Six Bleakley Platt Women Attorneys Named to New York Metro 2017 Super Lawyers/The Top Women List
Six Bleakley Platt attorneys have been included on the New York Metro 2017 Super Lawyers/The Top Women list. The attorneys receiving this honor are Partners Susan E. Galvao, Mary Ellen Manley, Frances M. Pantaleo and Nancy J. Rudolph, and Mary Anne Wirth, Of Counsel and Elizabeth C. Briand, Associate, in the Rising Star category. The attorneys were named in a special supplement published by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers and distributed throughout the New York metro area.
Susan E. Galvão, Partner, is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, co-chair of the Appellate practice group and a member of the Litigation practice group. Ms. Galvão has represented a variety of corporations, banks, insurance companies and individuals in litigation before federal and state trial and appellate courts. She has extensive experience in appellate practice, Surrogate’s Court practice, and trust and estate litigation, including kinship matters. She is also experienced with complex commercial litigation, including contract disputes, employment litigation, insurance coverage issues and class action defense. She has argued appeals in the state and federal courts on a broad spectrum of issues.
Mary Ellen Manley, Partner, leads the Firm’s Trusts and Estates practice group. Ms. Manley concentrates in the area of Surrogate’s Court practice. She has substantial trust and estate litigation experience, representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in adversarial proceedings, including will contests, accountings, removal of fiduciaries, will construction or reformation proceedings, fee litigation, determination of right of election, kinship hearings, and validity of creditors’ claims. Ms. Manley is also experienced in all aspects of trust and estate administration.
Frances M. Pantaleo, Partner, is the head of the firm’s Elder Law practice group. Ms. Pantaleo handles a broad range of matters with a particular emphasis on Elder Law, special needs planning, guardianship proceedings under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law and Article 17A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, drafting and administration of special needs trusts, estate planning, drafting of wills and trusts, and estate administration.
Nancy J. Rudolph, Partner, concentrates in the area of trusts and estates, estate administration, estate tax, guardianship, Surrogate’s Court practice and estate litigation. Ms. Rudolph litigates in Surrogate’s Court, Supreme Court and the United States Federal District Courts, representing heirs, beneficiaries and fiduciaries, both individual and corporate, in judicial proceedings involving probate, contested probate, administration, lost wills, construction, kinship, removal of fiduciaries, contested accountings, uncontested accountings, turn over, spousal right of election, and in real estate transactions. Ms. Rudolph also represents individuals and corporate fiduciaries as trustees of inter vivos trusts as well as supplemental or special needs trusts.
Mary Anne Wirth,Of Counsel, is the head of the Criminal Defense and Investigations Practice Group and concentrates in white collar criminal defense work and general civil litigation. She is also a member of the Litigation and Appellate Practice Groups. Ms. Wirth served as Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of the Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr, in Washington D.C. from 1997 to 1998. She was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1988, assigned to the Civil Division. She was also an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office from 1988 to 1996. She has served as District Counsel for the New York District of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States Department of Justice. Ms. Wirth has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School in the Legal Writing Program since 1987.
Elizabeth Briand, Associate, is with the Elder Law and Trusts and Estates practice groups and handles all matters relating to Elder Law, estate planning and estate administration, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, guardianship proceedings under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law and Article 17A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, drafting and administration of special needs trusts. Ms. Briand is Chair of the Sponsorship Committee of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law and Special Needs Section, and served as Program Co-Chair of the 2016 Annual Meeting. Ms. Briand is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and a member of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association.