Attorney Profiles
The skill of a big city firm with the personal touch of your hometown
The attorneys of Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP are accomplished practitioners in their field and donate their time generously to the community around them. Click on the links below to read each lawyer's biography.
Contact us
When you need experienced help with wills, trusts, estate planning, elder law, and special needs planning, call Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP at 914-251-1115 or use our online contact form to tell us how we can help you. We serve families and small businesses in the New York City metro area, including Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Ulster Counties.
Karen J. Walsh, Partner
Karen J. Walsh is a partner at Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo, handling a broad range of matters including estate planning, drafting wills and trusts, probate and administration of estates, guardianship, Article 81, and elder law planning. Ms. Walsh is past co-chair and current member of the executive committee of the Westchester County Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section, and the current co-chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association.
Ms. Walsh is a member of the Real Property and Probate Section of the American Bar Association, a member of the Trusts and Estates and Elder Law Sections of the New York State Bar Association, the Trusts and Estates and Tax Sections of the Westchester Bar Association, and the Trusts and Estates Section of the Westchester Women's Bar Association. She also served as a member of the transition committee for Westchester Surrogate Judge Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr.
Ms. Walsh was a partner at Griffin, Coogan & Veneruso, P.C. of Bronxville, New York. She also practiced at Coudert Brothers from 1987 to 1989 and at White & Case in New York City from 1982 to 1987, exclusively in the trusts and estates area. She graduated summa cum laude from Long Island University, Southampton College, with a B.A. in 1978 and received a J.D. from Fordham Law School in 1982, where she was a member of the Fordham Law Review.
She is admitted to practice in New York. She is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review RatedSM by Martindale-Hubbell® for legal ability and adherence to ethical standards.
Ms. Walsh lectures frequently for professional and civic groups, including the New York State Bar Association programs, Pace Law School and the Westchester Bar Association. She has also lectured at local bar associations, other professional groups, and community groups, including presentations for the Senior Law Day program, sponsored by Westchester County and the New York State Office of Court Administration on estate planning issues for seniors, and for not-for-profit organizations on planning for children with special needs.
Paul G. Amicucci, Partner
Paul G. Amicucci is a partner at Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP, handling matters including estate and tax planning, drafting wills and trusts, probate and administration of estates, guardianship proceedings, non-profit organization law and business transactions.
Mr. Amicucci served as chair of the Article 81 Guardianship Section of the Westchester Bar Association from 2003 to 2005. He is a member of the Trusts and Estates Sections of the New York State and Westchester Bar Associations. He is also a member of the Estate Planning Council of Westchester County, Inc.
Before founding the firm in 1998, Mr. Amicucci worked for KPMG Peat Marwick in its New York City personal financial planning group from 1990 to 1993, and he practiced exclusively in the trusts and estates area for Griffin, Coogan & Venerusa, P.C. of Bronxville, NY from 1993 to 1996. He received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Pace University in 1987 and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1990. Paul is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut.
Mr. Amicucci has lectured in the areas of estate planning and guardianship issues for KPMG Peat Marwick (1993), the New York Society of Independent Accountants, Westchester Chapter (November 1995), various financial institutions, the Yonkers Bar Association (2002), the Westchester County Bar Association—Article 81 Guardianship Committee (2001-2002), and the New York State Bar Association. His professional articles include “New York Estate and Gift Tax on Real Property-Applicable to Non-Residents,” published in The CPA Journal (February 1991), and he served as contributing editor to Guardianship Practice in the State of New York—2003.
Frances M. Pantaleo, Partner
Frances M. Pantaleo is a partner at Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP, handling a broad range of matters with a particular emphasis in elder law, estate planning, drafting wills and trusts, probate and administration of estates, guardianship proceedings under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law and Article 17A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, and drafting and administration of special needs trusts. A substantial portion of her clients are elderly or disabled.
Ms. Pantaleo is admitted to practice in New York, the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.
Ms. Pantaleo is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and has served as past-chair of the Elder Law Committees of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association and the Westchester County Bar Association. She is currently an officer of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. She is co-author of a chapter on elder law in General Practice in New York, published by the West Publishing Company.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Pantaleo was of counsel to Keane & Beane, P.C. in White Plains, New York. Ms. Pantaleo was an associate clinical professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she served as supervising attorney in the Bet Tzedek Litigation Clinic representing elderly and disabled individuals and an adjunct professor at Pace Law School, where she developed and taught a course on elder law. Ms. Pantaleo graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from the City University of New York's Brooklyn College in 1977 and received her J.D. from New York University Law School in 1979.
In 2007, Ms. Pantaleo received a Partner in Justice Award in recognition of her outstanding pro bono assistance to Legal Services of the Hudson Valley. Ms. Pantaleo serves on the board of the Westchester End of Life Coalition and is a frequent lecturer for Continuing Legal Education programs offered by the New York State, Westchester County and Women’s Bar Associations, Pace Law School and the the Practising Law Institute. Ms. Pantaleo also makes frequent presentations on elder law and special needs planning at the request of organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, AARP, UJA- Federation, the Pace Women’s Justice Center, Westchester Arc, and the Senior Law Day programs offered by the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services.
Gianni Oppedisano, Associate
Gianni Oppedisano joined Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP as an associate attorney in October 2006. His practice areas include estate planning, trust and estate administration, probate, Article 17-A and 17 Guardianship, real estate law and corporate formation and representation. Gianni is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Westchester County Bar Association.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Oppedisano practiced in the area of real estate law, where he focused mainly on representing purchasers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate and also served as settlement agent for a number of banks.
Mr. Oppedisano completed his undergraduate studies at Fordham University receiving a B.S. in Accounting. He graduated from Albany Law School of Union University in May 2005, earning a J.D. with a concentration in Estate Planning with honors. He is admitted to practice in New York.
While in Albany, Mr. Oppedisano interned at the Department of Environmental Conservation, where he worked in tandem with the Attorney General’s Office to enforce monetary and criminal penalties and assisted in representing the state in its acquisition and preservation of land.
Frederic B. Eisman, Of Counsel
Frederic B. Eisman advises individuals, families, business owners and entrepreneurs in New York and Connecticut in the often interrelated areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, business succession planning and corporate matters. He also serves as counsel to private foundations and not-for-profit organizations, advising them on all aspects of their governance and operations, and assists several not-for-profit organizations with the administration and management of pooled special needs trusts for people with disabilities.
Born and raised in Westchester County, Mr. Eisman attended Union College, from which he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History in 1987. After earning a master's degree in History from New York University in 1990, he studied law at Washington University in St. Louis, where he served as executive articles editor of the law review and from which he was awarded his law degree (J.D.) in 1992.
A member of the Westchester County, New York and Connecticut Bar Associations, Mr. Eisman is also the secretary and general counsel of CLC Foundation, a fundraising, public relations and community projects organization in Mount Kisco, New York that enhances the quality of life of developmentally disabled adults by sponsoring special events, creating programs and providing funds to individuals for activities that are not available to them through public funding.
Joann D’Emilio, Associate
Joann D’Emilio is an associate attorney at Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP, handling elder law and estate planning matters. Additionally, she has 20 years of experience in all aspects of civil litigation, including conducting all phases of pre-trial procedures, arguing and preparing appeals, and conducting arbitrations.
Ms. D’Emilio has extensive commercial litigation experience, particularly in the areas of products liability and insurance coverage defense disputes. She has represented manufacturers of products as diverse as motorcycle helmets and rock crushing machines in cases throughout the United States. She has assisted in insurance coverage defense claims brought by foreign insureds against international insurers. In addition, she has experience with a variety of other commercial disputes, involving employment, securities fraud, and contract issues. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. D’Emilio was of counsel to Alimonti Law Offices, P.C., of White Plains, New York, specializing in airline industry litigation.
After completing her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, and after a three-year stint as a daily newspaper reporter and copy editor, Ms. D’Emilio graduated cum laude from St. John’s University School of Law. In law school, Ms. D’Emilio was an editor of the St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary and authored “Battered Woman’s Syndrome and Premenstrual Syndrome: A Comparison of Their Possible Use as Defense to Criminal Liability,” 59 St. John’s L. Rev. 558 (Spring 1985).
Ms. D’Emilio is a member of the Trusts and Estates and Elder Law Sections of the New York State Bar Association and a member of the Westchester County Bar Association.
She is admitted to the New York State Bar, the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
Jonathan J. Lanman, Associate
Jonathan Lanman joined Walsh, Amicucci & Pantaleo LLP as an associate attorney in March 2007. He practices in the area of wills, trusts, probate, and estate administration. Prior to joining the firm, Lanman practiced in matrimonial litigation with Faust, Roy, Mangold and Fuchs, LLP, drafting motions, orders, separation and pre-nuptial agreements; conducting discovery; and assisting the partners with trials and other court appearances.
Mr. Lanman graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in 1975 and prior to entering the field of law, he was vice president and associate publisher with Macmillan Publishers and then Simon & Schuster, Inc.
He graduated magna cum laude from Pace University School of Law in 2004, where he was also a member of and notes and comments editor for the Pace Law Review. As part of his course work, he served as intern to the Honorable W. Dennis Donovan, Supreme Court, State of New York, and the Honorable Colleen McMahon, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He is admitted to practice in New York. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
