Flaster Greenberg, a midsize commercial law firm, announced three new members of its Board of Directors and the appointment of a Deputy General Counsel as of January 1, 2023. New Board members Christopher Merrick, David Neufeld and Michele Tarantino join Shareholders Michael Bonella, Jeffrey Cohen, Joseph Klinicki, Jordan LaVine, Meghan Moore, and Steven Poulathas for the 2023 term. In addition, Arthur Armstrong has been named as deputy general counsel to the firm, joining long-term General Counsel Mitchell Kizner.
“We’re excited to welcome three of our skilled shareholders to our Board of Directors. Each of our new members brings unique expertise and a fresh perspective to our daily work and working on the firm’s business goals,” said Jordan LaVine, co-managing shareholder and board member. “Our Board of Directors is comprised of a dedicated and diverse team of attorneys committed to pursuing the firm’s strategic vision with the help of our experienced administrative management team. We thank our prior Board members who have rotated off the Board, Tami Bogutz Steinberg, Harry Giacometti, and Alan Zuckerman, for their years of dedication and for their significant contributions to the firm.”
The three new board members are:
Christopher Merrick is a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Department. Merrick is a national leader in commercial transportation law. He handles all stages of litigation, including appellate litigation and alternative dispute resolution, and represents corporate clients acting as both plaintiffs and defendants. He also assists clients with preparation and revision of their commercial contracts, as well as navigating challenging regulatory issues impacting their operations.
Merrick’s litigation practice is diverse but focuses exclusively on representing the interests of rail carriers, motor carriers (including household goods carriers), freight forwarders, intermediaries, warehouses, and ocean carriers in a wide variety of commercial transportation contexts.
David Neufeld has practiced law for more than 35 years, advising individuals and businesses around the globe on sophisticated federal income and estate tax planning, state tax residency planning and audits, asset protection, and insurance and investment planning. In addition, he helps business clients engaged in both inbound and outbound transactions (most notably involving China and India) as well as the individual tax issues that arise from cross-border business transactions.
Among the areas in which Neufeld has become well known includes planning with “private placement life insurance,” captive insurance companies, and planning for snowbirds. He is also highly sought after to consult with taxpayers and their legal and accounting advisors on “aggressive tax planning gone bad,” including delinquent foreign asset reporting, Form 8886 filings (and misfilings), tax audits and U.S. Tax Court litigation, as well as an expert witness in the consequential civil litigation.
Michele Tarantino is chair of Flaster Greenberg’s Environmental and Real Estate Law Departments. She concentrates her practice on sophisticated commercial real estate leasing, financing and acquisition matters and has extensive experience in commercial real estate purchase and sale, financing, construction, property management, development and leasing matters throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. As an integral part of her practice, she regularly provides legal counsel to business owners in transactions ranging from the sale of small family-owned businesses to the acquisition and financing of a national business franchises. Her clients include property owners, institutional lenders, closely held businesses and individual investors, to whom she brings her excellent negotiating and project management skills and vast legal knowledge.
Arthur Armstrong will serve as Deputy General Counsel for the firm starting January 1, 2023. In this role, Armstrong will assist the firm’s General Counsel and advise the firm’s management and its attorneys on issues related to professional responsibility, risk management, regulatory compliance, and legal issues involving the firm. “Since joining the firm in March of 2021, Arthur has shown his commitment to the firm and earned the trust of his colleagues. His experience in the insurance coverage area and his analytical skills make him a fit for this role,” said LaVine.
Armstrong is a shareholder in Flaster Greenberg’s Litigation Department and the Insurance Counseling and Recovery Practice Group. Armstrong's practice concentrates in insurance recovery exclusively on behalf of corporate policyholders. He regularly represents privately held and publicly traded companies against primary and excess insurers to secure coverage under property, commercial general liability, D&O, E&O and other insurance policies. Armstrong’s practice also focuses on insurance recovery for cyber-attacks, including ransomware, DDoS attacks, social engineering, malware attacks and other cyber threats. He has also represented financial institutions, real estate developers, technology companies, and other business entities in litigation matters involving corporate governance, employment discrimination, commercial and residential property development, and various contract disputes.
