Med malpractice attorney takes pride in giving a voice to his clients
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By Brian Cox
When Jordan Palatiello was fresh out of law school and in his first job as an assistant district attorney in Nassau County, New York, he learned two indelible lessons he has carried with him throughout his career: The work affects people’s lives and always treat your opponents with respect and courtesy.
While a law student at Hofstra University Law School on Long Island, Palatiello had interned with a Manhattan law firm that specialized in insurance coverage work. It’s where he fully realized that he wanted a career advocating in court, which is why he sought out a position with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office after earning his law degree.
“They throw you right in,” he says. “They enable you to try and handle cases from the beginning. That’s where I got my feet wet trying cases. The experience totally formed where I am now and gave me skills that I otherwise wouldn’t have had and gave me more confidence.”
As an assistant district attorney, Palatiello started out dealing with misdemeanor cases such as petit larceny before moving up to prosecute cases ranging from narcotics possession to attempted murder. Eventually, he was assigned to the Special Victims Bureau where he further sharpened his skills in court and learned lessons he still employs today in his practice as a medical malpractice defense attorney with Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP, in Islandia, New York.
“It taught me how to speak and interact with clients and victims who are going through the hardest times of their life,” he says. “Those types of cases are very, very difficult to leave at the office, but it also taught me that, at the end of the day, I need to leave work at work and be with my family.”
Palatiello and his wife, Natalie, have three children: Ben, 9; Elle, 7; and Carter, 5. Natalie is an orthodontist with her own practice. Any free time is taken up on the baseball field most weekends and attending other activities with their kids.
Looking back, Palatiello attributes the bureau chief at the DA’s office, Madeline Singas, who is now a judge on the Court of Appeals in New York, with teaching him how important the work they were doing was and the impact it could have on people’s lives.
Singas also taught him the importance of maintaining a high level of professionalism. It was from her that Palatiello learned if a defendant he was prosecuting walked out of a courtroom behind him, he should hold the door for them.
“We’re in a profession where it is adversarial by its very nature, but I also think you can advocate for your client in a respectful and collegial manner without having to make it personal.”
Palatiello grew up in central New Jersey. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father was in sales. He acquired his powerful work ethic at a young age when he grappled with dyslexia and realized he would have to work harder than many of his classmates in order to succeed.
“It was definitely difficult,” says Palatiello. “There were times when my friends were going out to play after school and I was going to a tutor.”
His diligence and determination paid off, and by high school he had largely acquired the necessary tools to mitigate the frustrations and setbacks dyslexia can often cause.
At Binghamton University, Palatiello majored in history, already planning on becoming a lawyer. The law appealed to his interest in formulating and expressing arguments. He enjoyed the strategic thinking law required.
Initially accepted into New England Law Boston, Palatiello spent a year in Massachusetts before transferring to Hofstra University Law School on Long Island in order to be closer to his future wife, who was in dental school at Stony Brook University.
After graduating from Hofstra in 2008, Palatiello threw himself into preparing for the bar exam. From the first day after graduation, he was in the library 8 to 10 hours every day, studying.
“I had to be more prepared than the person sitting next to me,” he says, “and I’ve taken that into my career.”
He took the New York bar at Javits Center and then drove to Atlantic City to take the New Jersey bar that same week.
After three-and-a-half years with the district attorney’s office, Palatiello was ready for a change, though he knew he wanted to continue litigating. He accepted a position with a medical malpractice and general liability defense firm where he primarily handled medical malpractice cases and felt he had found his calling.
“On each case, there’s something new,” he says. “You’re speaking and interacting with medical professionals who are extremely bright. They’re intelligent. They care about their cases and the outcomes of their cases. I really fell in love with that aspect of the law.”
His early adoption and appreciation of the value of hard work and preparation has served Palatiello well in his practice.
“I find it remarkable how ahead of the game you are if you prepare,” he says. “Preparation is everything when you’re going to trial. If you know more than your adversary, you are miles ahead of the game and that’s all preparation.”
More than three years later, in 2015, Palatiello found he wasn’t actually trying many cases and he missed being in the courtroom.
“There is no greater feeling than trying a case before a jury,” he says. “Having to think on your feet. Having something on the line. It’s exhilarating.”
When Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP offered him the opportunity to return to the courtroom to try cases, he jumped at the chance.
Founded in 1993, Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP started out with four attorneys but over time has grown to more than 55. The firm has steadily gained a reputation as a skilled and dynamic law firm, capable of managing the most complex litigation, trial, corporate, and appellate work.
“There is no better group of people who I’ve worked with,” says Palatiello of the firm. “Everyone is helpful; their doors are always open. They trust you and they support you and the decisions that you make. And everyone is friends, which makes it enjoyable to come to work every day.”
The first case Palatiello was offered to try as an associate was one that had been going on for 10 years. The complex trial went on for three months. It was the first civil case Palatiello had ever tried.
When Palatiello obtained a defense verdict, the win opened more doors for him to try medical malpractice and general liability cases.
He is committed to giving a voice to his clients whose names and reputation are on the line.
“I try to do my best to represent them and really support the care and treatment that they rendered,” Palatiello says. “There are unfortunate outcomes in cases, despite the best of care.”
Now a partner at the firm, Palatiello says his practice focuses on the defense of physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, and health care facilities. He is also engaged in the defense of general liability claims, including premises liability, transportation law, and vehicular liability.
Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles, LLP continues to broaden the scope of its services and expertise in response to the emerging needs of their clients. The firm has significantly expanded their professional and support staff and case management systems and, in turn, their ability to serve their clients.
“I think we try to stand out, and I think we do a good job of being really client focused,” says Palatiello of the firm. “Communication with the client is vital and that’s something that we as a firm take very seriously and do a good job at executing. We have an extremely good reputation and believe it’s important to have relationships with our adversaries, colleagues at other firms, and with the bar and court.”