| Carmen graduated cum laude from St. John’s University and earned her Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School. While in law school, Carmen interned with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. She also worked as a legal intern for Federal District Court Judge John E. Sprizzo in the Southern District of New York.
After graduating law school, Carmen pursued her legal career in public service while serving her community for six and a half years as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of Queens. As an Assistant District Attorney, Carmen served in the Criminal Court, Grand Jury, Appeals and Supreme Court Bureaus. Carmen distinguished herself by prosecuting over fifty trials, including numerous felony and misdemeanor jury trials. For the past seven and a half years, Carmen has been working as a trial attorney for the law firm of Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP, where she is actively involved in complex mass tort litigation with a concentration on asbestos related cases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Carmen has litigated cases in the State and Federal Courts in New York and New Jersey and is admitted to practice law in New York State Courts and New Jersey State Courts, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Carmen has served on Judicial Screening Committees for Nassau County and the Nassau County Human Rights Commission. Carmen was unanimously appointed by the Nassau County Legislature to serve as a Commissioner where she worked to insure that people, regardless of sex, ethnicity, and creed, were protected from discriminatory practices in employment, housing and education.
Additionally, she has been recognized for her successful verdicts by the Verdict Reporters and several media publications for multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, such as a $26.8 million dollar settlement, plus significant injunctive relief, in a high-profile class action lawsuit brought by thousands of Latino and African American officers alleging discrimination by the New York City Police Department. Additionally, she was co-counsel on the first successful mesothelioma case holding the largest supplier of industrial talc liable for the wrongful death of a former potter. Carmen won a significant pre-trial ruling allowing the testimony of a deceased plaintiff despite the defendant manufacturer’s absence at the deposition in an asbestos action. She subsequently tried that case which resulted in a $2.25 million jury verdict in favor of a civilian employee of the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn whose mesothelioma was caused from exposure to asbestos containing packing material. In 2006, Carmen successfully argued before the Appellate Division, First Department, securing a decision affirming the lower court’s holding that an insurance company was obligated to defend and indemnify an entertainer with respect to personal injury and wrongful death actions which occurred during a spectator stampede outside a celebrity basketball game held at City College.
Carmen is of Greek and Puerto-Rican descent. She is fluent in both Greek and Spanish, and handles her firm’s Greek and Latino representation. She has been recognized by The National Herald for her positive involvement with the Greek-American community. Carmen is a member with the Nassau County Bar Association, Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Long Island Hispanic Bar Association, National Hispanic Bar Association and a former member of the Maritime Lawyers Association, New York Trial Lawyer’s Association and the Women’s Bar Association. Carmen was also an active member with the Criminal Court’s Committee of the New York City Bar Association where she and other members studied the operations of the New York City Criminal Court and the Criminal Term of the New York State Supreme Court. As a member of the Committee, Carmen also participated in the Judiciary Committee’s review of candidates for Criminal Court.
Passionate about the law and public awareness, Carmen has been a trial court commentator for CNN, Tru TV and Court Television News. Additionally, she has covered high profile and sensational civil and criminal cases for Fox News Television Network as well as on the internet. Based on Carmen’s excellent character and reputation, her extensive professional experience and her thorough knowledge of the court system, she will be an excellent addition to our District Court bench.
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