NYSTLA | About Us | Officers

NYSTLA Officers

President Andrew Finkelstein, Esq. Andrew Finkelstein is the Managing Partner of Finkelstein & Partners, LLP; Jacoby & Meyers, LLP; Fine, Olin & Anderman, LLP and Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP. Mr. Finkelstein is a well-respected trial attorney who actively teaches trial strategy and practice. He has obtained hundreds of seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements throughout his career. Mr. Finkelstein has been an active member of NYSTLA since 1989 and a member of the Board of Directors since 1995. Mr. Finkelstein has litigated wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases arising from defective drugs; defective products; car, motorcycle and bus crashes; falls caused by defective conditions; labor law and construction site violations; nursing home abuse and neglect; medical negligence; consumer class actions; sexual assault; and police excessive force cases. With 20 offices throughout NY from Long Island to Buffalo he is well suited to represent all NYSTLA members' interests throughout the State.
President-Elect John Zaremba, Esq. John D. Zaremba is a founding member of Zaremba Brown PLLC. Zaremba is a litigator who limits his practice to cases arising from construction accidents, catastrophic personal injury, consumer class action cases, trucking accidents, and medical malpractice. He has been recognized by his peers with his selection to Super Lawyers and the New York Law Journal’s section on “Top Verdicts and Settlements”. John has been selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the State of New York by the National Trial Lawyers Organization, and selected for the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40.
First Vice President Eugene Gozenput, Esq. Eugene Gozenput, Partner at Pazer, Epstein, Jaffe & Fein, handles cases including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, civil rights violations, products liability, construction and those involving work site accidents. He has represented many plaintiffs in actions against insurance companies and corporations across the City of New York. Eugene was recognized as a SuperLawyers Rising Star in the New York Metro area.
Second Vice President Matthew Gaier, Esq. Matthew Gaier is a highly accomplished attorney known for his expertise in appellate work and medical malpractice litigation. With an extensive track record at the law firm of Kramer Dillof Livingston & Moore, he has played a crucial role in the firm's success. For his exceptional legal prowess, Gaier has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers of America, and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, earning a place among the Nation's Top One Percent of attorneys.
Secretary Avi Laby, Esq. Avi Laby, Esq. of the firm Gersowitz Libo & Korek specializes in Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury litigation, with a focus on Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Accidents, Premises Liability, Labor Law, and Victims of Sexual Abuse. Avi has served as a court clerk, represented NYSTLA on a New York County Judicial Screening Panel and has contributed his time and knowledge to advocate on behalf of victims of negligence.
Treasurer Joseph L. Ciaccio, Esq. Joseph L. Ciaccio is the Managing Partner of Napoli Shkolnik Personal Injury Practice. He successfully litigates a wide variety of birth-related injuries, including fetal distress, hypoxia, and Erb's palsy injuries, as well as a range of medical malpractice actions, including failures to diagnose cancer, infections, orthopedic negligence, and more. In 2019, Joseph was recognized by TopVerdict as achieving one of the largest settlements in the State of New York for that year, as well as a Top 50 settlement for the entire Country.
Deputy Treasurer Nathan Werksman, Esq. Nathan Werksman fights for the injured and wronged in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death litigation as a trial attorney at Merson Law PLLC, and is a leader in the New York legal community. His work on behalf of injured New Yorkers has been featured on Good Morning America and Eyewitness News ABC 7 New York and in The New York Times, The New York Post, and Rolling Stone Magazine. He is also the Chair of the New York City Bar Association's Torts and Product Liability Committee. He holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford Law School.
Parliamentarian Ingrid Heide, Esq. Ingrid H. Heide has worked throughout her career for victims of negligence and has particular expertise in medical malpractice and product liability litigation. Since joining the firm Trolman Glaser Corley & Lichtman, PC, Ingrid spends most of her days representing victims of surgical malpractice, obstetrical malpractice, and delayed diagnosis of cancer. Ingrid is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the New York Women's Bar Association.
Immediate Past President Victoria Wickman, Esq. Victoria Wickman is the founder of a boutique law firm in New York City, the Law Office of Victoria Wickman. Her firm is completely focused on medical malpractice and represents clients who have suffered injuries in the course of receiving any type of medical care. Ms. Wickman is the Co-Vice Chair of the Medical Malpractice Committee of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.

ABOUT NYSTLA
The New York State Trial Lawyers Association works to protect New York's civil justice system, fighting against initiatives that threaten to limit the rights of injured consumers. These threats now exist at the federal, state, and city levels. NYSTLA is a crucially important voice for the voiceless. Our mission: "To promote a safer and healthier society, to assure access to the civil justice system by those who are wrongfully injured and to advance representation of the public by ethical, well-trained lawyers."

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