Attorney Profiles
Partners
William V. FerroA founding partner in 1989 of the firm now known as Ferro, Kuba, Mangano, Sklyar, P.C., William V. Ferro has tried countless cases to successful conclusion. As the partner running the firm's highly regarded personal injury department, Mr. Ferro coordinates a team of attorneys, paralegals and legal assistants all working toward the common goal of providing the highest quality of legal representation. He remains committed to preserving the rights of the injured and is actively involved in the continued battle against tort reform. Early in his career, William was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division and still maintains a criminal practice that includes many high profile cases.
A graduate of Brooklyn Law School, William is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and is a volunteer for Trial Lawyers Care assisting victims of the September 11th terrorist attack.
Lance E. Kuba
Lance E. Kuba heads the firm's Commercial Transactions, Real Estate and Corporate/Business Law Departments. Messrs. Kuba and Ferro merged their law practices in January, 1999 in order to expand the areas of legal services provided by our firm.
Mr. Kuba has more than fifteen years of experience representing Banking Institutions, lenders licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, credit unions, mortgage banks, mortgage brokers, residential and commercial lenders, leasing and finance companies, taxi and livery businesses, franchise owners and operators, and businesses large and small.
In addition to the transactional and lending practice areas, Mr. Kuba also has extensive experience in general business representation, organization and structuring of business entities, negotiation of operating agreements, shareholder and partnership arrangements, and ongoing business contracts and employment agreements. As a result, Mr. Kuba has earned an outstanding reputation, combining his real estate work and corporate and commercial law skills.
Mr. Kuba is a graduate of Emory University and earned his law degree from New York Law School.
Kenneth E. Mangano
Mr. Mangano heads the Major Case trial department of the personal injury practice prosecuting countless matters on behalf of injured victims with outstanding success.
Ken's trial skills and courtroom demeanor have earned him a reputation as one of the top Personal Injury Attorneys in New York. He handles many of the firm's significant cases including those involving Labor Law, Lead Poisoning and Medical Malpractice. For more then a decade, Ken has obtained superior results litigating cases for clients who have suffered catastrophic, personal injuries.
Kenneth, a graduate of Californian Western School of Law, is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, and Brooklyn Bar Association.
Adelina M. Sklyar
Adelina M. Sklyar, Esq. has recently been appointed managing partner at FKMS. A Graduate of New York Law School, Ms. Sklyar worked at the firm while attending Law School in the evenings. Her exceptional work ethic and dedication has earned her the respect of her colleagues as well as a partnership early in her career. Ms. Sklyar maintains the bulk of her practice in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, handling complex real estate transactions on behalf of the firm's largest institutional client. In addition to her involvement in the commercial market, Ms. Sklyar services an active clientele in the residential real estate market, representing lenders, buyers and sellers of residential real estate ranging from simple house closings to transactions involving 6-12 family dwellings.
Ms. Sklyar is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Associates
Claudia BehmoiramClaudia Behmoiram has been prosecuting personal injury matters on behalf of injured plaintiffs for the past ten years. Her vast knowledge of the Civil Procedure Laws and Rules has resulted in a proven record of litigating legal motions and related oral argument. Ms. Behmoiram, an associate with the firm since 2002 prosecuting thousands of personal injury matters to successful conclusion.
Claudia is a graduate of Touro College Law Center and a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Suffolk County Bar Association and Suffolk County Woman's Bar Association.
Rebecca J. Fortney
Rebecca Fortney joined the firm in 2005 and immediately hit the ground running. Ms. Fortney has an extensive background in the insurance industry, which includes several years experience as a claims adjuster then as an attorney for defendants in personal injury actions. Ms. Fortney's knowledge of insurance company procedures and tactics allows her to develop effective strategies to combat these tactics during litigation.
Rebecca graduated with honors from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and conducts lectures for both attorneys and claims professionals for the National Business Institute on several topics, including Trial of Soft Tissue Injury Cases and Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Law.
Michael Manolakis
Michael Manolakis joined the firm in 2002 as an associate and immediately became a vital part of the FKMS team. Mr. Manolakis manages a significant personal injury caseload and works closely with all the paralegals to assure that each file is processed and litigated properly and efficiently.
Michael has been exclusively prosecuting personal injury cases since his graduation from St. John's University School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar Association and New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
George J. Parisi
George Parisi is the newest associate to join the FKMS team. George brings a wealth of diverse experience to the firm’s personal injury department. George is a retired New York City Police Department Lieutenant who earned his law degree during his career with the NYPD. He retired from the Police Department after a twenty year career in law enforcement where in addition to his regular duties he represented the NYPD and the City of New York on various legal matters. Since his retirement in 2002 he has been exclusively litigating personal injury cases.
George is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law and is admitted to practice in both State and Federal Court.
Counsel
Steven GacovinoSteven Gacovino was one of the founding principals in the firm Gacovino, Lake and Associates. Mr. Gacovino acted as managing attorney of that firm until its merger with Ferro, Kuba, Bloom, Mangano, Gacovino & Lake, P.C. in 2002. He has a vast knowledge of personal injury law and has successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases in his career.
Steven is a graduate of the Touro College Law Center and a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, New York State Bar Association, Suffolk County Bar Association and Nassau County Bar Association.
Edward Lake
Edward Lake is the other founding partner of Gacovino, Lake and Associates. Mr. Lake's creative marketing and advertising skills helped the firm grow to become one of the most prominent personal injury firms on Long Island. Post merger, he continues to be involved in many aspects of advertising and marketing on behalf of Ferro, Kuba, Bloom, Mangano, Gacovino & Lake, P.C.
Edward is a graduate of Touro College Law Center and a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, New York Trial Lawyers Association, Suffolk County Bar Association as well as Executive Director of the Judith Lake Charitable Foundation.
Robert G. McDermott
Bob McDermott became counsel to FKMS in 2007 with an emphasis on Matrimonial Law, Estate and Financial Planning, Elder Law as well as General Litigation. In addition to being an attorney Bob is a certified Finanical Planner.
Bob is an adjunct Professor of business management and law in the undergraduate program at St. John’s University in New York, and an Adjunct Professor of estate and retirement planning studies for the Certified Financial Planner programs at Pace University and St. John’s University. He also lectures frequently to other attorneys for the New York State Bar Association, and has spoken before the Financial Planning Association of New York, the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of New York, the NYC Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors, and the Metropolitan College Tax Institutes for accountants at St. John’s University on estate planning and divorce litigation matters.
Bob, a graduate of St. John’s Law School is a member of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and the Trusts and Estates and Family Law sectors of the New York State Bar Association.
Sean J. Doolan
FKMS is pleased to have forged an affiliation in 2007 with Sean Doolan. Sean who practices in Windham, NY became counsel to FKMS in 2007 in all matters involving Nursing Home Litigation and Elder Care.
Mr. Doolan has been honored to co-author a total of three (3) chapters on litigation strategies in two books, both published by Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company: Nursing Home Litigation : Investigation and Case Preparation, 2nd Edition, and Nursing Malpractice, 3d Ed. Mr. Doolan has been a guest lecturer at numerous Nursing Home/Assisted Living Litigation and Negligence seminars. Some of the organizations that he has lectured for include: American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC), Lorman Education Services, Professional Education Systems Institute, LLC (PESI), New York State Bar Association, Rockland County Bar Association, Albany County Bar Association and the Greene County Department of the Aging.
Mr. Doolan is a member of the Greene County, Albany County, Rockland County and New State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trail Lawyers Association. He is also a member of the Nursing Home Group of the American Trial Lawyers Association.
Fred Lutzen
Fred Lutzen became of counsel to FKMS in 2007. Mr. Lutzen practices in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Estate matters and Matrimonial matters.
He is often called upon by the court to serve as Guardian Ad Litem assisting in the probate of decedent’s estates including infant beneficiaries and distributes.
A graduate of Touro Law School, Fred is a member of the New York State Bar Association as well as the Suffolk County Bar Association.
