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Taroff & Taitz, LLP Partners

New York Attorneys

Steven Taitz, Founding Partner

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Steven Taitz, one of the founders of the firm, is Managing Partner. Although raised on Long Island, Steve left the area to attend Johns Hopkins University, followed by University of Miami School of Law.

 

Steve caught the trial bug early on in law school. He started his career as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami and had worked his way up to Felony Division Chief before being lured back to New York by family in 1989. Here, he concentrates his practice in state and federal litigation, commercial litigation, criminal court matters, commercial transactions and maritime law. While a trial lawyer at heart, Steve knows that the best way to serve his clients is to listen hard and give wise counsel as to when to litigate and when to compromise. Steve prefers working with his clients rather than just for them.

 

He also works hard to give back to the community. He is the President of the Rotary Club of Patchogue, a Director at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, a Director of the MacArthur Business Alliance, a member of the Board of Directors of the Bayport-Blue Point SEED Foundation, a former Trustee of the Bayport-Blue Point Library, a participant in the BrookhavenYouth Court, a volunteer for Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck special needs camp, and legal advisor to B’nai Israel Temple in Oakdale.

 

Professionally, Steve holds an AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbel Peer Review Ratings and has been designated a Super Lawyer in business litigation by the New York Law Journal. He is a member of the American Bar Association, a former Director of the Suffolk County Bar Association where he previously chaired the Criminal Court Committee and the Multi-Disciplinary Task Force, and was a member of the Federal Court Committee and the Judicial Screening Committee. He is a past Director of the Suffolk Academy of Law and a member to the Commercial Law League of America.

 

All of the foregoing responsibilities notwithstanding, Steve still manages to get out on his boat and enjoy some of the simple and special pleasures of life on Long Island.

 

Education:

 

  • John Hopkins University (B.S., 1978)
  • University of Miami School of Law (J.D., 1982)

 

Bar Admissions:

 

  • Florida (1982)
  • New York (1989)
  • Second, Seventh and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals. United States District Courts for  the Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Districts of New York, the District of Connecticut and the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida.

 

Practice Areas:

 

  • Litigation in State, Federal and Bankruptcy Courts
  • Criminal Defense in State and Federal Courts.

 

Affiliations, Achievements and Honors:

 

  • Director, Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center
  • American Bar Association
  • Suffolk County Bar Association (Director, 1998-2001); Past Chair of Criminal Court Committee,
  • Federal Court Committee; Chair Multi-Disciplinary Task Force; Judicial Screening Committee
  • Former Director of Suffolk County Academy of Law; Commercial Law League of America, Federal Bar Council; American Trial Lawyers Association and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Rotary Club of Patchogue
  • Long Island Mid-Suffolk Business Association
  • Brookhaven Youth Court
  • Trustee for Bayport-Blue Point Library (1998-2001)

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Les Taroff, Partner

Les Taroff, New York Attorney
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Lester P. Taroff has dedicated his career to serving creditors. As a young lawyer, he struck up a conversation with an attorney who did collections work, it piqued his interest, and the rest is history. Lester has now been a member of the Commercial Law League of America for 41 years and has sat on various of its committees, as well as the Eastern District Executive Counsel, of which he was Chair from 2014 to 2015.

 

He served on the League’s Board of Governors from 2015 to 2017. For ten years Lester held the position of Vice President of the Commercial Lawyers Conference of New York. He is the consummate lawyer’s lawyer.

 

Lester heads up the firm’s Collections department. His practice includes commercial debt collection, litigation, and judgment enforcement for creditors from around the country (and occasionally abroad) who are owed monies by New York defendants. Les works with New York creditors who are owed debts by out-of-state debtors through his wide network of colleagues in the Commercial Law League of America. As the founder and former Chair of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Creditors’ Rights Law Committee, Les is a frequent lecturer on creditors’ rights issues.

 

Les is a graduate of Long Island University and Brooklyn Law School and was admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York in1972. He is also admitted to practice before the New York Federal District Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court of the Untied States.

 

Education:

 

  • Long Island University (B.A., 1968)
  • Brooklyn Law School (J.D.,1971)

 

Bar Admissions:

 

  • New York State (1972)
  • United States Supreme Court;
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;
  • United States District Court for the Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western Districts of New York.

 

Practice Areas:

 

  • Creditors’ Rights
  • Commercial and Retail Debt Collection
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Judgment Enforcement

 

Affiliations, Achievements and Honors:

 

  • Suffolk County Bar Association
  • Commercial Law League of America; (Member Committees on the Federal Fair Debt
  • Collection Practices Act; Forwarders and Receivers and Laws and Legislation)
  • Commercial Lawyers Conference of New York (former Vice President)
  • Founder and past Chair of the Creditors’ Rights Law Committee of the Suffolk County Bar
    Association (1996 to 1998, 2005 to 2007)
  • Co-Chair and Founder of Bank-Attorney-Government-Agency Interface Committee
  • Frequent lecturer on creditors’ rights matters.

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John J. Ricciardi, Counsel

Long Island Attorney Ricciardi
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John J. Ricciardi is of counsel to the firm and concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and general civil practice. John joined the firm in 2020 following twenty-five years of litigation focused on representing large institutional lenders regarding their residential mortgage default portfolios. John was one of the first attorneys to conduct a “bad faith” hearing regarding an alleged violation of CPLR Rule 3408. John was also one of the first attorneys to regularly conduct the recent waive of residential foreclosure trials.

In addition to his trial skill, John also has experience in motion practice and has been successful on multiple appeals.

John resides in Blue Point with his wife Kimberly and their two children.

Education:

State University of New York at Binghamton (B.A. 1991)
Quinnipiac College School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude 1994); associate editor, Quinnipiac College Law Review; recipient of the Distinguished Academic Achievement Award and the American Jurisprudence Award for legal writing

Bar Admissions:

New York State (1995)
U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Practice Areas:

Commercial Litigation
Appellate Practice
General Practice
Real Estate

Affiliations, Achievements and Honors:

Suffolk County Bar Association

Reported Cases:

Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v Benitez, 179 A.D.3d 891, (2nd Dept. 2020)
Crossland Mortg. Corp. v. Douglas, 271 A.D.2d 933 (3rd Dept. 2000)
Norwest Mortg., Inc. v. Diaz, 273 A.D.2d 211 (2nd Dept. 2000)
Citibank, N.A. v Feustel, 59 Misc. 3d 1223(A) (Suffolk Supreme 2018)
US Bank Natl. Assoc. v. Boes, 2013 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2708 (Suffolk Supreme 2009)
Citimortgage, Inc. v Aorta, 28 Misc. 3d 1220(A) (Queens Supreme 2008)

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    Linda D. Calder, Counsel

    Linda Calder, Counsel
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    Linda D. Calder is of counsel to the firm and concentrates her practice in commercial litigation and general civil practice. She joined the firm in 2003 following six years of general practice in Riverhead and fifteen years of litigation practice in Manhattan.

    In addition to her general practice skills, Ms. Calder brings to the firm her considerable background in pretrial discovery, motion practice and appellate work. She was senior law clerk to the Honorable Constance Baker Motley during Judge Motley’s tenure as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Calder has represented individuals, small businesses and giant corporations in everything from residential real estate closings to multi-defendant tort cases.

    Ms. Calder was born in Alberta, Canada and became a U.S. citizen in 1998.

    She resides in Westhampton.

    Education:

    • Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism (B.S., 1971)
    • New York Law School (J.D. cum laude, 1981) Law Review

    Bar Admissions:

    • New York State (1982)
    • U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the
    • Northern District of California
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits

    Practice Areas:

    • Commercial Litigation
    • Appellate Practice
    • General Practice
    • Real Estate

    Affiliations, Achievements and Honors:

    • Suffolk County Bar Association
    • Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
    • National Board of Advisors, The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA

    Reported Cases:

    • Center Great Neck LLC v. Rite Aid Corp., 292 A.D.2d 484 (2d Dep’t 2002)
    • Ray v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 282 A.D.2d 464 (2d Dep’t 2001)
    • Centre Great Neck Co. v. Penn encore, Inc., 276 A.D.2d 735 (2d Dep’t 2000)

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