OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL - Key Persons
Alan J. Bennett received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, and a Business Management Certificate, from the State University of New York at Binghamton, in 1985, graduating with University Honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Bennett received a Juris Doctor Degree from the St. John's University School of Law in 1988, and Mr. Bennett has been admitted to the New York bar since 1989. Mr. Bennett is also admitted to practice law before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bennett has represented the Government of Canada, City and State of New York agencies, privately-owned foreign and domestic companies, not-for-profit corporations, insurance companies and individuals, from inception of litigation through trial and post-verdict appeals, within the Federal and State Courts of New York, the New York State Division Of Human Rights, the City of New York Commission On Human Rights, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Department of Labor, as well as before various arbitration forums, in the areas of employment law, employee compensation, employment and housing discrimination, civil rights, corporate, commercial and personal injury litigation. Mr. Bennett has also counseled clients in the negotiation, formulation and enforcement of contracts, employment manuals and anti-discrimination policies.
Mr. Bennett has operated his own law firm since 1997, and since 2014 Mr. Bennett has been practicing law through the law firm of Alan J. Bennett, PLLC. Mr. Bennett's firm is currently of counsel to Outside Legal Counsel LLP.
Carla P. Bautista received a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a minor in Growth & Structure of Cities, from Haverford College in 2012. She went on to receive a Juris Doctor Degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2015 and was admitted to practice law in the state of New York in March 2018.
Carla is focusing her practice on employment litigation, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hours, and breach of employment contracts. Carla is of-counsel to Outside Legal Counsel LLP and is an Associate Attorney at Alan J. Bennett, PLLC.
Christina Welch is a paralegal at Outside Legal Counsel LLP. Christina leads the firm's Real Estate Bank Settlement Agent Practice and works specifically with commercial lenders and firm clients involving real estate transactions.
Christina has over 20 years of experience as a paralegal focusing on all aspects of real estate transactions. From refinances to mortgage, there is not a single aspect of a real estate transaction that Christina is not familiar with.
Additionally, she works directly with the firm's partners and of-counsel attorneys in every phase of the firm's litigation and transactional practice.
Jaleel Menifee is an associate attorney at Outside Legal Counsel LLP. Jaleel works closely with the firm's partners and of-counsel attorneys in every phase of the firm's litigation and transaction practice, with a focus on administrative regulatory guidance, employment law and the development of decentralized finance.
Jaleel has a deep passion and understanding of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and how the current regulatory framework applies to the rapidly growing industry.
While in law school, Jaleel primarily focused on assisting low-income individuals by working with various non-profit organizations, including the Economic Justice Project and the Legal-Aid Society, Juvenile Rights Practice to name a few. During his time at the Economic Justice Project, Jaleel assisted individuals in obtaining various public benefits, such as housing and childcare stipends, SNAP benefits, and defended their rights to such benefits at Fair Hearings before Administrative Law Judges.
Kyle Carraro Kyle Carraro is a partner at Outside Legal Counsel LLP. Kyle serves as general counsel for a wide variety of businesses, with a specific focus on technology, medical start-ups, and freelancers. Kyle advises such businesses on all aspects of corporate law, from formation to dissolution, as well as both affirmative and defensive litigation when necessary. Kyle also heads up the firm's trademarking practice and provides counsel and strategy on intellectual property protection for businesses and entrepreneurs.
In addition to his work with business entities, Kyle also works with individual employees negotiating and litigating employment-related claims as well as with Independent Contractors in the enforcement of their rights under Freelance Isn't Free Act as part of a concerted effort to educate freelancers on the law and create meaningful enforcement of its provisions.
In compliment to his practice with Outside Legal Counsel LLP, Kyle provides one-to-one legal counseling sessions with constituents of New York City Council Members in the Bronx and Manhattan and serves as a mentee to recent law school graduates to help them prepare to take the New York State Bar Exam.
Prior to joining the firm, Kyle represented tenants in housing court and was part of a legal team that represented an indefinitely-detained prisoner at Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan. Before pivoting to becoming a lawyer, Kyle worked in the global commodities sector for both Citibank and Deutsche Bank, and spent time living abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Kyle is fluent in Spanish, plays soccer weekly, and is an avid chess player.
Yogi Patel is Managing Partner at Outside Legal Counsel LLP. He serves as outside general counsel to a broad spectrum of privately held businesses and entrepreneurs, advising them on matters related to commercial transactions, audits and compliance, partnerships and joint ventures, labor and employment law, as well as both affirmative and defensive commercial litigation.
Yogi also works with individual executives and professionals on compensation and severance negotiations. He primarily represents executives in the technology, finance, and medical fields, counseling them on employment contract review, equity grant review, and separation agreement negotiations. Yogi also represents both employees and employers in litigations related to enforcement or defense of restrictive covenants (non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disclosure clauses).
Additionally, beginning in 2016 Yogi served (and continues to serve from time-to-time), as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, where he teaches a course on commercial law (UCC) and secured transactions. Yogi has also worked with new law school graduates to prepare for the New York State Bar Exam each summer since 2012.
Yogi's prior experience includes experience as in-house counsel to a New York City based construction and development firm focusing on legal issues related to the construction process, including land acquisition, project financing, post-construction claims settlement and litigation. Prior to that, Yogi spent several years at a boutique education law firm in New York City where he represented individual and institutional clients in all facets of arbitration, litigation, labor and employment and corporate law matters.
Education:
J.D., City University of New York School of Law (2006)
B.A., Hunter College (CUNY) (2002)