June 1984, in the collections departments in the leasing industry. A career supervisor and manager, Mr. Bennett joined Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh in October 2003 as a Legal Assistant and quickly moved up the ranks. Mr. Bennett oversees the skip tracing, asset location, and investigative departments, and is the primary on-boarding staff trainer.
TIMOTHY WAN, ESQ. is Senior Partner and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Mr. Wan's areas of expertise include managing the creditor's rights and collection law practice, serving as General Counsel to various small businesses in the local business community, and spearheading practice in the area of entertainment law, music law, copyright, and intellectual property.
Mr. Wan was admitted to the New York State Bar in January 2001, after graduating from Brooklyn Law School for his Juris Doctor where he was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society, and from Vassar College with a double B.A. in Political Science and Theatre in 1997. This background has fostered Mr. Wan's trial and courtroom skills; throughout his career, he has successfully tried several hundred litigation matters, as well as successfully brought and defended appeals on healthcare-related matters to the appellate courts in the State of New York. Mr. Wan is admitted to the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts, and a member of the New York State and Suffolk County Bar Associations.
Mr. Wan is a Past Chair of the Eastern Region of the Commercial Law League of America, a Past Chair of the CLLA Young Member's Section, past member of the Board of Governors, and served as the first ever two-consecutive-term President from 2019-2021. He also serves as the President of the New York State Creditors Bar Association. Mr. Wan is a two time Past President of the Infinite Exchange Chapter of BNI, and a member of the International Association of Commercial Collectors. Mr. Wan is a published author of the New York chapter of the textbook, Judgment Enforcement published by Aspen Publishing, and is a featured columnist and on the Board of Associate Editors for Commercial Law World. He is also the attorney advisor to the Commack High School Mock Trial team, and regularly lectures on topics regarding creditor's rights, collection law, business change management, improving business efficiency, and legal strategy.
Tim has been married since 2006, and he and wife have three children. He enjoys watching fantasy inspired movies and TV, playing fantasy sports, and fantasizing about performing onstage again.
Valentina Ognibene is the Judgment Enforcement Paralegal, Team Lead.
Ms. Ognibene graduated with Bachelor of Science in Police Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2021. She began with the firm in February 2022.