Lawsuit & Dispute

Sam Blink is the Founder and Managing Member of Midtown Legal. He is a member in Midtown's Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Corporate and Business Transactions Practice Groups. Sam defends businesses and their owners, directors and officers in governmental investigations and related enforcement actions. He preserves his clients’ reputations and resources while representing them through all stages of disputes, from pre-litigation investigations through administrative proceedings, trial and appeal. Sam focuses this part of his practice on environmental, consumer protection and securities investigations. He also has extensive experience representing contractors in construction disputes in court and arbitration. He both defends contractors in mostly construction defect cases and pursues collection efforts on behalf of his contractor clients. Sam also regularly represents businesses in contract litigation and business owners in corporate and partnership disputes. Sam routinely guides companies in various corporate and commercial transactions, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, capital raises and corporate governance matters. He represents businesses in connection with complex contract negotiations, including SaaS agreements, complex commercial real estate agreements, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, independent contractor and employment agreements, and technology agreements. Sam is a business owner, being the founder of Midtown Legal and is the owner and partner of multiple other business ventures. He uses this experience to practically represent his clients and provide what business owners actually want out of their legal representation. When Sam is not working he enjoys spending time with his wife and son. He enjoys golfing and watching all sports. He is an avid traveler, reader, hiker and a less avid fisherman and carpenter.

Brittany S. Bitar is an attorney licensed to practice law in Washington state and California. She focuses on business, intellectual property, and real estate law, but also takes cases in various other areas. Brittany also holds her real estate brokers license in Washington state. In addition to having her own law firm, Brittany works as general counsel for a corporation in Seattle. She has litigated copyright infringement, contract, and real estate related cases, and worked on real estate, HOA, land use, and other contractual, business, and property related non-litigation matters. In addition to taking individual client matters, she also does contract work for other firms including in family law cases. Brittany has interned with Judge Morris at Dauphin County Courthouse and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Civil Litigation Section during law school. She additionally holds a certificate in Dispute Resolution. Brittany has worked with firms that practice in estate planning, business law, employment law, contract law, family law, torts, personal injury, intellectual property, trademark law, copyright law, civil rights, real estate law, copyright law, nonprofit organization law, landlord tenant law, RICO and fraud, breach of contract, civil racketeering, corporate law, commercial torts, and other areas. She has also done contract work in business and trademark law. In 2015, Brittany founded and managed a charitable nonprofit organization, Diëresis, which focused primarily on assisting the homeless in the greater Seattle area. She has also volunteered with the American Red Cross as a lead, Bread of Life Mission, Hopelink, and other nonprofit organizations. In her spare time, Brittany enjoys day hikes, resin painting, playing the acoustic guitar and piano, and playing with her dogs.

Thomas Howard is an experienced trial lawyer that handles intellectual property litigation nationwide, including copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent litigation, as well as complex civil litigation, including breach of contract, interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, fraud and fraudulent transfer of assets. Attorney Howard frequently deals with combined elements of intellectual property and commercial litigation in the cases that he handles, and is very experienced at dealing with highly complex litigation. In addition to representing clients involved in litigation, attorney Howard frequently negotiates and drafts intellectual property-related agreements, including license agreements, nondisclosure agreements and assignment agreements. Attorney Howard also files trademarks and copyrights on the behalf of clients in order to protect their intellectual property rights, and frequently represents clients in trademark disputes conducted before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), including opposition proceedings and petitions to cancel. Finally, Attorney Howard regularly represents clients in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceedings (UDRP) in order to assist when disputes arise over the ownership of a domain name. Clients Thomas P. Howard has represented hundreds of corporate and individual clients over the course of his practice. He has been sole or joint counsel in the trial of numerous cases in federal and/or state courts in multiple states. Among Attorney Howard's clients have been a number of parties interested in complex commercial litigation, including contractual disputes and business breakups, as well as parties interested in protecting their intellectual property rights.

George Steffish is a practicing attorney in the state of Pennsylvania. He received his J.D. from Duquesne University in 1979. He currently works for the firm of Steffish & Lafferty PC.

Born in New York, New York, Neale was raised on Miami Beach and as of November, 2009 Neale will have practiced law in the state of Florida continuously for forty (40) years.  He is AU rate by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating.He specializes in complex commercial litigation and appeals both Federal and State, primarily for financial institutions.  He has represented banks, thrifts, real estate entities, private and public companies, investors and REIT's for years (once having served as General Counsel for Diversified Mortgage Investors, an REIT whose shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the 1970's and 80's.)  He also handles the defense of professional malpractice matters.  He is likewise skilled in loan documentation and corporate commercial and real estate work outs.In 1987, Neale achieved what was then regarded as the fourth or fifth largest jury verdict in the history of Knox County Tennessee in a legal malpractice case where he represented a plaintiff who was a principle of a coal brokerage company.  The verdict was rendered by a twelve (12) person jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, and was for $2.8 million dollars.Neale is certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Civil Mediator, is on the panel of Arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association, and has served on several arbitration panels of the National Association of Security Dealers (now known as "FINRA") as a NASD arbitrator.Before joining this firm as a partner, Neale was a name partner in a law firm which was general counsel for BankUnited FSB, the largest Florida based bank.

SOHAIL SHAHPAR, ESQ. (2006, Hofstra University School of Law). Since 1999 Mr. Shahpar has worked as a Major League Baseball Players Association Certified Agent representing clients in contract negotiations, endorsement deals, and arbitration. Mr. Shahpar joined the Firm in 2008 and specializes his practice to employment matters such as contracts and severance agreements. Mr. Shahpar is licensed to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Ms. Florio is a cum laude graduate of Pace Law School, obtaining a joint Juris Doctor and Master's Degree in Public Administration. She graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Ms. Florio served as Principal Law Clerk to the Honorable Vito J. Titone, Sr. Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, and an additional ten years as Principal Law Clerk to various State Supreme Court, County Court and Court of Claims Judges. She is a former Assistant District Attorney in the Appeals Bureau of the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, and has argued before the New York State Court of Appeals and the Appellate Division, Second Department. She presently serves on the Board of Governors of Daytop, and is Co-Chair of the Criminal Law Committee of the Westchester Women's Bar Association.

After earning a statewide reputation for excellence as a prosecutor, Knox Fitzpatrick, in 1994, brought his formidable trial skills and gift for legal analysis to the defense of individuals and corporations accused of criminal wrongdoing by both state and federal authorities.His storied career as a prosecutor includes achieving the rank of Supervisory Chief Felony Prosecutor under the legendary Dallas County Criminal District Attorney Henry Wade. He successfully litigated scores of felony cases, ranging from complex white-collar crime to capital murder, where the jury awarded the death penalty every time Mr. Fitzpatrick asked the jury for that sentence.In 1993, the State Bar of Texas named Mr. Fitzpatrick its Prosecutor of the Year. A versatile lawyer with seasoned judgment, he has served the State of Texas in numerous leadership roles, including that of General Counsel to the Governor of Texas. In addition, Mr. Fitzpatrick has been President of the Dallas County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Of Counsel to the Prosecution Standard and Guidelines Study Commission, a member of the Governor's Criminal Justice Task Force, and a member of the State Bar of Texas Legal Representation for Those on Death Row Committee. He has lectured at numerous seminars and civic forums.Mr. Fitzpatrick serves on the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense as an appointee of Texas Governor Rick Perry, and is a former director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. An AV rated lawyer by Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rating, Mr. Fitzpatrick has honed superior trial skills through more than 300 jury trials.As a lawyer Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, he has successfully represented numerous high-profile businessmen, doctors, school officials, police officers, and those in the securities industry, as well as corporations. Mr. Fitzpatrick's experience includes cases ranging from complex federal securities litigation to wire fraud to drug conspiracy to capital murder. Mr. Fitzpatrick's skills have been sought not only for cases in his home state of Texas, but in other states as well, including Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, New York, and Florida.For the past four consecutive years, Mr. Fitzpatrick's peers have voted him a Texas "Super Lawyer" as reported in Texas Monthly magazine.

Mr. Jasne is a founding partner of the firm and a graduate of New York Law School. He holds an undergraduate degree from New York University. Upon graduating from Law School, he was appointed an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, where he served for approximately five years. Since leaving the District Attorney's Office, Mr. Jasne has engaged in private practice, primarily in the areas of criminal and civil litigation. In addition, Mr. Jasne is responsible for the firm's commercial-creditor bankruptcy practice. Mr. Jasne is a member of the New York State Bar and is admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Louis F. Pignatelli currently practices law in several areas, focusing primarily on trial practice in cases concerning serious personal injury, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, and wrongful death. Soon after being sworn-in, Attorney Pignatelli began to practice with his father, then Mayor Louis J. Pignatelli. He maintained the family practice while simultaneously serving as the youngest State’s Attorney in the history of Whiteside County. He rededicated exclusively to private practice in the late-1970s. Over the years, his practice has focused on obtaining compensation for injured people and their families. He has selected a handful of cases to follow this biography for your consideration. In addition to obtaining justice for injured people, Attorney Pignatelli has extensive experience in finance and financial litigation in competitive market sectors. Pignatelli secured the financing for his first residential development project with the title to his late-model Datsun. To date, he continues development of residential properties — both single-family and multi-unit — as well as commercial and industrial real estate in northwestern Illinois. Pignatelli worked with the Chicago-based Gamel Broadcasting Group. Over time he acquired a minority stake and later purchased a controlling interest in the group’s five-tower, 1,000-watt Fox Valley-area station under the call letters WFXW, serving news, talk and nightly music to Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia. Pignatelli served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Skolniks, a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ. Then a director, Pignatelli stepped-up to captain the corporation — which produced the baked goods including the Olive Garden’s beloved breadsticks, as well as bagels and other bakery products — following the ousting of several members of management who were found to be complicit in corporate scandal. Under Pignatelli’s leadership, the national brand, franchise and wholesale divisions navigated toward an outcome in the best interests of its shareholders. Pignatelli serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Community State Bank of Illinois.