QUATELA CHIMERI - Key Persons
Alexander E. Sendrowitz is a partner with the firm, concentrating in the areas of general civil litigation, state and federal court practice, business and commercial litigation and municipal defense. Significant to his success, Mr. Sendrowitz prides himself on his commitment to clients, ensuring they remain apprised of all developments through every step of the legal process. His ability to zealously advocate for his clients while remaining measured and objective sets him apart. The multi-disciplinary nature of Mr. Sendrowitz's practice strengthens his value to his clientele.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Suffolk County Matrimonial
Ms. Epilone is a member of the Suffolk County Matrimonial, Nassau County, Suffolk County and New York State Bar Associations.
Andrew Martingale is a partner in Quatela Chimeri's Municipal, Labor & Employment, and Litigation Practice Groups. Mr. Martingale provides counsel to commercial and municipal clients, including libraries and school districts, in matters involving municipal, labor & employment, and education law, among other areas, as general, labor, and litigation counsel. Amongst other clients, Andrew serves as general counsel to 17 Long Island municipal entities, advising them in all aspects of governance, from day-to-day employee issues to an out-of-the ground $20+ million construction project - and everything in between.
Mr. Martingale litigates extensively in state and federal courts, as well as administrative forums including the State Division of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, disciplinary tribunals, and appeals before the Commissioner of Education. Andrew serves on the Suffolk County Bar Association's Commercial Division Committee.
Andrew graduated magna cum laude from Albany Law School. While in law school, Andrew served as a Senior Editor on the Albany Law Review and won the Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trials competition. He was also an Associate Law Clerk for the late Honorable Roger J. Miner, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Prior to law school he received his degree in economics from Siena College.
Andrew is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York and all New York State courts. Andrew was selected to Super Lawyers' Rising Stars for the New York Metro Region as a Top Rated Employment & Labor Attorney (2017-2022). He is also a member of the New York State, Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations.
Education
Albany Law School, Magna cum laude
Siena College, B.A., Economics
Christopher J. Chimeri is a founding partner with the firm and oversees its Matrimonial and Family Law and Appellate Practice areas, tirelessly taking great pride in being personally acquainted with each such matter being handled by the attorneys at Quatela Chimeri.
James Adam Pascarella is of counsel to the firm and devotes 100% of his practice to criminal and white collar defense. Mr. Pascarella defends and counsels clients in all types of criminal matters in New York State and Federal Courts around the country, including doctors, lawyers, accountants, public officials, teachers, law enforcement officers, corporate executives, business owners, and brokers, among others.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Pascarella was a senior prosecutor in the Major Offense and White Collar Crime Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. During his time as an Assistant District Attorney, and while in private practice, Mr. Pascarella has handled thousands of cases, participated in over fifty trials, and has lectured on a variety of criminal issues including white collar crime and identity theft. Recognized as a top tier trail attorney, Mr. Pascarella has also taught trial techniques to lawyers for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA).
James N. Salvage, Jr., Esq. is of counsel to the law firm of Quatela Chimeri PLLC. With over twenty years of litigation experience, he focuses in the areas of federal and state court practice, commercial and civil litigation, employment law, appellate practice and matrimonial and family law.
A native of Auburn, New York, Mr. Salvage received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1992, and received his Juris Doctor, with distinction, from Hofstra University School of Law in 1995. At Hofstra, Mr. Salvage was a member of the Hofstra Law Review, made the Dean's List all three years and was one of a handful of second-year law students selected to serve as an appellate judge for Hofstra's first-year appellate advocacy class.
Mr. Salvage served from 1995 to 1997 as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Michael L. Orenstein, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York, and served from 1997 to 1999 as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Denis R. Hurley, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.
Following his clerkships, Mr. Salvage was an associate in the General Litigation department of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, where his clients included Citigroup, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Salomon Smith Barney.
Job Titles:
- Associate With the Law Firm
John R. Eyerman is an associate with the law firm of Quatela Chimeri PLLC, concentrating in the areas of commercial transactions and litigation, federal and state practice, appellate practice and advocacy, business law and disputes, and matrimonial and family law.
Mr. Eyerman received his Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School in 2019, where he distinguished himself as Associate Managing Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review and by receiving the Lisle Merit Scholarship, Dean's Merit Scholarship, and CALI Excellence Award in legal drafting. Mr. Eyerman holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Corporate Finance from The City University of New York, having graduated with honors. During his matriculation at Queens College, he lettered in varsity baseball and earned the distinction of All-Conference.
He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2019 and is a member of the Suffolk County, Nassau County, New York State and American Bar Associations.
Job Titles:
- Board Member and past Board Chairman of the Education and Assistance Corporation
Joseph A. Quatela, Esq. is the firm's managing partner and a seasoned trial attorney with over thirty years of litigation experience. In addition to managing the full service boutique firm, with practice groups that include matrimonial and family law, business, commercial, real estate, criminal defense, appeals, civil litigation, federal and state court practice, Mr. Quatela is actively involved in all aspects of the firm's transactions and litigation practice areas.
After serving as a Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney where he started his career, Mr. Quatela entered the private sector concentrating in the fields of matrimonial law, commercial transactions and litigation, federal and state civil practice, criminal law and real estate. Mr. Quatela's depth and breadth of experience enhances his representation of clients with varied legal needs and requirements.
Mr. Quatela is a current board member and past board chairman of The Education and Assistance Corporation, a not-for-profit organization providing a broad array of educational, vocational, counseling and criminal justice services to children and families. The organization's over 100 programs protect children, create opportunities for seniors, promote healthy families and communities, empower people through employment and education and provide alternatives for people with substance abuse and mental health needs.
A member of the Suffolk and Nassau County Bar Associations, Mr. Quatela has served on the Matrimonial, Criminal Courts, Commercial/Litigation and Federal Courts Committees.
Joseph C. Giametta, Esq. is an associate at Quatela Chimeri PLLC concentrating primarily in the areas of matrimonial and family law. Mr. Giametta's breadth of experience, assertiveness, and attention to detail enhances his role in representing clients navigating a multi-faceted divorce.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Member of Resolute Systems
The Honorable Joseph Covello is a partner with the firm and concentrates primarily in the areas of appellate and state court practice, civil and commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
With over thirty-eight years of experience, divided between the private practice of law and a distinguished judicial career which culminated in his appointments by the Governor, first as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, and ultimately to the Second Department's constitutional bench, Judge Covello brings to Quatela Chimeri his extensive experience litigating and presiding over a wide array of civil disputes including complex commercial, contract, business, matrimonial, employment, medical/professional malpractice, personal injury, municipal and financial matters, as well as substantial mediation and arbitration experience.
Prior to his appointment to the Appellate Division, Judge Covello served five years as a trial judge in Nassau County Supreme Court, with one year concurrently on the Appellate Term for the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts, and as a trial judge in Nassau County District Court.
Before taking the bench, Judge Covello spent fourteen years in the private practice of law with well-respected firms. While in private practice, Judge Covello was associate lead counsel in the celebrated case of In Re: Agent Orange, and served as counsel to both the Nassau County Police Indemnification Review Board and the Town of Oyster Bay Zoning Board of Appeals.
Since leaving the bench in 2011, Judge Covello has become one of the most highly regarded and successful neutrals in New York.
He was repeatedly voted a "Best Individual Arbitrator" by lawyers and claims professionals in New York Law Journal surveys.
Judge Covello's commitment to service commenced long before his legal career. A veteran of the United States Army, he was selected for and served in the U.S. Army Presidential Honor Guard in Arlington, Virginia. Following his military service, Judge Covello attended The State University of New York at Buffalo, where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Judge Covello received his law degree from Hofstra University School of Law, and has been honored with its George M. Estabrook Alumni Association's Distinguished Service Award.
A leader in service to the profession and the community, Judge Covello is a past president of the Columbian Lawyers Association and the Nassau Lawyers Association of Long Island. In addition, Judge Covello served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law teaching, among other classes, advanced appellate advocacy.
Judge Covello has received numerous awards for his exemplary public and professional service, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Columbian Lawyers Association, The New York State Bar Association Award for Recognition, The Long Beach Lawyers Association Man of the Year Award and The Fraternal Order of Court Officers' Honorable Edward J. Hart Jr. Memorial Award.
Recognized for his outstanding reputation, Judge Covello was appointed to and served four years on the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, an independent monitor that investigates and maintains integrity in state government.
Judge Covello serves as a Special Master to the Appellate Division conducting C.A.M.P. (Civil Appeals Management Program) conferences. Additionally, chosen as a select member of A.D.A.M. (Appellate Division Arbitrators and Mediators), a prestigious arbitration and mediation panel comprised of nine of the retired Appellate Division and Court of Appeal judges, Judge Covello provides a new and innovative approach to commercial arbitration and mediation services in New York.
Finally, Judge Covello is a distinguished member of Resolute Systems (a nationwide provider of ADR services) and consistently ranks in the top 10 as a mediator/arbitrator.
Nicole J. Brodsky is a partner at Quatela Chimeri, PLLC ("QC") concentrating in the areas of matrimonial and family law. Since joining the firm in 2013, Ms. Brodsky continues to pride herself on crafting an individual strategy for each of her clients that aligns them with the most advantageous position amidst difficult emotional circumstances. She strives to negotiate favorable settlements when possible to avoid costly and rigorous litigation but will represent her clients and litigate cases with vigor in the courtroom when a fair resolution cannot be achieved.
Honored in the legal community, Ms. Brodsky has been proudly named a New York Super Lawyers "Rising Star," and has received the 10th Annual "Celebrate Long Island's Young Professionals" '30 under 30' Award from the Chamber of Commerce. She has also received recognition from the American Society of Legal Advocates, the National Advocates, and the American Institute of Family Law Attorneys.
Following her undergraduate work at Cornell University, Nicole earned her Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she served as Managing Editor of the Journal of International and Comparative Law. At Cardozo, Nicole acted as a Student Attorney for the Uncontested Divorce Project and the Divorce Mediation and Family Law Clinics. She also interned for the Honorable Jane Pearl of the Queens County Family Court.
Since her admission to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey, Nicole has concentrated her practice exclusively in the matrimonial and family law arenas, including complex equitable distribution, custody and support proceedings in the Supreme and Family Courts of Suffolk and Nassau Counties, as well as the five boroughs of New York City.
Ms. Brodsky remains active in the family law community. She is a member of the matrimonial sections of the Nassau County, Suffolk County and New York State Bar Associations, the Suffolk County Matrimonial Bar Association, for which she also sits on the Board of Directors, and is also a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Member of the Nassau
Sophia Arzoumanidis is an Associate at Quatela Chimeri PLLC. Sophia focuses exclusively in the areas of matrimonial and family law, and the firm's related appellate practice. While attending Hofstra University School of Law, she was the Managing Editor of Articles of the Family Court Review, an international, interdisciplinary family law journal sponsored by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). Sophia's Note, entitled, "Why Requiring Parents to Pay for Postsecondary Education is Unconstitutional and Bad Policy," was published in April Issue of Volume 54.
Passionate and eager to create more opportunities and advance the knowledge of fellow law students in divorce and family law, Sophia co-founded the Family Law Society and acted as the Vice President of Internal Affairs. As well, she participated in the Matrimonial Law Externship, where she interned in the Nassau County Supreme Court Matrimonial Center for the Honorable Hope Schwartz Zimmerman. Sophia earned her J.D from Hofstra School of Law in 2016 and graduated, cum laude, from Binghamton University, where she majored in Philosophy, Politics and Law.
Ms. Arzoumanidis is a member of the Nassau and Suffolk Bar Associations, as well as, the New York State and American Bar Associations. Since joining the firm in 2016, Sophia has written numerous appellate briefs, meticulously representing the facts, issues and relevant law to ensure the highest level of advocacy on behalf of the client.