Four new Board Members join Legal Services of the Hudson Valley

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Alfred E. Donnellan, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s (LSHV) Board Chair and Managing Partner at DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederker LLP, announced the addition of four new members to LSHV’s Board of Directors.

Sarmad M. Khojasteh is a partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP. Sarmad handles a broad range of securities and credit-related matters, commercial and contract disputes, corporate governance issues, and governmental investigations for public and private companies, private equity firms, hedge funds, partnerships and individuals in industries including financial services, real estate, insurance, media and manufacturing. Sarmad also has represented Iranians in connection with their political asylum applications, including an Iranian journalist accused of treason and an Iranian student fearing persecution based on his sexual orientation. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Sarmad has been recognized on the Benchmark Litigation Under 40 Hot List, and as a “Rising Star” in New York Metro Super Lawyers. Prior to joining Kasowitz, Sarmad clerked for the Honorable Terrence W. Boyle, United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. A resident of Bedford, Sarmad was raised in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Nelida Lara-Garduno is a partner in DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP’s Commercial Litigation practice group. Nelida represents companies and individuals in a wide range of business disputes, including real estate, joint-venture, contract, and intra-company disputes involving partnerships and LLCs in connection with membership rights, withdrawals, dissolutions, and distributions. Nelida also litigates trusts and estates controversies and a wide variety of complex commercial disputes across a diverse range of industries and businesses. She handles all phases of complex litigation, from pleadings through dispositive motions, mediations, and appeals in state and federal courts. Nelida regularly advises companies on governance and regulatory matters. Prior to joining the firm, Nelida was an associate in the litigation group of Schulte Roth & Zabel. Nelida is a resident of New York City.

Kiara Taylor spent a decade as a Personal Bank Representative, before switching to a career in healthcare. Since then, she has worked as a Mental Health Worker and a Practical Nurse. Kiara is a resident of Ossining.

Russell Yankwitt is Managing Partner at Yankwitt LLP, the only law firm in the country to have a former law clerk for each of the sitting district court judges in the White Plains federal courthouse. Upon receiving his law degree, from the Cornell Law School in 1996, Russell clerked for the Honorable Thomas C. Platt, in the Eastern District of New York. After his clerkship, he earned his stripes with many all-nighters as part of the commercial litigation department of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in New York City from 1997-2001. Russell then proudly served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 2001-2008, before returning to private practice and opening his own law firm, which now employees 16 people. Russell has brought and defended commercial matters of all types, including contract and partnership disputes, employment and shareholder lawsuits, and premises liability cases. Russell is recognized as Westchester's go-to litigator and trial attorney, having accrued an enviable track record of trial victories for the past two decades. As a result, Russell is regularly retained by Westchester law firms to collaborate on their high-stakes trials throughout the state of New York. Active in the legal community, Russell was the founding member and first chairperson of the Federal Bar Council's Westchester Committee and remains active in leadership positions in the Federal Bar Council, and the Westchester County Bar Association. In recognition of his achievements, Russell was included on the New York Metro Super Lawyers list repeatedly since 2011. Russell has also been included on the Top 25 Westchester Lawyers list since 2013. Russell is known for bringing boundless energy and passion to every matter. Russell is a resident of White Plains.

Speaking of the new Board Members, LSHV’s CEO, Barbara Finkelstein, said, “We are excited to welcome Sarmad, Nelida, Kiara, and Russell to the team at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. We know that their leadership and vision will further our efforts to provide free civil legal services to our vulnerable neighbors throughout the Hudson Valley.”

LSHV is the only provider of free, comprehensive civil (non-criminal) legal services to low-income and disadvantaged individuals and families who cannot afford an attorney when their basic human needs are at stake. This includes urgent legal needs such as: domestic violence (orders of protection, child custody, etc.), housing emergencies (eviction and foreclosure prevention), healthcare, children's law and advocacy, disability and benefits, elder law, consumer fraud and more. Founded more than 50 years ago, LSHV serves the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), maintaining a staff of 135 individuals -- including 80 attorneys and 27 paralegals -- working across nine offices throughout its service area. Last year alone the organization handled 15,000 cases impacting more than 34,000 household members.

For more information about LSHV, please visit its website www.lshv.org.