|   | | Law Firm in Bridgeport, Connecticut | |
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| | Address | 1000 Lafayette Boulevard
Suite 500 | | Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604 | | (Fairfield Co.) | | Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1740, Bridgeport, CT, 06601-1740 | | | |
| | Contact Information | | Phone: 203-333-9441 | | Telecopiers: 203-333-1489; 203-579-2933 | | Visit Our Website | | http://www.znclaw.com | | | | Send Us Email |  |
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(Main Office)
| Zeldes, Needle & Cooper,
A Professional Corporation practices in the following areas of law:
Litigation, Business Transactions and Representation of Individuals, Administrative Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy and Insolvency, Business, Corporate and Commercial Law, Complex Commercial and Other Civil Litigation, Condominiums and Community Associations, Criminal Defense, Domestic Relations, Employment Law, Environmental Law, Estates, Trusts and Probate, Elder Law, Lawyers and Other Professionals, Health Care and Medical Practitioners, Muncipal Law, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Commercial and Residential Leasing and Real Estate, Zoning and Land Use. | | Year Established: 1971 | Firm Profile:
Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, founded in 1971, is a firm of twenty two lawyers committed to delivering quality legal services to a wide range of clients in accordance with the highest ethical standards of the profession. We welcome the opportunity to provide effective, tenacious and creative responses to the most challenging and complex situations. The firm includes component groups focusing on litigation and transactional matters. Our litigation work encompasses the routine and the unusual, including the fields of commercial, corporate, personal injury, securities, aviation, product liability, criminal, construction, lender liability, employment, professional liability and domestic relation law. Our transactional attorneys concentrate on corporate matters, bankruptcy, estate planning and settlement, zoning, real estate, business planning, loan restructuring and workouts, banking and commercial conveyancing. Our attorneys have exceptionally strong academic credentials; a number have federal and state clerkship experience as well. We have been called upon to represent clients with unique and difficult problems and we take pride in devising innovative solutions to legal problems. | | Firm Size: 22 | | Jacob D. Zeldes (Member) born Galesburg, Illinois, December 10, 1929; admitted to bar, 1957, Connecticut; 1958, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1959, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit; 1960, U.S. Supreme Court; 1966, U.S. Tax Court; 1993, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. Education: University of Wisconsin (B.S., 1951); Yale University (LL.B., 1957). Law Clerk, Hon. Robert P. Anderson, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1957-1958. Special Counsel, Connecticut House of Representatives, Select Committee to Investigate Impeachment of Probate Judge, 1985. Member: Greater Bridgeport, The Connecticut (Chairman, 1973-1974, Member, 1963—, Criminal Justice Committee; Chairman, 1984-1987 and Member, 1984—, Federal Practice Committee; Lawyer to Lawyer Arbitration, 1990—) and American Bar Associations; Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Connecticut Bar Foundation; Connecticut Defense Lawyers Association (Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999). Fellow: American College of Trial Lawyers; American Bar Foundation. [With U.S.N.R., 1951-1953]. Reported Cases: Rogers vs Richmond, 365 U.S. 534 (1961); Marchetti vs United States, 390 U.S. 39 (1968); City of Harford vs Chase, 942 F.2d 130 (2d Cir. 1991); Continental Casualty Co. vs Pullman, Comley, Bradley & Reeves, 929 F.2d 103 (2d Cir. 1991); In Re Grievance Committee of U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 847 F.2d 57 (2d Cir. 1988); United States vs MacKenzie, 777 F.2d 811 (2d Cir. 1985); United States vs Curcio, 694 F.2d 14 (2d Cir. 1982); United States vs Curcio, 680 F.2d 881 (2d Cir. 1982); New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. vs Iannotti, 567 F.2d 166 (2d Cir. 1977); Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. vs Coffin, 213 Conn. 573 (1990); Joseph I. Lieberman, Attorney General vs Reliable Refuse Co., Inc. 212 Conn. 661 (1989); In Re Grand Jury Investigation by Judge John M. Alexander, 207 Conn. 98 (1988); Rules Committee of Superior Court of Connecticut vs Freedom of Information Commission, 192 Conn. 234 (1984); Caryl S. Stern vs Harold N. Stern, 165 Conn. 797 (1973); Elizabeth M. Gimbel vs Frederic A. Gimbel, et al, 147 Conn. 561 (1960). Practice Areas: Civil and Criminal Litigation. Email: Jacob D. Zeldes | | Charles M. Needle (Member) born Chelsea, Massachusetts, April 28, 1938; admitted to bar, 1963, Connecticut. Education: Harvard University (B.A., 1959); Wesleyan University (M.A.T., 1960); Yale University (LL.B., 1963). Member, Representative Town Meeting, Fairfield, 1967-1968. Candidate for State Senator for Twenty-Fifth Senatorial District, 1968. Director, 1968-2001 and President, 1986-1988, Harvard Club of Southern Connecticut. President, Foundation for Discovery Museum, 1999-2001. Regional Director, National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1994-2002. Chairman, Professional Division United Way, 1995. Member: Greater Bridgeport (Member, Executive Committee, 1989-1992, 1997-2002; Treasurer, 1996-1997; Secretary, 1997-1998; Vice-President, 1999-2000; President, 2000-2001), The Connecticut (Member: House of Delegates, 1981; Member, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Section, 1985—) and American Bar Associations. Member of Fellows of American Bar Foundation and Connecticut Bar Foundation; Advisory Board of Sacred Heart University Para-Legal Program. Practice Areas: Commercial Law and Litigation; Bankruptcy Law; Business Reorganization; Real Estate Law. Email: Charles M. Needle | | Robert S. Cooper (Member) born New Haven, Connecticut, October 6, 1938; admitted to bar, 1963, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1965, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit. Education: Dartmouth College (A.B., cum laude, 1960); Yale University (LL.B., 1963). Member: Greater Bridgeport, The Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Financial Law; Commercial Planning; Transactions; Dispute Resolution. Email: Robert S. Cooper | | Maximino Medina, Jr. (Member) born New York, N.Y., May 20, 1958; admitted to bar, 1984, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: Harvard University (B.A., 1980); New York University (J.D., 1984). Member, 1988-1991, Board of Directors, and Chairman, 1988-1991, Bridgeport Water Pollution Control Authority, 1988-1991. Member: Bridgeport Board of Education, 1993—. Member: Greater Bridgeport (Chairman, Minority Recruitment Committee, 1994-1995; Board of Directors, 1996-1998), Connecticut (Member, Committee to Attract and Promote Minority Participation in the Legal Profession, 1988-1993) and American Bar Associations; Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association; National Hispanic Bar Association. Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Bankruptcy Law; Personal Injury Litigation. Email: Maximino Medina, Jr. | | Shelley R. Sadin (Member) born Manila, Philippines; admitted to bar, 1984, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 2002, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Yale University (B.A., 1979); Georgetown University (J.D., 1984). Author: "Sentencing Individuals Under the Guidelines: The Vital Role of Background and Character Information," Federal Sentencing Reporter, Vol. II, No. 6 (May/June, 1999); "Where Have You Gone, Horace Rumpole?" The Champion, Vol. XXV, No. 4 (May, 2001). Listed in the 2007 edition of Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Law and White Collar Criminal Defense, and Non-White Collar Criminal Defense. Appointments: Criminal Justice Act Representative for the District of Connecticut; Criminal Law Advisory Committee to the district judges. Member: Connecticut Bar Association (Member, Sections on: Criminal Justice; Federal Practice); National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Reported Cases: Connecticut Dep't of Public Safety v. Doe, 538 U.S.1 (2003) rev'g, 271 F.3d 38 (2d Cir., 2001). Languages: French. Practice Areas: Government and Corporate Investigations; Civil and Criminal Trials and Appeals. Email: Shelley R. Sadin | | Edward R. Scofield (Member) born Bridgeport, Connecticut, October 6, 1961; admitted to bar, 1985, Connecticut; 1986, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1992, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit; 1994, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit; 1996, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Education: Yale University (B.A., cum laude, 1982); University of Connecticut (J.D., cum laude, 1985). Associate Editor, Connecticut Law Review, 1984-1985. Law Clerk, Hon. T. Emmet Clarie, U.S. District Judge, District of Connecticut, 1985-1986. Superior Court Attorney Trial Referee, 1996—. Member: Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Intellectual Property Litigation. Email: Edward R. Scofield | | David P. Friedman (Member) born Montgomery, Alabama, April 23, 1957; admitted to bar, 1984, New York; 1988, Connecticut; 1989, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1992, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; 1997, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; 1999, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Education: Stanford University (B.A., 1979); New York University (J.D., cum laude, 1983). Order of the Coif, 1983. Law Clerk, Hon. Judith S. Kaye, Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals, 1986-1988. Member, Board of Directors, Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc. Member: Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut (Member, House of Delegates); and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Legal Malpractice Litigation; Civil Appeals; Environmental Litigation. Email: David P. Friedman | | Leslie Paier Aceto (Member) born New Haven, Connecticut; admitted to bar, 1988, Connecticut; 1989, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: Boston College (B.A., cum laude, 1984); University of Connecticut (J.D., cum laude, 1988). Member: Greater Bridgeport, New Haven, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Real Estate; Commercial; Corporate. Email: Leslie Paier Aceto | | Martin L. McCann (Member) born Bethpage, New York, May 16, 1958; admitted to bar, 1992, Connecticut; 1993, New York, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut and U.S. Tax Court. Education: Fairfield University (B.S., 1980); Quinnipiac College, School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1992). Associate Editor, Law Review, Quinnipiac College. Certified Public Accountant, Connecticut, 1986. Author: Pinsky v. Duncan: Ex Parte Attachment of Real Property in Connecticut and The Antithetical Restrictions of Due Process 11:1 University of Bridgeport Law U. Rev. 201 (1990), Use Tax, Mail Order Sales, and The Constitution: Recent Developments in Connecticut 12:1 University of Bridgeport Law Rev. 137 (1991); Federal Tax Aspects of Bankruptcy for Individuals and Corporations, Kleinrock Publications, TaxExpert Series (1998). Member: Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut and American Bar Associations; American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants. Practice Areas: Business Law; Commercial Law; Bankruptcy; Taxation. Email: Martin L. McCann | | Douglas J. Varga (Member) born Bridgeport, Connecticut, August 30, 1963; admitted to bar, 1989, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; 1993, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois and U.S Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; 1995, U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana; 1996, U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois; 1997, New York and U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; 1998, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 2000, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Education: Fairfield University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1985); Vanderbilt University (J.D., 1989). Executive Articles Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 1988-1989. Member: Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Employment Litigation. Email: Douglas J. Varga | | Marie A. Casper (Member) born Richmond, California, December 4, 1948; admitted to bar, 1990, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: University of California at Berkeley (B.A., 1970; M.A., 1972); University of Bridgeport School of Law (1987-1988); Yale Law School (J.D., 1990). Member: Greater Bridgeport and Connecticut Bar Associations; Inns of Court. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Business Litigation. Email: Marie A. Casper | | Robert M. Frost, Jr. (Member) born Manhasset, New York, May 3, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Connecticut; 1999, New York and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: College of the Holy Cross (B.A., 1995); University of Connecticut School of Law (J.D., 1998). Phi Beta Kappa. Executive Director, Connecticut Moot Court Board. Notes and Comments Editor, Connecticut Law Review. Member, Criminal Justice Act Panel, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Member: Greater Bridgeport (Member: Litigation Section; Criminal Law Section), Connecticut (Member: Litigation Section; Criminal Justice Section) and American (Member: Litigation Section; Criminal Justice Section; Antitrust Law Section) Bar Associations; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; American Inns of Court (Raymond E. Baldwin Inn); American Health Lawyers Association. Reported Cases: Barasso v. Rear Still Hill Road LLC, 64 Conn. App. 9 (2001). Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; State and Federal Criminal Litigation; Antitrust; Health Care. Email: Robert M. Frost, Jr. | | Ira B. Charmoy (Member) born 1941; admitted to bar, 1966, Connecticut; 1968, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1983, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; 1988, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of Connecticut (B.A., 1962); University of Connecticut School of Law (J.D., 1965). Member: Connecticut Bar Association (Member, Executive Committee, 1980—; Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Sections); Greater Bridgeport Bar Association (Chairman, Commercial Law and Bankruptcy Sections, 1998-1999). Practice Areas: Bankruptcy; Asset Protection; Civil Litigation; Commercial Litigation. Email: Ira B. Charmoy | | —————————— | | Robert A. Pacelli, Jr. (Associate) born Bridgeport, Connecticut, July 9, 1972; admitted to bar, 1997, Massachusetts; 1998, Connecticut and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: Brandeis University (B.A., 1994); Boston University (J.D., 1997). Projects Editor, Probate Law Journal, 1996-1997. Paul J. Liacos Scholar. Member: American Bar Association. Member: Greater Bridgeport (Member, Sections on: Business Law; Real Property Law), Connecticut (Member, Sections on: Business Law; Real Property Law) and American (Member, Sections on: Business Law; Real Property Law) Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Commercial Real Estate; Residential Real Estate; Community Association Law. Email: Robert A. Pacelli, Jr. | | Patrick R. Smith (Associate) born Stamford, Connecticut, July 3, 1970; admitted to bar, 2000, Connecticut; 2002, New York. Education: Hobart and William Smith Colleges (B.A., Latin, 1992); University of Connecticut School of Law (J.D., 2000). Member: Connecticut Bar Association. Practice Areas: Business Law; Commercial Law; Bankruptcy; Trusts and Estates. Email: Patrick R. Smith | | Jeffrey M. Cooper (Associate) born New Haven, Connecticut, September 14, 1975; admitted to bar, 2002, Connecticut. Education: Trinity College (B.A., 1999); Quinnipiac University School of Law (J.D., 2001). Member: New Haven, Bridgeport and Connecticut Bar Associations; Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Personal Injury. Email: Jeffrey M. Cooper | | Kristen L. Zaehringer (Associate) born New Haven, Connecticut; admitted to bar, 2005, Connecticut; 2006, New York and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: George Washington University, (B.A., summa cum laude, 2002); Quinnipiac University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 2005). Phi Beta Kappa; Gamma Kappa Alpha Honor Society; Phi Delta Phi (Vice Magister, 2004-2005). Member Health Law Journal. Distinguished: Academic Achievement Awards in Federal Courts; Criminal Procedure, Introduction to Representing Clients, Legal Skill I; Excellence in Clinical Work Award, Excellence in Oral Advocacy Award. Law Clerk to the Honorable Dominic J. Squatrito, United States District Court, District of Connecticut, 2005-2006. Member: New Haven, Greater Bridgeport, Connecticut, New York State and American Bar Associations. Languages: Italian. Email: Kristen L. Zaehringer | | OF COUNSEL | | John R. Bryk (Of Counsel) born Bridgeport, Connecticut, March 29, 1950; admitted to bar, 1974, Connecticut. Education: University of Bridgeport (B.A., Pol. Sci., 1971); University of Connecticut (J.D., 1974). Member: Bridgeport (Chairman, Professional Conduct Committee, 1986-1989; Secretary, 1991-1993; Vice President, 1994-1996; President-Elect, 1996-1997; President, 1997-1998) and Connecticut (Professional Ethics Committee, 1987-1990) Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Commercial Litigation; Commercial Real Estate; Residential Real Estate; Municipal Taxation; Probate; Personal Injury; Bankruptcy. Email: John R. Bryk | | COUNSEL | | Jonathan D. Elliot (Counsel) born New York, N.Y., April 13, 1955; admitted to bar, 1980, Connecticut. Education: Yale University (B.A., 1977); University of Michigan (J.D., 1980). Member, American Collectors' Association. Member: Bridgeport, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Litigation; Collections; Family Law; Divorce. Email: Jonathan D. Elliot | | Sarah W. Poston (Counsel) born Indianapolis, Indiana, May 7, 1965; admitted to bar, 1994, Pennsylvania; 1995, Ohio and New York; 1997, Connecticut; 1998, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 2002, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Education: Brown University (A.B., 1987); New York University (J.D., 1993). Staff Editor, Annual Survey of American Law, 1991-1992. Author, "Developments in Federal Disability Discrimination Law: An Emmerging Resolution to the Section 504 Damages Issue," 1992/1993 Ann. Surv. Am. L. 419. Former Law Clerk to: Hon. Douglas W. Hillman, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, 1993-1994, 6th Circuit; Hon. Janet C. Hall, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1997-1998, 2nd Circuit. Member: Connecticut Bar Association; National Association of Women Business Owners. Reported Cases: Tsombanidis et al v. City of West Haven et al., 208 F.Supp.2d 263(D.Conn. 2002); 180 F.Supp.2d 262 (D.Conn. 2001); 129 F.Supp.2d 136(D.Conn. 2001); Shattuck v. Town of Stratford, 233 F.Supp.2d 301 (D.Conn. 2002); Yancey v. Connecticut Life & Cas. Insur., 791 A.2d 719, 68 Conn.App. 556(Conn.App. 2002); Women's Medical Professional Corporation et al. v. Voinovich et al., 130 F.3d 187 (6th Cir. 1997); 911 F.Supp. 1051 (S.D. Ohio 1995); Dalton v. Jefferson Smurfit Corp., 979 F.Supp. 1187 (S.D. Ohio 1997). Languages: French and Spanish. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Employment Law; Civil Rights; Criminal Law. Email: Sarah W. Poston | | Neeta M. Vatti (Counsel) born 1969; admitted to bar, 1994, Connecticut, New York and U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York. Education: University of Connecticut (B.A., 1990); Albany Law School of Union University (J.D., 1993). Member: Greater Bridgeport and Connecticut Bar Associations; Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association; Asian Bar Association of Connecticut (Director, Public Relations). Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Workers Compensation. Email: Neeta M. Vatti |
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