Lecturer Bios
Norma E. Ortiz, Esq.
Norma E. Ortiz has been practicing bankruptcy law since graduating from N.Y.U. School
of Law in 1987. She has a broad and diverse background and handles a wide variety of
bankruptcy cases. Norma honed her skills in business bankruptcy Chapter 11 cases by serving
as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Trustee’s Office, and clerking for the
former Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Southern District of New York Arthur J. Gonzalez.
She
joined her father’s law firm and expanded her bankruptcy practice to include personal
bankruptcy cases. Norma also helps those in need of representation in bankruptcy lawsuits and
creditors in bankruptcy cases.
Norma believes strongly in helping others and has dedicated time to teaching other
lawyers and clients about the benefits of bankruptcy. She has lectured on bankruptcy issues for
the Bar Association of the City of New York, the American Bar Association, the Puerto Rican Bar
Association, the Practicing Law Institute, Brooklyn Law School, Law Line, and numerous other
organizations.
She has also volunteered her time to serve as the Chair of the Bankruptcy
Committee of the N.Y.S. Bar Association’s Business Law Section, as a member of the Chapter 11
Lawyer’s Advisory Committee to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York, as a
member of the Second Circuit’s Committee on Civic Education, and co-chairs the Bankruptcy
Committee for the Queens County Bar Association and NYCLA.
James P. Pagano, Esq.
James P. Pagano (“JPP”) is engaged in the practice of law in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency
and creditor’s rights and real estate transactions. (the “Practice Areas”)
After graduation from FORDHAN UNIVERSITY with a B. A. in 1971, he graduated from NEW YORK
LAW SCHOOL (“NYLS”) in 1975. He was admitted to practice before the courts of the State of New York,
and to the District Courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York in 1976.
He is also admitted to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to the United States Supreme
Court.
His experience in bankruptcy began upon his appointment as an Assistant Attorney General of the
State of New York, working in the Litigation Bureau, representing state agencies in bankruptcy
proceedings and in the Consumer Frauds & Protection Bureau, representing consumers in cases where
businesses had filed for bankruptcy,
He then moved to a law firm, where a retired Professor of Bankruptcy Law at NYLS was the senior
partner.
Attorneys from that law firm, including JPP, thereafter joined a law firm, where a retired Bankruptcy
Judge was a senior partner.
In 1984, he commenced his own practice, where he continues to work in the Practice Areas.
He is currently the Co-Chair of the Bankruptcy Law Committee at the New York County Lawyers
Association (“NYCLA”) and the Queens County Bar Association. He previously served in that position at
NYCLA
He is a member of the NYLSA Alumni Association Board of Directors.
He is a Past President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Columbian Lawyers of the
County of Queens.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Apartment Corporation in which he resides
Joseph D. Nohavicka, Esq.
With over 28 years of experience in the law, Joseph D. Nohavicka (Joe) is fully-qualified to take
on any kind of case at any given moment. Joe’s practice focuses on criminal defense,
employment, commercial, insurance, ethics, and general appellate trial and pre-trial litigation in
state and federal courts. Joe heads the firm’s diverse and sophisticated criminal practice which
encompasses all aspects of criminal law.
P&N, LLP, handles an eclectic caseload comprised of civil and criminal litigation including
commercial disputes, construction, torts, insurance coverage, corporate disputes, employment
law, real estate, securities, bankruptcy, and criminal matters. The firm has a strong presence in
all the state and federal trial courts in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island, and
has recently litigated a commercial matter to a successful verdict in the United States District
Court for the Central District of California. The firm has handled multiple matters litigated in the
Appellate Divisions for the Third, Second and First Departments; all were successful. P&N, also
handled matters successfully in the following tribunals: NLRB, SEC, LIBOR, NYDOL, New
York State Department of Licensing; New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board;
New York State Division of Human Rights; New York City Department of Buildings; New York
City Environmental Control Board; New York City Commission on Human Rights; U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. Our firm has also represented individuals during
investigations conducted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the New
York State Department of Insurance.
Joe is acknowledged in the profession for his performance in the courtroom, and he is also a
prolific legal commentator with multiple publications in the New York Law Journal and the New
York State Bar Journal.
Joe is also an Arbitrator in Small Claims Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County
(2009 Arbitrator of the Year), and a Certified New York PIP Arbitrator, Arbitration Forums,
Inc., New York District (Appointed 2004) (arbitration of disputes between insurance companies
with respect to coverage issues, property damage and personal injury protection benefits loss
transfer) (2004 Arbitrator of the Year).
He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1994.
Salvatore LaMonica, Esq.
SALVATORE LaMONICA is a partner and co-founder of LH&M. After graduating from law school, he was employed at the Manhattan District Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. From 1989 to 1991, Salvatore served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dorothy Eisenberg, United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of New York. From there, he became a partner at Jaspan Schlesinger Silverman & Hoffman, located in Garden City, New York, as a member of their bankruptcy and workout department. In 1998, he started LH&M with the other founding partners. Salvatore is a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy and bankruptcy-related issues.
On March 4, 2009, Salvatore was appointed to the panel of Chapter 7 trustees of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
