Family Law

• Paternity
• Guardianship
  Kelsey Bilodeau is a member of Gottesman, Wolgel, Flynn, & Weinberg, P.C., where she focuses her practice on surety law, receivership law and general commercial litigation matters. Kelsey has extensive experience in representing surety companies in state, surrogate and federal court in resolving claims against performance bonds, payment bonds, mechanic lien bonds, appeal bonds, guardianship bonds and estate and probate bonds, and in pursuing the surety’s rights against bond obligees and bond principals. Kelsey also has extensive experience representing receivers in United States Small Business Administration and Securities and Exchange Commission receiverships from commencement of the receivership through windup and termination, assisting the receivers in marshaling assets, pursuing recovery of receivership assets and funds, investigating and analyzing claims to the receiver and distributing assets to claimants. Kelsey also has experience in banking transactions, contract negotiations, drafting wills, guardianships and probate matters.

Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  Grivas v. Port Authority 227 A.D.2d 105 (Paternity order based on testimony of mother and putative paternal grandmother not a sufficient predicate for wrongful death action to benefit putative father’s post mortem child);
• Money Laundering
  Charlotte is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the State of New Jersey, United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Charlotte is CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) certified. Charlotte received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law where she served on the editorial board as an Articles Editor for the American University Law Review. Charlotte received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD, where she studied the “Great Books” of western civilization.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Charlotte S. Licker is an associate of Gottesman, Wolgel, Flynn & Weinberg, P.C., where she represents both individual and corporate clients on a wide variety of matters, including civil litigation, suretyship, corporate governance and vendor management, regulatory compliance, commercial contracts, and real estate transactions. Charlotte also advises clients on day to day legal and business matters and previously served as outside deputy general counsel to the New York branches of two foreign financial institutions. As deputy general counsel, Charlotte worked with clients in internal and governmental investigations, drafted and negotiated cross border agreements, drafted internal policies and procedures, prepared responses to third party and grand jury subpoenas, advised clients on employment matters, and represented and advised her clients on large variety of other matters. Prior to joining Gottesman Wolgel, Charlotte participated in a fellowship at the Second Judicial Department of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York where she performed the functions of an appellate court attorney.
• Business Disputes
  Founded in 1920 as Walter & Fertig and as trial counsel for insurance, fidelity & surety companies, the firm’s practice has grown to include commercial litigation, debt collection and recovery, mortgage foreclosures, construction law, bankruptcy and creditor’s rights, banking and real estate transactions, asset based and unsecured financing, loan structuring and documentation, corporate formation, business disputes, employment law, coverage opinions and declaratory judgments, receivership, and estate planning and administration.

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Representing Sureties in transactional matters, project completion, and federal and state court litigation involving payment and performance bonds, Miller Act bonds, lost instrument and open penalty indemnity bonds, customs single entry and general term bonds, utility bonds, fiduciary bonds, safe deposit bonds, workers compensation bonds, black lung bonds, supersedeas bonds, appeal bonds, bail bonds, environmental “closure” bonds, and miscellaneous court and tax bonds. We also render opinions on financial guarantee and suretyship questions as well as reinsurance recoveries.
• Employment Contract
  Serving as local counsel for the United States Small Business Administration as Receiver of various Small Business Investment Companies in marshalling and liquidating assets of the receivership estate for the benefits of creditors for the past 25 years. This practice area includes enforcing and pursuing the rights, remedies and claims of the SBA as Receiver against third parties on promissory notes, subscription agreements, securities, debts, judgments, contracts, loans, foreclosures, sales of assets, debt restructuring, leases, title transfers, security interests, employment contracts and issues, fiduciary duties, prudent investor rules, and general partnership and corporate matters. Also serve as counsel to Court-Appointed United States Security and Exchange Commission Receiver, includes enforcing and pursuing the rights, remedies and claims of the receiver, assisting in marshalling assets, claim analysis and distribution to claimants.
• Employment Litigation
  Representing companies and individuals in business disputes and employment issues, including partnership and shareholder disputes, construction litigation, errors and omissions litigation, employee dishonesty, corporate formation and dissolution, and indemnification of officers and directors.

Property Law

• Premises Liability
  Defending Insureds against claims involving general negligence, intentional torts, New York Labor Law, property damage, premises liability and products liability for claims for injuries caused by caustic solutions, industrial machinery, and defective equipment. Related topics include coverage issues, hold harmless disputes, contractual indemnification claims, excess coverage and declaratory judgment proceedings.
• Construction Litigation
  Atlantic Mutual Ins. Co. v. M.H. Kane Construction, 100 A.D.3d 564 (1st Dept. 2012). This appeal concerned the venue of an indemnity action. Defendants argued venue of the action should be in the county where the non-party witnesses lived and could testify to an alleged breach of the contract between the Obligor and the Principal. The Appellate Division unanimously reversed because “defendants failed to demonstrate that the proposed testimony of the nonparty witnesses, concerning defendants’ claim that the County of Suffolk wrongfully declared defendant M.H. Kane Construction Corp. in default under a construction contract, would be material in the instant case in which plaintiff, a surety on performance bonds issued in connection with the construction project, seeks to recover pursuant to an indemnity agreement executed by defendants.”
• Real Estate Transactions
  Richard Demas is an associate of Gottesman, Wolgel, Flynn & Weinberg, P.C., where he handles a variety of matters including performance and payment bond claims analysis, resolution, and litigation; Vehicle and Traffic Law § 370 bond issues, claims, and litigation; fiduciary bond claims and related litigation; commercial litigation; general estate practice, and real estate transactions.
• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  Prior to joining Gottesman, Wolgel, Flynn & Weinberg, P.C., Richard worked at a small landlord-tenant law firm that handled all aspects of landlord-tenant litigation for both landlords and tenants. Prior to that, Richard worked for the Department of Homeless Services where Richard reviewed and determined applications for emergency housing and conferenced with applicants regarding Agency decisions, represented the Agency in hearings of appeals of denials of applications, assisted with Freedom of Information Law determinations and responses to Freedom of Information Law requests.
• Property Damage

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  In its non-litigation practice, the firm negotiates and mediates matters the client does not wish to litigate, provides coverage opinions as well as opinions concerning the likelihood of affirmance of reversal on appeal in matters handled by other firms, drafts security agreements, mortgages, notes and other instruments to protect client interests, negotiates leases and contracts, negotiates settlements with various agencies, and facilitates non-litigated resolution of construction-related disputes. The firm has extensive contacts throughout the Eastern United States with accountants, engineers, consultants, investigators, etc., whose assistance can be crucial to efficient claims resolution and/or litigation. The firm has represented insurers and sureties in both federal and state courts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. The firm maintains an extensive library geared primarily to insurance and bond coverage claims, estate planning and guardianships. Our offices are located in downtown Manhattan, within walking distance of state and federal courts.
• Trusts
  Estate and trust planning, probate, estate and trust administration, as well as Guardianship proceedings under Mental Hygiene Law Article 81 and SCPA Article 17.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
  Representing banks, cooperative corporations, companies and individuals in acquisition, financing and leasing of real estate and chattel. This practice includes contract and lease negotiations, title review, refinancing, residential and commercial loans, foreclosures, landlord and tenant disputes, evictions, ejections, title indemnification claims and issues, forbearance agreements, loan restructuring, creditor’s rights, bankruptcy, and debt collection.
• Debt Collection