VerifiedLawFirms editorial: Focus and practice areas — Litigation sits at the center of the work here. Yankwitt LLP handles civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts across New York and New Jersey, and that…
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About Yankwitt LLP
Yankwitt LLP is a trial and litigation firm based in White Plains, New York.
It handles civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts throughout New York and New Jersey, including the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division. The firm represents individuals and businesses, from local Westchester companies to national and multinational organizations, and it also serves as trial counsel for other law firms and as general counsel for several businesses.
Its practice areas include business litigation, contract disputes, criminal defense and investigations, employment litigation, family law litigation, insurance coverage disputes, real estate litigation, premises liability, professional liability, bankruptcy litigation, appellate practice, and shareholder disputes. The firm is led by Russell Yankwitt, a former federal law clerk and former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who built the firm's team from attorneys with similar training.
Several of its lawyers previously served as federal prosecutors. The office is at 140 Grand Street, Suite 705, in White Plains, and the firm's phone number is 914-686-1500.
Editor's Review
VerifiedLawFirms editorial
Focus and practice areas
Litigation sits at the center of the work here. Yankwitt LLP handles civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts across New York and New Jersey, and that includes the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division. Its lawyers try cases, and they also take on trial counsel work for other law firms. Some businesses keep the firm on as general counsel.
The practice covers a broad set of disputes. These include business litigation, contract disputes, criminal defense and investigations, employment litigation, and family law litigation such as divorce, child custody, and child support. The firm also handles insurance coverage disputes and real estate litigation. Other areas the site lists include premises liability, professional liability, bankruptcy litigation, appellate practice, and shareholder disputes.
How the team is built
Russell Yankwitt leads the firm. He is a former federal law clerk, a former large firm litigator, and a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He built the firm's trial team by hiring attorneys with similar training. Several of the lawyers there previously worked as federal prosecutors.
The firm lists a roster of 17 attorneys under its Talent section. Named lawyers include Claire Amodio, George C. Godfrey III, Dina L. Hamerman, Anastasia Kyriakos, Silvana Martinaj, Jonathan Ohring, Robert T. Polemeni, Madison Powers, Michael H. Reed, and Waleska Suero Garcia. A group of that size gives the firm room to staff a matter with more than one lawyer when a case calls for it.
Building a team around shared training has a practical effect. When lawyers come from a similar background, they tend to approach a case with a common method, and that can make it easier to hand work between them. The federal prosecution experience on this roster tends to matter most in criminal defense and internal investigations, where knowing how the government builds a case has direct value.
A partner's courtroom background
Benjamin R. Allee is a partner in the White Plains office. Before joining the firm, he spent more than a decade as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He was Deputy Chief of the White Plains Division there, and he supervised more than 20 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
His record, as the firm states it, includes 10 cases tried to verdict and 12 appeals argued in the Second Circuit. He earned his J.D. at Fordham University School of Law. He clerked for two federal judges, and he worked as an associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell. In my opinion, that combination of trial work and appellate work is worth noting for a client who wants one lawyer able to carry a case through to a decision.
What these disputes involve
The Commercial Division of the New York Supreme Court hears business cases above a set monetary threshold, and its judges apply rules written for complicated commercial matters. Contract disputes there often turn on the written terms and on how the parties acted. Such cases move through discovery and motion practice, and they reach trial when they do not settle. A firm that offers itself as trial counsel is telling clients it prepares for that final stage.
Criminal defense and investigations run on a separate track. A federal matter can start with a grand jury or a government inquiry long before any charge. Lawyers who once worked as prosecutors have watched that process from the government's side, and that view shapes how they read a client's position. As a reviewer, I read the prosecutorial backgrounds on this roster as useful context for the firm's investigations work.
Employment, insurance, and property claims
Employment litigation covers claims between workers and employers. These matters can involve discrimination claims, wage questions, or the terms of a departure, and they sometimes run at the same time before a state agency and a federal court. Insurance coverage disputes ask a different question: whether a policy pays for a given loss. Those cases read the policy language against the facts of the claim, and they can decide who bears a large cost.
Real estate litigation reaches title questions, lease disputes, and fights over the sale or use of property. Family law litigation deals with divorce and the arrangements that follow for any children. These matters run in state court, where a judge weighs financial records and, where children are involved, their circumstances. Each of these areas has its own procedure and its own decision-makers, so a firm that lists several of them is describing a wide civil docket.
Who the firm represents
The client base includes individuals and businesses. It covers local Westchester companies as well as national and multinational organizations. A litigation firm that works for both single people and large companies has to shift its approach with the matter, since a personal dispute and a corporate one carry different stakes and different timelines. The site does not state a founding year for the firm. It also takes on trial counsel work for other law firms, which means other lawyers bring the firm in to try their cases. The firm handles general counsel work for several businesses too.
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AAAlicia A. Tallbe
Alicia A. Tallbe is Counsel at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. She earned a B.A. from Marist College in 2003 and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 2006. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, contract disputes, consumer products litigation, class action defense, and intellectual property matters.
AKAnastasia Kyriakos
Benjamin R. AlleePartner
Benjamin Allee represents clients in criminal investigations and prosecutions and in civil litigation. Before joining the firm, he served more than a decade as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he was Deputy Chief of the White Plains Division and supervised more than 20 AUSAs. He tried 10 cases to verdict and argued 12 appeals in the Second Circuit. At Yankwitt LLP he co-leads the Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice and co-heads the Appellate Practice, and earlier in his career he clerked for two federal judges and worked as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
CMCassandra M. Vogel
Cassandra M. Vogel is an attorney at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. She earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2014. Her practice covers commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, and personal injury litigation on the defense side.
CAClaire Amodio
DMDaniella M. Vincent
DLDina L. Hamerman
Dina Hamerman focuses her practice on complex civil litigation and government investigations. She co-leads the Appellate Practice at Yankwitt LLP and serves as the firm's executive director. She began her career at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, where she worked on white collar defense and general commercial litigation, including internal and external investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Securities and Exchange Act, and state insurance laws, as well as product liability and commercial disputes. She graduated from Columbia Law School and served as a federal law clerk to Judge Alfred M. Wolin of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
GCGeorge C. Godfrey III
George C. Godfrey III is a partner at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. He earned his J.D. from Oklahoma City University School of Law and holds a B.A. from Colgate University. Before joining Yankwitt LLP, he practiced at Megargee, Youngblood, Franklin & Corcoran, at Mairone Biel, and at Cooper Levenson. His practice includes civil defense litigation, premises liability, dram shop matters, and employment law.
JMJason M. Swergold
Jason M. Swergold is an attorney at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York, where he co-leads the firm's Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice. He represents clients in criminal and regulatory defense matters, government investigations, internal investigations, and commercial litigation. Before joining the firm, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for more than eight years, where he tried federal criminal cases, argued appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and held supervisory roles including Deputy Chief of the White Plains Division. He earlier worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and as an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP, and he received his law degree from Boston College Law School.
JOJonathan Ohring
Jonathan Ohring is an attorney at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. He attended Emory University School of Law. His practice focuses on advertising, appeals, and government matters.
MPMadison Powers
MHMichael H. Reed
Michael H. Reed is an attorney at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. He graduated from New York University School of Law in 2009. He represents clients in employment litigation, business litigation, class action and mass tort matters, and general litigation.
PJPhilip J. Tullo
Philip Tullo is an attorney at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. He earned his J.D. from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, graduating in 2021. His practice focuses on commercial litigation.
RTRobert T. Polemeni
Robert T. Polemeni earned a B.S. from Cornell University in 1998 and a J.D. from St. John's University in 2004. He worked as an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where his experience included Legal Aid shelter allowance litigation concerning New York's Safety Net Assistance program. He has also been affiliated with the New York firm Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Simpson.
RMRussell M. Yankwitt
Russell Yankwitt leads Yankwitt LLP. He is a former federal law clerk, a former large firm litigator, and a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He built the firm's trial team by hiring attorneys with similar training and credentials.
SMSilvana Martinaj
WSWaleska Suero Garcia
Waleska Suero Garcia is an attorney practicing at Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York. She received her legal education at Georgetown University Law Center. Her profile lists English as a language she speaks and writes.
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