Yuriy Yaroslavskiy’s was born in Ukraine and moved to Brooklyn, New York as a young boy, where he has resided ever since. In high school, he realized that law was his true calling. While only a senior in high school, Mr. Yaroslavskiy was able to secure an internship with one of the best criminal defense attorneys, Barry E. Schulman. At the Law Offices of Barry E. Schulman, Mr. Yaroslavskiy worked on high-profile cases that dealt, among other, money laundering and drug conspiracies. Mr. Yaroslavskiy graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and obtain his law degree from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center where he pursued studies in litigation, criminal and matrimonial law. Just after his first year, Mr. Yaroslavskiy received an award for being one of the top oral advocates, honor is given to students who excel at courtroom presentations. During his final years in Law School, Mr. Yaroslavskiy interned at the prestigious United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where he worked at the gang bureau. He concluded his final year of Law School as a student prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. At the end of his studies in law school, Mr. Yaroslavskiy developed a passion for matrimonial law. After graduation, he worked for some of the best litigators in the industry. He first learned the ropes from a fierce, skilled, and arguably the most intimidating matrimonial practitioner, Yonatan S. Levoritz. There, Mr. Yaroslavskiy had a chance to work on complex matrimonial matters that deal with equitable distribution, child custody and support, and orders of protection. After parting ways with Mr. Levoritz, Mr. Yaroslavskiy joined a prestigious boutique firm of Spodek Law Group where he honed his skills as a courtroom attorney. Mr. Yaroslavskiy enjoys spending his time with his wife and son. He is an avid hockey fan who is a die-hard New York Rangers follower.

Laurie Bakhchi is a real estate lawyer proudly serving Garden City, NY and the neighboring communities. Ms. Backhchi receiver her J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law.

Robert Bashner has been in the personal injury field since graduating Brooklyn Law School in 1987. Early in his career, he worked at a volume-oriented firm and gained valuable experience battling with defense lawyers on behalf of his injured clients. The pace was frantic and he enjoyed the challenge. With much experience under his belt, Robert moved on to a smaller firm where he could practice with a more personal touch. Over time he rose to managing attorney and supervised office staff and junior attorneys. Many lawyers working under Robert have gone onto prosperous careers in the personal injury field. When they see him in court today, they often thank him for patiently training them and teaching them his diligent and aggressive approach to enforcing the rights of victims. Upon building up a large base of satisfied clients and referrals from them and other attorneys, Robert joined Neal Goldstein to become a partner at Goldstein and Bashner. Since 1999, he has fought side by side with Neal on behalf of victims who sustained personal injuries, specializing in motor vehicle accidents, drunken driving cases, construction accidents and railroad injuries. Robert and the firm support charitable causes for the environment, fighting for the rights of the disabled and helping Latinos and immigrant workers who become injured at work. Robert lives on Long Island with his wife and daughter. In his spare time he enjoys boating, skiing, playing volleyball, golfing and swimming.

I have devoted almost 30 years helping victims of personal injuries navigate a challenging maze called the legal system. It has always been my goal that every one of my clients feels respected and attended to. No client should ever pass through our doors and feel isolated or ignored. I lived the first half of my life near the beach in Far Rockaway, a small community in Southeastern Queens. Currently, I live in Long Beach, another beachfront community in the Southwestern part of Long Island. Obviously, I love living near the ocean. I have been very involved in the Long Island community and in 2000 was asked to join the Board of Directors of the Friedberg JCC and a few years later I was elected to the position of President of the Board. I always tried to stay active in the communities where I lived whether it was being involved in youth groups, working in the area or just keeping in touch with old friends or making new ones.

Howard Chetkof is partner at Levin & Chetkof, LLP. He is a seasoned attorney and a highly skilled negotiator concentrating his practice in personal injury. He has represented clients who have sustained all types of serious personal injuries as the result of automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, pedestrians struck by motor vehicles, wrongful death, construction site accidents, premises liability, trip/slip and falls, dog bites, assault and battery, nursing home negligence, and certain medical malpractice matters. Mr. Chetkof’s representation of injured individuals has extended to both the state and federal courts. In addition, Mr. Chetkof handles matters involving legal malpractice, no-fault/first-party benefit arbitrations, and real estate. Mr. Chetkof and the firm handle their cases from inception to conclusion, including the claims stage, litigation, trials, and appeals. He has also directly negotiated and handled hundreds of cases at mediations and arbitrations and has recovered millions of dollars for his clients. Not only does he represent his firm's clients, but Mr. Chetkof has also been retained as outside counsel, by other law firms, to represent their clients' interests at mediations, arbitrations, trials, and appeals. Mr. Chetkof believes that every client has the right to talk directly to their attorney, not just the office staff, and has an open-door policy for the firm’s active clients, former clients, and prospective clients.

John M. Daly practices law in New York City as The Law Office of John M. Daly. Since 1995, John also has been “Of counsel” to The Fitzgerald Law Firms focusing primarily on medical malpractice litigation; appeals; dispositive motions; post-trial motions; infant compromise orders; trusts; annuities; lien resolution; and immigration. John graduated summa cum laude from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska in 1984. John was Editor-in-Chief of the Creighton Law Review, author of a law review article, and a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Jesuit Honor Society. John and his partner were winners of Creighton’s (annual, junior year) Appellate Moot Court Competition. John was the recipient of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys’ Roscoe Pound Award for Appellate Advocacy, as well as a member of Creighton’s Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Team. Following graduation, John served for three years as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps, where served as a prosecutor and he was appointed a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, responsible for prosecuting crimes committed by civilians at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. John prosecuted felonies in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. While serving in this capacity, John obtained a first degree murder conviction as lead prosecutor in a federal jury trial in the United States District Court in Raleigh, North Carolina. While serving as a Judge Advocate, John also tried 10 court-marshals to the military equivalent of a jury. Following his tenure as a Marine Judge Advocate, John came to New York and joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a litigation associate where, for the next four years, he worked on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, attorney conflict of interest, and securities-related litigation matters. John then moved to Deutsche Klagsbrun & Blasband, a copyright litigation firm in Manhattan where he spent the next three years litigating intellectual property disputes in federal court before forming The Law Office of John M. Daly and his present “Of counsel” relationship with The Fitzgerald Law Firm. Before attending law school on a Marine Corps-sponsored program, John served for six years as a Marine Corps aviator, accumulating over 1300 hours as the pilot-in-command in the F-4 Phantom, a two-seat, supersonic jet fighter. John is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s “Top Gun” Fighter Pilot Training School in Miramar, CA.

Vincent Bianco is a practicing lawyer in the state of New York. He received his J.D. from Hofstra University in 1999.