Prospect, CT

Edward R. Scofield

Mr. Scofield joined the firm in 1986 and has established a successful practice concentrating primarily in commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation. Representative cases include an antitrust claim stemming from a hostile corporate takeover, a dispute involving television syndication contracts, obtaining injunctions against trademark infringement, false advertising, and the violation of restrictive covenants, and a number of complex patent cases. Mr. Scofield has also litigated a wide range of other civil matters, including multi-million dollar foreclosure and bankruptcy cases, disputes between commercial landlords and tenants, fraud claims, business torts, sophisticated probate disputes, and the defense of product liability claims. Mr. Scofield is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Intellectual Property, Litigation - Real Estate, and in Connecticut Super Lawyers in the areas of Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation.

Jeremy C. Virgil

Jeremy C. Virgil concentrates his practice in the areas of plaintiff’s personal injury, malpractice and workers’ compensation. He also handles employment and commercial litigation. Mr. Virgil’s personal injury practice involves wrongful death, serious and significant personal injuries, general negligence cases, such as car accidents, truck crashes, construction injuries, railroad accidents, defective and dangerous products, slip and falls, assaults, sexual assaults, toxic torts, hit and run collisions, uninsured drivers, underinsured drivers. He has pursued class action lawsuits on behalf of the victims of defective products and unscrupulous retailers. Mr. Virgil has also sued multiple insurance companies directly for their misconduct and bad faith behavior in the handling and processing of personal injury lawsuits and claims. Mr. Virgil represents the victims of medical malpractice and professional negligence. He has obtained favorable verdicts or settlements for clients who were the victims of medical negligence involving reproductive and fertility medicine, tissue banking and cryopreservation, gastroenterology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, physical therapy and nursing care amongst others. Mr. Virgil’s workers’ compensation practice involves the representation of seriously injured workers and complex claims. He has represented union and non-union workers, police officers, paid and volunteer fire fighters, correction officers, truck drivers, delivery drivers, factor workers, administrative assistants, laboratory technicians, medical record keepers, teachers and professional athletes amongst others. Mr. Virgil has obtained workers’ compensation benefits for clients suffering back injuries, neck injuries, paralysis, heart attacks and heart conditions (myocardial infarction (MI), atrial fibrillation (afib), hypertension, aortic dissection), concussions, comas, ringing in the ears, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, foot and ankle injuries, elbow injuries, hernias, carpal tunnel, burns, PTSD, exposure to MRSA, exposure to HIV, infections, and death. Mr. Virgil’s labor and employment practice involves representing individuals and companies before federal and state courts, administrative agencies, industry regulatory bodies, and private arbitrators. Mr. Virgil handles sexual harassment, age discrimination, sex discrimination, race discrimination, employment contracts, whistleblower claims, FMLA violations, and wrongful discharge. Mr. Virgil earned his B.A. and M.A. from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2001 and 2002, and his J.D. from The University of Connecticut School of Law in 2005. While at the University of Connecticut, Mr. Virgil received the CALI award for excellence in trial practice. From 2014 through the present, Mr. Virgil has been selected as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” for his representation of plaintiff in their personal injury claims. From 2012 through the present, Mr. Virgil has been selected every year by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” for his representation of plaintiffs in their personal injury claims. Mr. Virgil has been named a Connecticut Rising Star in the area of General Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Law, Medical Malpractice and Workers’ Compensation every year from 2009 through the present. Mr. Virgil also has been given a 10.0 “Superb” rating by Avvo. Many of Mr. Virgil’s results are confidential settlements, but a few examples of recent results include: $2,841,914.84 verdict for a man who suffered burns to nearly his entire body from a defective stove in a rooming house where he was renting in New Haven, Connecticut. $2,000,000 verdict for wrongful death from a motor vehicle collision in Bridgeport, Connecticut. $835,000 settlement of head-on motor vehicle collision in Wilton, Connecticut. $625,000 settlement during trial of ankle injury suffered by a student while the gymnastics floor was being set-up in Milford, Connecticut. $485,000 settlement of intersection collision requiring back surgery in Waterbury, Connecticut $400,000 settlement for negligent destruction of cryopreserved sperm by a tissue bank in Manhattan, New York. $350,000 settlement for neck, back and emotional injuries sustained by a client who was rear-ended by a truck at the intersection of Route 91 South and Route 95 South in New Haven, Connecticut. $325,000 settlement for employee whose arm was pulled into and broken by a film winder due to a defective design; $147,275.31 verdict for pedestrian injured in a fall on snow and ice in Bridgeport, Connecticut. $95,000 verdict for pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle in Southport, Connecticut. $65,141.02 verdict for patron assaulted by another patron at a bar in Bridgeport, Connecticut. $63,468.07 verdict for pedestrian injured in fall due to defective sidewalk in Stratford, Connecticut. $45,244.16 verdict for consumers who were sold defective cars by a dealership in Vernon, Connecticut. Mr. Virgil has also obtained some noteworthy decisions in Connecticut’s Supreme Court, Appellate Court, Superior Court and in the South District of New York, including: Fiallo v. Allstate, 138 Conn. App. 325 (2012). Smith v. Town of Greenwich, 278 Conn. 428 (2006). Bavedas v. Middlesex Health Systems, Inc., et al. AAN-CV-12-6009536-S (#104.01)(January 24, 2013; Hiller, J); (#108.20)(December 4, 2012; Doherty, J); (#111.10)(March 20, 2013; Hiller, J). Bavedas v. Hunter’s Ambulance, et al. AAN-CV-12-6008733-S (#103.1)(August 1, 2012; Arnold, J). Rigoli v. City of Stratford, et al. AAN-CV09-5007920-S (#109.11)(February 6, 2012; Hiller, J). Marsilio v. Norwalk Hospital, FBT-CV11-6015463-S (#126.00)(May 29, 2012)(Radcliffe, J). Ritchie v. City of Milford, et al., AAN-CV06-5001722-S (#135.20)(May 27, 2010; Hiller, J). Teed v. ReproLab, Inc. SDNY 1:07-cv-4097 (March 17, 2009; Griesa, J). Catalano v. Town of Greenwich, CV-06-6000073 (April 27, 2009; Adams, J). Stewart v. Stamford Radiology Assoc., CV-05-40006288-S (Dec. 18. 2007; Tierney, J). Mr. Virgil is also active in the community and has helped to raise thousands of dollars for local charities. In 2006 Mr. Virgil raised $3,200 for St. Vincent Hospital’s cancer prevention, education and assistance program Swim Across Sound by solo swimming and winning, in record setting time, the over 16 mile race from Port Jefferson, Long Island to Captain’s Cove in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Each year from 2007 through 2013, Mr. Virgil has participated in relay swims across Long Island Sound and raised over $7,000. Over the month of January, every year from 2009 through the present, Mr. Virgil swam approximately 125 miles each year as part of the “January Jam - MS Plunge for Parcells” to raise money for patients and families through the St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation to help with expenses not covered by insurance as they undergo treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). In 2007 Mr. Virgil and his relay team, won the 28.5 mile Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS), which benefits children 1-14 who can participate for free in the New York City Parks Department’s Learn to Swim program.

Sabato (“Sam”) P. Fiano

Sabato (“Sam”) Fiano represents individuals, closely-held businesses and large corporations in a wide variety of complex commercial, securities, civil and white-collar crime matters. In particular, Attorney Fiano represents both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving business and corporate disputes, contract issues, shareholder and partnership disputes, business break-ups and dissolutionS, business valuations, fraud and embezzlement claims, corporate usurpation claims, lost profit claims, lawsuits seeking to pierce the corporate veil or establish successor liability, employment issues including non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, lender liability, foreclosure defense, construction litigation, probate litigation, professional malpractice claims, insurance coverage issues, zoning disputes, residential and commercial landlord-tenant disputes, real estate litigation including boundary and easement disputes and adverse possession cases, and disputes arising out of the buying and selling of properties and businesses. Attorney Fiano also represents a diverse base of clients with respect to securities and investment related disputes. He has successfully prosecuted lawsuits as well as arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against global financial investment firms on behalf of individuals who have had their investment accounts mismanaged through unsuitable trades, poor asset allocation, mis-analysis of risk, overcharging of fees, failures to supervise, breaches of fiduciary duty and churning. At the same time, Attorney Fiano has successfully defended the interests of hedge funds, broker-dealers, fund managers and investment advisors who have been wrongfully accused of such claims, or are subject to compliance or regulatory inquiries by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Connecticut Department of Banking. Attorney Fiano is a staunch believer in utilizing special procedures such as applications for prejudgment remedy, applications for temporary injunction, motions for disclosure of assets and petitions for bill of discovery in order to place his clients in the best position to assert their legal rights. He is both creative and aggressive in his post-judgment collection work, so that his clients derive some meaningful recovery from the judgments that he is successful in obtaining for them. However, Attorney Fiano only recommends and pursues aggressive litigation when it is necessary to protect the ultimate best interests of his client, or is strategically advisable to push a lingering dispute to a favorable and expedited resolution. He is careful and instinctive in negotiating and structuring the settlement of his cases to avoid commencing or further pursuing litigation. In his white-collar crime practice, Attorney Fiano is effective in analyzing complex financial evidence related to charges of RICO, tax fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, Medicaid and Medicare fraud, mortgage and real estate fraud, securities violations, false billing practices, money laundering, structuring, conspiracy, embezzlement, theft, and other serious felonies. He has had extensive dealings with prosecutors and agents of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in resolving difficult situations for his clients. Attorney Fiano is an accomplished trial lawyer with an established track record of successfully trying both straight-forward and complex, high-value cases on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants before the Connecticut and New York State, Federal and Bankruptcy Courts, and successfully arguing appeals before the Connecticut and New York Appellate Courts. He is recognized as a Connecticut Super Lawyer in the area of Business Litigation, a highly respected distinction received by only 5% of the attorneys in Connecticut based on peer recognition and professional achievement. Additionally, Attorney Fiano is a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation. The Fellows is a collection of the State’s most outstanding lawyers, judges and teachers who devote their time and talent to sponsoring programs that address matters concerning the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the rule of law in society. Attorney Fiano spent his first decade practicing law at the Southport-based firm of Kleban & Samor, PC and managed his own law practice prior to joining Zeldes, Needle & Cooper. The proud son of Italian immigrants, Attorney Fiano is fluent in Italian. He is a lifetime resident of Fairfield County, where he attended and played football at Fairfield Prep high school. He is an avid sports fan, and, in particular, a rabid, unapologetic fan of the Dallas Cowboys.

Lori A. DaSilva-Fiano

Attorney DaSilva-Fiano has a diverse litigation practice wherein she represents individuals and corporate clients in a wide range of civil and commercial litigation matters. More specifically, Attorney DaSilva-Fiano handles cases involving business and corporate disputes, contract issues, real estate disputes, construction litigation, commercial and residential landlord-tenant disputes and insurance coverage issues. Mrs. DaSilva-Fiano has also represented both creditors and debtors in foreclosure and bankruptcy matters. Mrs. DaSilva-Fiano also focuses on representing injured parties in personal injury, premises liability, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence and workers’ compensation claims, wherein she employs her extensive insight and medical knowledge as a Registered Nurse. In her family law practice, Mrs. DaSilva-Fiano has significant experience representing clients in all facets of family law matters in Fairfield and New Haven Counties including premarital agreements, mediations, marital dissolutions, legal separations, alimony and property distribution disputes, and post-judgment enforcement and modification. Prior to joining Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, PC, Attorney DaSilva-Fiano practiced law at the Southport-based firm of Kleban & Samor, PC and subsequently managed her own law practice. While a longtime resident of the towns of Prospect and Waterbury, Mrs. DaSilva-Fiano currently resides with her family and cocker spaniels in Fairfield County. Outside of the office, Mrs.DaSilva-Fiano is an avid cyclist and can be found on most days clipping in at SoulCycle.

Richard A. Sarner

Rick Sarner practices in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law, Asset Protection Planning, Family Wealth Transfer and Charitable Planning. With offices in New York and Stamford, Connecticut, Rick speaks frequently on Estate Planning topics to financial planners and insurance advisors. He practiced with several large New York law firms prior to entering private practice in 1991 and joining Zeldes, Needle and Cooper in January 2018. Attorney Sarner has received the highest professional rating (AV) from Martindale-Hubbell, has been listed in the Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers™ since 2004, Connecticut and New England Super Lawyer 2013, Top Estate Planning Lawyers 2011-2018: Greenwich Magazine, Stamford Magazine, New Canaan Darien & Rowayton Magazine, Westport Fairfield Weston Wilton Magazine. Westchester Magazine FIVE STAR Wealth Manager Award 2010; Avenue Magazine: AVENUE’S 2011-2013 Legal Elite - Top Estate Attorneys, Top Tax Attorneys. Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law; His AVVO rating is 9.9 Superb. Attorney Sarner is active in the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section), the Connecticut Bar Association (Section of Estates and Probate) and the New York State Bar Association (Trusts and Estates Law Section). He served as co-chair of the Fairfield County Bar Association Probate and Estates Committee 2008-12. He is a member of WealthCounsel, a nationwide alliance of estate planning attorneys, who collectively combine their expertise, designing and administering asset protection and wealth preservation plans.

Richard D. Zeisler

Richard is a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Connecticut School of Law. As a partner, Richard has practiced in Connecticut since 1963 handling a wide variety of civil matters, including bankruptcies, reorganizations, financial restructuring, contract disputes, business torts, estates and matrimonial matters. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the areas of bankruptcy and reorganization for more than twenty years. In addition, he has been listed by Super Lawyers in the areas of bankruptcy and reorganization. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at the Quinnipiac University School of Law. In a poll among Connecticut attorneys conducted by the Connecticut Law Tribune, Richard was selected as the best attorney in Connecticut handling proceedings on behalf of debtors. Richard has tried cases in both the state and federal court and has argued appeals before the Connecticut Supreme Court. He has authored a number of articles on bankruptcy as well as the effect of bankruptcy on matrimonial matters. He has lectured before the National Association of Realtors as well as numerous legal seminars, accounting seminars and other professional organizations. He has been involved in numerous mergers, acquisitions, start-ups and dissolutions. Richard has served as President of the Bridgeport Bar Association and as Chairman of the Cerebral Palsy Telethon. He has been active in municipal matters and is well known for his filing of the landmark Chapter 9 bankruptcy for the City of Bridgeport.

Lisa C. Dumond

Lisa C. Dumond has spent her entire professional career trying to make a difference for the people she serves. As a paralegal for more than 20 years prior to earning her law degree, Lisa realized that she could do more to help families, and most importantly, the children who had no voice in the courts, by continuing her education and becoming a lawyer. Also, during her tenure as a paralegal, Lisa also developed a keen interest in estate administration and general probate practice, having also worked as a paralegal for a then sitting probate judge. She also established hands on experience in residential and commercial real estate transactions. Since acquiring her law degree, with honors, Lisa started her own firm, The Law Office of Lisa C. Dumond, LLC, in Waterbury, CT then relocated to Prospect, CT where it remained for many years, devoting her practice to the areas of family law, real estate and estate/probate. Currently, as Lisa has partnered with Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, P.C., that location proudly serves as a satellite office for ZNC.