Ethics

If you’ve made the difficult decision to divorce, you may be angry or feel betrayed. You may even feel like seeking revenge. As a child of a complicated divorce, I felt my parents’ pain and carried my own heartbreak and confusion. Ever since that experience, I knew that one day I would dedicate my life to helping families who also face this challenging circumstance. I determined that I would assist them in easing the divorce process and beginning a new life. In order to accomplish my goals, I studied Administration of Justice and Psychology in my bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University to better understand the law and people’s behavior. I then received my Juris Doctorate law degree with an Excellence in Torts Award. Galit Moskowitz, Esq. is proud to be certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney, an accreditation earned by less than 1% of attorneys in the state of New Jersey. To qualify for matrimonial certification a New Jersey attorney must: be a member in good standing with the New Jersey state bar for five (5) years or more; fulfill ongoing continuing legal education requirements; demonstrate a substantial level of experience in matrimonial law and be favorably evaluated and recommended by other attorneys and Judges who can vouch for their work. The applications are scrutinized and must be approved by the board on attorney certification. Only after all these criteria are met is the attorney eligible to take the written examination in matrimonial law, which they must pass in order to be Certified as a Matrimonial Law Attorney. Supreme Court certification is a rare designation that sets attorneys apart as experts in their field. This shows clients that their attorney has mastered their area of practice, thus providing clients with comfort that they are in good hands by being represented by a certified attorney. Galit has met the rigorous standards for qualification and is honored to be recognized by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Certified Matrimonial Lawyer. Attorney Galit Moskowitz has been practicing exclusively in the area of family law for over 15 years. I handle cases related to divorce, contested divorce, high net worth divorce, uncontested divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, equitable distribution, dissolution of civil unions and domestic partnerships, palimony, domestic violence, grandparent visitation and international child abduction.

Mr. Watters is the president and founder of the firm. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Washington, DC to attend law school at Georgetown University. Shortly after graduating from law school in 1980, Mr. Watters opened the firm, first practicing criminal law and then transitioning to personal injury law. Mr. Watters has substantial trial experience as he has now been practicing for almost 40 years. He has served as lead counsel in over 100 jury trials. Mr. Watters was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the DC Trial Lawyers Association and Lawyer of the Year by the Washington Bar Association. His service and contribution to the community is unmatched by many. He served as president of the Washington Bar Association, National Bar Association, and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. He is currently the president of the Foundation of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. During his time as president of the National Bar Association, which is the nation’s oldest and largest group of predominantly African-American lawyers and judges, he accompanied famed attorney Johnnie Cochran on an international lecture tour. Mr. Watters also previously served on a number of American Bar Association committees throughout the years, including Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Professional Discipline, and Medical Professional Liability. He is a former chairman of the Advisory Committee on the selection of magistrate judges for the DC Superior Court. In addition, he served as a trustee of Ithaca College for 10 years. Mr. Watters has always been a voice for the underdog and is a long-time advocate for the socially and economically disadvantaged. He grew up in a children’s home as a multiracial child in the 1950s and ‘60s and was able to see firsthand how race and poverty play a part in society. He opened his firm in the hopes of helping those with no money, those out of work, or those who have been injured due to the fault of another. His lifelong dedication to achieving justice has earned him countless accolades. Mr. Watters was named among the 100 most influential African American leaders by Ebony magazine. He was awarded the C. Francis Stafford Award by the National Bar Association, which is the highest honor the association can award. The National Bar Association also awarded Mr. Watters the Gertrude E. Rush Award, which honors lawyers and judges for their leadership, concern for human and civil rights, and perseverance for social activism. Mr. Watters was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Washington Bar Association. He has been awarded numerous Presidential Awards and Certificates of Appreciation from the Washington Bar Association, National Bar Association, and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. He is also a Life Sustaining Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, in which membership is limited to 1% of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction who demonstrate outstanding dedication to their community and the legal profession. In addition to being a trailblazer in the courtroom and in the community, Mr. Watters is a loving father and husband. He is married to Patricia Watters, who serves as counsel to the firm. They are proud parents of three children. Mr. Watters was chosen as a Father of the Year semifinalist by the National Center for Fathering.

Richard A. Gantner is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Board on Trial Attorney Certification, as a Civil Trial Attorney. Rich practices primarily in the areas of Employment law (plaintiff and management); and represents claimants in Medical Malpractice; Personal Injury; Automobile Accidents and Injuries; and Workers Compensation.

Derek J. Spada was born in Kingston, raised in Saugerties, and currently resides in Woodstock with his wife and two children. Derek is a result-oriented attorney who works hard to obtain justice for his clients. He has a unique skillset that has enabled him to become an accomplished trial and appellate attorney. He has successfully resolved thousands of personal injury cases in his career and obtained multiple jury verdicts in excess of $1,000,000. He has also handled more than 100 appeals in the Appellate Division and Court of Appeals. Derek is highly regarded by his peers. He has been voted President of the Ulster County Bar Association for an unprecedented three terms, served as the Chair of the Ulster Country Board of Ethics since 2016, and been a member of the Character and Fitness Committee for the Third Judicial Department since 2013. Derek has also coached his son’s Little League baseball team for several years. Education: Derek received his Bachelor of Arts from the College of Saint Rose, Magna Cum Laude, in 1999 and Juris Doctor from Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in 2002. He also studied abroad at Oxford University in Oxford, England. In law school, Derek was a member of the Cardozo Moot Court Honor Society from 2000-2002. While a member of Moot Court, he was the Northeast Regional Winner and Winner of the Best Brief Award in the Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition in Boston, MA, and advanced to semifinalist in the national Giles Sutherland Rich competition held in Washington, D.C. He also clerked for Hon. George B. Daniels in the Federal Southern District of New York. At graduation, Derek was awarded the Jacob Burns Medal for Best Brief, which is given to the best writer on the Moot Court Honor Society. Teaching Engagements: Derek has taught the following topics at continuing legal education courses: How to Lay a Foundation to Get Your Evidence Introduced, October 2021 Civil Trial Case Presentation, August 2020 Personal Injury Evidence: Social Media, Smartphones, Experts and Medical Records, June 2018 Plaintiff’s Personal Injury from Start to Finish, June 2017

Mr. Bruce’s legal career has focused on criminal litigation. For 37 years, Mr. Bruce worked as Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York. During this time, he was Chief of the Organized Crime and the National Security Divisions of the office and served as Senior Litigation Counsel before retiring in 2016. He has extensive experience in investigations, trials of complex criminal cases, including RICO, tax, mail and wire fraud, false statements, perjury, and narcotics cases in United States District Court, and in appeals to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Over the last 20 years of Mr. Bruce’s career in the United States Attorney’s Office, he served as an Office Evaluator for the Executive Office for the United States Attorney’s Office, participating, as a member of a teams of seasoned Assistant United States Attorneys, in peer evaluations of United States Attorneys’ Offices throughout the United States. In 1998, Mr. Bruce took a temporary assignment as the Resident Legal Advisor in the United States Embassy in Moscow, where he was the liaison between Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training and the Russian Procurator’s Office to set up and run training by U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement agents for their Russian counterparts. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Bruce also handled a complex ethics and misconduct investigation which involved an exhaustive review of two large scale narcotics prosecutions from another U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine if the lead Assistant United States Attorney in those cases had committed any violations of the law, acts of prosecutorial misconduct or ethical violations and prepared a report that was submitted to the Office of Professional Responsibility within the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. For four years prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Bruce worked with the Internal Revenue Service Office of District Counsel. During this time, he acted as in-house counsel to the Buffalo Internal Revenue District on tax examinations, collection matters and in ongoing criminal investigations. He reviewed results of criminal tax investigations to determine if they were factually and legally sufficient to be referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. He also tried and briefed cases in the United States Tax Court. Since 1996, Mr. Bruce has also been an Adjunct Professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Law. Since leaving government service, Mr. Bruce has become a member of the Erie County Bar Association Grievance Committee where he has been called on to review allegations of ethical violations by criminal defense attorneys. He has also been an on-air commentator for WGRZ, Channel 2, and WBEN Radio., providing commentary and insight on high-profile federal prosecutions.

David A. Corrado has a unique background that is designed to help you. Before attending law school Mr. Corrado was a financial consultant with Ernst & Whinney for several years advising some of the larger businesses in the country to solve their problems. All the business experience and critical thinking skills Mr. Corrado has accumulated, both academically and in the business world, are now available to help solve your legal problems. You can trust Mr. Corrado to be a strong and aggressive advocate to win for you.

Russell has over 38 years of multi-state legal experience with both a local and national client base. He currently serves as outside General Counsel for several clients who own large Commercial Real Estate shopping centers both locally and nationally. Primary practice areas include financial institution and bank regulatory and compliance, representation of national creditors within general creditor’s rights enforcement, complex multi-state litigation, general commercial defense, Insurance Law corporate law, small business startups and general representation, and personal injury.

William Davis, a native of East Liverpool, graduated from the Ohio State University School of Law and immediately joined Aronson and Fineman. By 1986 he had already tried enough personal injury and wrongful death jury trials that he earned certification as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is a member of the State Trial Lawyers Associations of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He is a former President of the Columbiana County Bar Association, a former Trustee of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a former Governor of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He was formerly on the Board of Governors of the Ohio State Bar Association, its Ethics and Grievance Committee, and its Negligence Law Committee. His practice consists in large part of representing personal injury victims and settling wrongful death claims. He is known for complex litigation involving insurance, medical malpractice, product liability, utility liability, and all types of vehicle crashes. His clients have included other lawyers, their spouses, and secretaries. He regularly acts as co-counsel or consultant to other lawyers in their representation of victims suffering from personal injury or wrongful death damages. In addition to being a licensed attorney, William is an instrument-rated single and multi-engine private airplane pilot.

Todd has been a practicing attorney for over 11 years. He grew up in Michigan and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. He moved to Ohio in 2008 for law school, and graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2011. He enjoyed central Ohio so much, he made it his home. He lives with his wife Andrea and his black Labrador retriever Barry. Todd is the current president of the Christian Legal Society of Central Ohio, and he serves on the production team at Adventure Church. Todd is also an avid soccer fan, and enjoys supporting the Columbus Crew, Southampton, and Dortmund. Because of his background in Computer Science, he enjoys the intersection of law and technology, and has taught a course as an adjunct professor on the law and ethics of cybersecurity at Columbus State Community College.

Attorney Robert R. Simons began his legal career as a prosecutor for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. While working in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, he tried complex criminal cases, including one of the first homicides in South Jersey utilizing DNA evidence, a serial rapist case, and multiple drug and weapons cases. After leaving the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, he switched sides and opened The Law Offices of Robert R. Simons, focusing on criminal defense. Over the years, our firm has aggressively represented hundreds of clients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania against criminal charges. We also handle personal injury matters such as traffic accidents, product liability and dog bites. We are experienced at protecting our clients' rights and negotiating positive outcomes in high-stakes situations. In more than 25 years of practicing law, Robert R. Simons has acquired a vast knowledge of criminal law and procedure. This extensive trial experience and knowledge, coupled with high ethics, have earned a certification by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Criminal Trial Attorney, which is something only given to the top 5 percent of attorneys who have demonstrated the highest level of proficiency in the criminal law field. Mr. Simons has also had the honor of being admitted to the United States Supreme Court. Only a small number of practicing attorneys receive such an admission.