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Curran releases list of eligible law firms for county counsel

Luke Torrance
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran

Nassau County on Friday released a list of law firms qualified to provide outside counsel in 25 specific fields, from appellate courts to zoning laws.

“These law firms are among the best in their fields,” County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement. “As we select firms for particular assignments, we will be able to rely on the competitive municipal rates they have provided.”

The 45 firms that were chosen — many had expertise in multiple fields — responded to a Request for Qualifications process that began on April 25. The firms were notified earlier last week.

Curran said the county would reach out to one of the 45 firms whenever it needed counsel in an area that required specific expertise or presented a conflict of interest.

“We are proud of the County Attorney’s Office for handling a variety of matters in-house with its own legal staff, but we still need to supplement our legal representation with outside counsel,” she said. “This combination will serve the county effectively and efficiently.”

A few of the law firms are based in the North Shore. Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Formato, Ferrara, Wolf & Carone LLP of Lake Success is eligible in 17 of the 25 fields, including election law, tort law, and commercial and construction litigation.

Leventhal, Mullaney & Blinkoff LLP of Roslyn, which provides legal services for several villages in the Town of North Hempstead, is eligible in six areas: appellate, discrimination disciplinary hearings, federal civil rights, land use, municipal law and zoning law.

Also eligible in 20 fields is Rivkin Radler LLP, which previously employed former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano. Mangano left the firm to become county executive; during Magano’s corruption trial this spring, prosecutors said that Rivkin Radler attorneys assisted restaurateur Harendra Singh in securing a $1.5 million line of credit.

Singh testified that he gave gifts to Mangano, his wife and former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto in exchange for contracts and loans backed by Oyster Bay. Venditto was found not guilty but the jury could not reach a decision on the Manganos. Their retrial is set to begin in October.

William Savino, a partner at the firm, testified in April that he had no recollection of meeting with Oyster Bay officials.

Almost all of the firms are located in Nassau County with most of them clustered in Garden City or Mineola. A handful of firms are based in New York City.

“We are fortunate to have an experienced and robust legal community in Nassau County and firms ready to handle municipal matters,” Curran said.

Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.

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