Meet our Attorneys

Adolph Koeppel
THE FOUNDING PARTNER of Koeppel Martone & Leistman is an experienced tax certiorari attorney who has worked exclusively in this area since 1962. He is admitted to the bars in New York, Florida and the District of Columbia and continues to actively practice in this field.

Education and Experience Adolph Koeppel attended New York University, School of Law and earned his L.L.B. degree in 1948 and an L.L.M., in 1953. Mr. Koeppel began his legal career in tax certiorari as Senior Deputy Nassau County Attorney in the Real Estate Tax Review Division (1962-1963). In 1963, Mr. Koeppel went into private practice by organizing his own tax certiorari firm. In addition to his continuing private practice, Mr. Koeppel has served as Village Attorney for the Incorporated Village of Lake Success (1968-1979) and has served as a Hofstra Law School faculty member in the Real Estate Law, Advanced Practice Institute (1978-1986). He has been an active member of the Institute of Property Taxation and served as their tax law committee chair from 1984 through 1986. He has served as chairman of tax certiorari seminars at the Practicing Law Institute periodically from 1987 to 1992. Mr. Koeppel has acted as special tax assessment counsel to the following municipalities, among others: the City of Yonkers (1978-1982); the Village of Port Chester (1978-1983) and the Town of Rye (1978-1983).

Michael R. Martone
ADMITTED TO THE BAR of the State of New York in 1959. His practice has been restricted to tax assessment review and condemnation since 1961. Mr. Martone is also a member of the Florida and Washington, D.C. bars (1984). He has authored and participated in many articles in his field, most recently "What Makes Condemnation Unique?", New York Law Journal, March 27, 1995.

Mr. Martone has been admitted to the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York as well as the U.S. Tax Court. He was educated at Lehigh University (B.S. 1956) and New York Law School (L.L.B. 1959). He has served as Senior Deputy Nassau County Attorney in charge of Condemnation and Tax Assessment Review; Commissioner of Public Safety - City of Glen Cove; Special Attorney for Condemnation Glen Cove Urban Renewal Agency; Legal Advisor Glen Cove Charter Revision Commission; Secretary and Member of the Nassau County Legal Aid Society; Advisory Committee to the Joint Legislative Committee on Condemnation and Appropriation, State of New York; and is a Chairperson of the Nassau County Board of Ethics.

He is a member and committee active of the Nassau County, Suffolk County, New York State, Florida State, District of Columbia, and American Bar Associations. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers; the International Association of Assessing Officers; Columbia Society of Real Estate Appraisers; Institute of Property Taxation and the National Association of Review Appraisers and Mortgage Underwriters.

He is the managing partner in the law firm of Koeppel, Martone & Leistman. He participated in many landmark cases in both assessment review and condemnation including 860 Executive Towers, Roosevelt Field, and Garden City Country Club which case established the proper valuation to be applied in golf and country club trials.

Email: MMartone@taxcert.com.

Donald F. Leistman
ADMITTED TO THE BAR of the State of New York in 1981. He has since specialized in the field of real estate tax review and condemnation.

Mr. Leistman is also admitted to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, and the United States Tax Court. He is a graduate of Hofstra University (B.A. 1978, J.D. 1981). He has served as both Vice Chairman (1991-1993) and Chairman (1993-1995) of the Nassau County Bar Association Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, and is also a member of the New York State and Suffolk County Bar Associations. Mr. Leistman has lectured extensively on real property tax matters before bar associations, governmental and civic groups.

He serves as an Executive Board Member of the Association for a Better Long Island, and is a member of the Institute of Property Taxation and the Nassau Citizens Budget Committee.

He recently has litigated several cases challenging the constitutionality of the Nassau County residential property tax assessment system. He has also won several significant cases before the Court of Appeals concerning commercial property tax exemptions and the right of residential owners with professional offices to seek tax relief. Mr. Leistman has successfully tried certiorari cases on a variety of types of properties including bowling alleys, movie theaters, supermarkets, and tennis courts, retail, office and industrial buildings.

Email: DLeistman@taxcert.com.

Senior Counsel

Jamie P. Alpern
Admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 1986, and the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, in 1987.  Ms. Alpern attended the State University of New York at Albany where she graduated with the academic honors of Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa (B.A. 1983), and St. John's University where she was on the dean's list (J.D. 1986).  In 1984 Ms. Alpern began clerking for the Koeppel firm and she has the distinction of being the firm's Senior Counsel. She has been engaged in the field of tax certiorari for 20 years.  Ms. Alpern was an adjunct lecturer at Queens College where she taught a course in legal writing.  She has been a member of the Nassau County Bar Association's Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation Law since 1987, and  served as the Committee's Vice-Chair (2001-2004), and the Committee's Chair (2004-2005). She is also a member of the New York State Bar Association.

Ms. Alpern is Vice President of  the Board of Directors of the Long Island Crisis Center, a non-profit agency in Bellmore, where she is also a volunteer at its subsidiary, Pride for Youth.

Email: JAlpern@taxcert.com.

Associates

Edward C. Mohlenhoff
Born Roslyn, New York, July 3, 1956; admitted to bar, 1988, New York and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. Education: Columbia University (B.A., 1982); St. John's University (J.D., 1987). Deputy County Attorney, Nassau County, 1989-1992. Member: Nassau County (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 1991), Suffolk County (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 1991), New York State and American Bar Associations; New York Condemnation Conference (Member, 1996- ); American Property Tax Counsel; The National Affiliation of Independent Property Tax Attorneys. Practice Areas: State and Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: EMohlenhoff@taxcert.com

Rise E. Rosen
Admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 1991.  Ms. Rosen attended the Queens College of the City University of New York (B.A., 1987) and Hofstra University (J.D., 1990).  She is a member of the Nassau County (Member, Condemnation Law and Tax Certiorari Committee, 1991 - ) and New York State Bar Associations; Nassau County Woman's Bar Association.

Email: RRosen@taxcert.com.
 

Carol Rizzo
Admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 1992.  Ms. Rizzo attended Dowling College (B.S., 1988); The Jacob D. Fuchsburg Law Center of Touro College (J.D., 1992).  Member, Touro Law Review, 1990-1992. She is a member of the Suffolk County, Nassau County (Member, Tax Certiorari and Condemnation Committee, 1995 - ) and New York State Bar Associations, and the Suffolk County Women's Bar Association.

Email: CRizzo@taxcert.com.

Myrna A. Cadet-Osse
Born: Talladega, Alabama, August 1, 1967; admitted to bar, 1995, New York; 1996, U.S. Court, Southern District of New York; 1997, District of Columbia and Georgia. Education: Barnard College (B.A., 1989); Columbia University (J.D., 1994). Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of New York, 1995-2000. Editor, "McKinney's Forms: Tax Practice and Procedure Guide," West Publishing Co.; Author: Lexis Practice Commentary for 2004 Real Property Tax Law; Co-Author: "How and Who Gets the Money? Resolving the Standing on Title Disputes", appearing in Condemnation Law, New York Bar Association, 2003. Member: Nassau County (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 2000—) and New York State (Member, New York Condemnation Conference, 2000—) Bar Associations; District of Columbia Bar; State Bar of Georgia. Practice Areas: State Taxation; Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: MCadet@taxcert.com

Jason M. Penighetti
Born: New York, New York, March 16, 1977; admitted to bar, 2003, New York; 2002, New Jersey; 2002, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. Education: State University of New York at Albany (B.A., 1999); Hofstra University School of Law (J.D., 2002). Member of Phi Alpha Delta. Research Editor, Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal. Panelist: "Real Estate Taxes: Seeking Relief", Nassau County Bar Association, October 15, 2007; "The Condemnation Clause of the Lease - Frequently Overlooked" Co-Author, Government, Law and Policy Journal, Spring 2007, Vol. 9, No. 1; "Discoverability of Prior Appraisals in Eminent Domain: An Evolving Issue", Suffolk Lawyer, May 2006; "Environmental Claims", Condemnation Law and Procedures, published by the N.Y.S. Bar Association 2005; Eminent Domain Procedure Law Practitioner’s Perspective, Matthew Bender, 2004; Court of Claims Act Practitioner’s Perspective, Matthew Bender, 2004; "Condemnation, Compensation & Contamination: The Big C's of Eminent Domain", Suffolk Lawyer, November 2003; Nassau Lawyer, November 2003. Member: Nassau County (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 2003 - ), New York State, New Jersey State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: State Taxation; Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Zoning Law; Real Property.

Email: JPenighetti@taxcert.com

Jennifer Hower
Born: Glen Cove, New York, July 18, 1969; admitted to bar, 1998, New Hampshire; 1998, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire; 1999, U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals; 1999, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; 2005, Colorado; 2006, New York; 2007, U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District and Southern District of New York. Education: State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., 1991); Franklin Pierce Law Center (J.D., 1998). U.S. Air Force Assistant Staff Judge Advocate, 1998-2004. U.S. Air Force Assistant Staff Judge Advocate Individual Mobilization Augmentee, 2004 – 2007. Co-author, "Can Your Client Recover Severance Damage for the Loss of Frontage Area?" Government, Law and Policy Journal, New York State Bar Association, Spring 2007, Vol.9, No.1; Co-author, "Why Kelo Didn’t Matter and What Can Be Done About It," The Nassau Lawyer, January 2007; Assistant Editor, Real Estate Titles, Third Edition – 2006 Supplement, Chapter 16 – "Title by Eminent Domain," New York State Bar Association, December 2006; Co-author, "Ettlingen Homes v. Town of Derry: Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places, New Hampshire Bar Journal," September 1997. Member: Nassau County Bar Association (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 2006 – ; Publications Committee, 2007 – ), Suffolk County Bar Association; New York State Bar Association; New Hampshire Bar Association. Practice Areas: Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; State Taxation; Local Taxation; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: JHower@taxcert.com

Ryan C. Hild
Admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 2006 and the Connecticut bar in 2005. Mr. Hild attended Quinnipiac University where he graduated with the academic honors of Cum Laude and as a member of the Order of Omega Honor Society (B.A. 2000). He attended New York Law School where he graduated with the academic honors of Cum Laude (J.D., 2005). During his time at New York Law School, he served as a clerk for Judge John J. Toomey and Judge Glenn A. Murphy of the Suffolk County District Court and as an intern for Judge Francis Alessandro of the Bronx County Civil Court. He also served as an intern for the New York Mental Hygiene Legal Service where he advocated on behalf of the mentally disabled.

Mr. Hild is a member of the Suffolk and Nassau County Bar Associations, where he serves as a member of the Tax Certiorari and Condemnation Committee, Real Property Committee and Young Lawyers Committee, 2006 - ). He is also a member of the New York State Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers Association (2006 - ).

Mr. Hild serves as legal counsel to Kings Park Heritage Museum where he has been a volunteer since the museum's inception in 1994. He is also a member of the Long Island Business Network and the Hauppauge Industrial Association (2006 - ).

Email: RHild@taxcert.com.

Of Counsel

William D. Siegel (of counsel)
Born: New York, New York, June 21, 1938; admitted to bar, 1963, New York; 1966, U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. Education: Syracuse University (B.A., 1960); Columbia University (LL.B., 1963). Deputy County Attorney, Nassau County, 1963-1968. Law Clerk, U.S. Judge Jack B. Weinstein, Eastern District of New York, 1967. Author: "Guth, 860 & Hellerstein; A Revolution in the World of Real Property Tax Assessment," Nassau Lawyer, October, 1975; "The Claimants Burden in a Condemnation Proceeding," Nassau Lawyer, January 1977; "A Real Property Tax Bouillabaisse: S7000A, Slewett & Farber and Colt," New York State Bar Journal, June, 1982. Co-Author: "Proof of Inequality," New York State Bar Journal, November 1987 and December 1987; "Section 1983 and Real Property Taxes: Not Anymore," New York Law Journal, March 27, 1997; "Reducing Real Property Tax Assessments in New York State Based on Contamination," Environmental Law in New York, July 1998 (with Saul R. Fenchel). Contributing Author: New York Practice Guide-Real Estate, Matthew Bender & Co., 1986. Columnist, Long Island Ed., New York Law Journal. Co-Chairman, United Jewish Appeal, Long Island Lawyers Division, 1980-1982. President, Temple Or-Elohim, Jericho, New York, 1983-1985. Member, Board of Zoning Appeals, Incorporated Village of North Hills, 1988—. Member, Temporary State Commission on Real Property Tax Law, 1989. President, 1993-1998, Long Island Chapter and Member, National Board of Governors, American Jewish Committee, 1991—. Member: Nassau County (Member, Tax Certiorari and Condemnation Committee, 1973—; Chairman, 1980-1982, New York State (Member: Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation and Real Estate Tax Review; Co-Chairman, 1990-1996; New York City Tax Review, 1985—) Bar Associations; American Property Tax Counsel; The National Affiliation of Independent Property Tax Attorneys. Practice Areas: State and Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: wds@nytaxappeal.com

Saul R. Fenchel (of counsel)
Born Brooklyn, New York, August 13, 1947; admitted to bar, 1972, New York; 1973, U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York; 1982, Florida; 1983, New Jersey, District of Columbia, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey and U.S. Tax Court; 1985, California; 1994, Pennsylvania. Education: Fordham University (B.S., 1968); Boston University (J.D, 1971). Co-Author: "Challenging Ad Valorem Real Property Assessments in Florida," The Florida Bar Journal, October, 1983; "Computer Software and Sales Taxation," Journal of State Taxation, Fall, 1984; "Recent Developments in Condemnation (Regulatory Takings)", Real Property Law Section, New York State Bar Association, 1992; "Regulated Tenants, Percentage Rent and Real Property Taxes", Journal of Property Tax Management, Winter, 1992; "Tax Escalation Clauses – Terms and Interpretation", Journal of Property Tax Management, Fall, 1993. Update Author: "Title by Eminent Domain", appearing in Real Estate Titles, Second and Third Edition, New York State Bar Association, 1993; "Tax Assessment and Property Rights", Real Estate New York, August 1995; "The Essential Role of the Real Estate Tax Appeal", Rhodes Real Estate Tax Review, March, 1996; "Application of Gains Transfer Tax to Eminent Domain Awards", New York Law Journal, July 17, 1996; "Environmental Law in New York – Reducing Real Property Taxes, etc. Matthew Bender (Development on Federal and State Law)", July 1998; "Recent Property Tax Decisions Reject Equal Protection Argument", New York Law Journal, February 4, 2002; Co-Author: "How and Who Gets the Money? Resolving the Standing on Title Disputes", appearing in Condemnation Law, New York Bar Association, 2003; Certified New York State Bar Association CLE Provider in Tax Certiorari and Condemnation. Member of the Board, Suffolk County Private Industry Council (PIC), 1991-1992. Director, Friends of the Arts, 1989-1994. Director, Huntington Townwide Fund. Member, Board of Benefactors, Guide Dog Foundation. Member, Legal Committee, Institute of Property Taxation, 1987-1991, 1993-1994. Member, Conservation Board, Incorporated Village of Lloyd Harbor, 1989-1990. Special Counsel for Tax Certiorari, City of Yonkers, 1977-1979. Special Counsel in Condemnation for the Great Neck Park District, North Hempstead, New York, 2000-2002. Supervising Attorney/Associate Director, Nassau County Law Services Committee, 1973-1975. Member: Nassau County, New York State and New Jersey State Bar Associations; The Florida Bar; State Bar of California; The District of Columbia Bar; American Property Tax Counsel; The National Affiliation of Independent Property Tax Attorneys. Practice Areas: State and Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: srf@nytaxappeal.com

Tracie P. Peddy (of counsel)
Born Detroit, Michigan, July 6, 1951; admitted to bar, 1977, New York. Education: William Smith College (B.A., 1973); University of Detroit and Syracuse University (J.D., 1976). Phi Alpha Delta. Deputy County Attorney, Nassau County, 1977-1978. Member, Alumni Counsel, Executive Committee, William Smith College, 1990-1993. Member, Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, Inc., Corporate Committee, 1999—. Member, Friends Academy, Leadership Gifts Committee, 1997-1999. Co-Chair, Temple Kehillath Shalom Capital Campaign, 1997-1999. Member, Leadership Gits Committee, William Smith College, 1994-1998. Member: Nassau County (Member, Committee on Tax Certiorari and Condemnation, 1979—), and New York State Bar Association; American Property Tax Counsel; The National Affiliation of Independent Property Tax Attorneys. Practice Areas: State and Local Taxation; Tax Certiorari; Eminent Domain; Municipal Zoning; Real Property Litigation.

Email: tpp@nytaxappeal.com

Lisa M. LaValle (of counsel)
Admitted to the bar of the State of New York in 1992.  Ms. LaValle attended the State University of New York at Albany (B.A., 1986); St. John's University (J.D., 1990).  She is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association (Member, Tax Certiorari Section, 1991-1992); Nassau County Women's Bar Association Board of Directors.  Suffolk county Women's Bar Association, and the Coalition on Child Abuse and Neglect, Board of Directors.  Ms. LaValle practices in the areas of Tax Certiorari Law and Condemnation Law.

For more information please contact us at:

Koeppel Martone & Leistman, L.L.P.

Phone:  516-747-6300
Fax:       516-747-8227
Email:    Info@taxcert.com
Mail:      155 First Street
              Mineola, NY 11501

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