Quatela Chimeri PLLC

Focus and practice areas

Two fields carry most of the work at this firm: business litigation and family law. The website describes a boutique practice built around those areas. The firm runs as a PLLC and keeps offices in two Long Island counties, Suffolk and Nassau. That base covers Long Island and reaches into the greater New York area.

The published practice list runs wider than the two headline areas. It names Matrimonial and Family, Business and Commercial, Appellate Practice, Civil Litigation, White Collar, Criminal and Regulatory Defense, Federal Practice, Municipal Practice, Labor and Employment, and Technology. A list that long, held by a firm of this size, points to attorneys who share coverage across related fields. In my opinion that is a fair reading of how a boutique of this size tends to work.

Inside the matrimonial and family work

Family law fills out the most detail on the site. The listed subtopics include divorce, child custody, child support, equitable distribution, and spousal maintenance. The firm also names prenuptial, postnuptial and domestic partnership agreements, high net worth divorce with complex asset division, and matters specific to same-sex families. The firm handles divorce in both the supreme and family courts.

The split between those two courts matters for anyone starting a case in New York. A divorce itself goes through the supreme court, which holds jurisdiction over the marriage and the final judgment. Family court hears custody, support and related petitions, and it can run before or after a divorce is filed. A firm that works in both, as this one states it does, can keep a custody or support thread moving while the divorce proceeds.

Support, custody and asset division

Child support and spousal maintenance run on formulas set by New York statute, with room for a court to adjust the figures. Custody decisions turn on the child's interests, a standard the courts weigh case by case. A firm that lists child support, custody and maintenance together handles the pieces that usually move as a group when a family separates.

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements follow a separate track. Lawyers draft and negotiate them before any dispute exists, and courts later test them for fairness and proper disclosure. High net worth divorce brings in the valuation of businesses, retirement accounts and property, and it often calls for financial records and, at times, outside appraisers. The firm names that work directly, which fits a practice that also handles complex asset division.

How the team is built

The attorneys page lists thirteen attorneys and one other professional. Several profiles name a law school, which gives a sense of where the bench trained. Joseph A. Quatela completed his legal education at Hofstra University School of Law and works in general litigation. Christopher J. Chimeri graduated from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 2011 and handles family law and appeals, including divorce and separation.

The named lawyers spread across the firm's practice areas. Alexander E. Sendrowitz earned his law degree from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in 2015 and works in business litigation. Andrew Martingale graduated from Albany Law School in 2011 and covers labor and employment, business litigation, arbitration, and municipal and education matters. John R. Eyerman graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2019 and works in business and corporate law.

Family law draws several members of the bench. John P. Whiteman III handles divorce, separation and custody. James N. Salvage, Jr. works in family law. Gabriella Leon graduated from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 2019, practices family law, and speaks English and Spanish. Sophia Arzoumanidis holds a law degree from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. James Adam Pascarella works in criminal defense, including DWI and DUI cases. The page also names Nicole J. Brodsky and Richard N. Pagnotta, Jr.

The business and litigation side

Away from family matters, the firm lists business and commercial work alongside civil litigation and appellate practice. Sendrowitz, Martingale and Eyerman each name business or corporate work in their profiles, which points to a working group for company disputes and transactions. Chimeri's appellate focus adds a route for clients who want to challenge a trial result.

Appellate work differs from trial work in a practical way. An appeal reviews the record already built in the lower court, and it runs on written briefs and, at times, oral argument. Having an attorney who names appeals means a matter can stay inside the firm if a client decides to press a ruling further. As a reviewer, I read that as a useful continuity for litigation clients.

The wider practice list

Past business and family work, the firm names several areas that draw on courtroom and regulatory practice. White Collar, Criminal and Regulatory Defense covers charges and investigations that involve financial or professional conduct. Federal Practice points to matters heard in the federal courts, which follow their own rules and timelines. Municipal Practice covers dealings with local government, and Andrew Martingale's profile ties into that through his state, local and municipal work.

Labor and Employment and Technology round out the list. Employment matters cover the relationship between workers and employers, and they often reach both negotiation and litigation. Martingale again names employment and labor, along with schools and education, which gives the firm a point of contact for workplace and institutional disputes. The Technology heading points to work tied to software, data and online business, an area that pulls in both contract and regulatory questions.

Offices and reach

The firm keeps two offices, one in Hauppauge in Suffolk County and one in Garden City in Nassau County. An office in each county covers the two population centers of Long Island and shortens the trip to the courts on both sides. For family and litigation clients, who often make repeat visits over the life of a case, that spread is a practical point.

The site does not give a founding year. As a reviewer, I read the published material as a clear picture of a mid sized Long Island firm that pairs matrimonial work with commercial disputes. The record shows a two county base, thirteen named attorneys, and a practice weighted toward business litigation and family law.