Zetlin & De Chiara LLP is proud to have 15 attorneys recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for their work in construction law and construction litigation in New York and New Jersey, including six associates who were recognized as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

(New York, NY – March 27, 2023) Zetlin & De Chiara LLP announced today that Co-Founding Partner Michael S. Zetlin has once again been named to City & State’s Law Power 100 list for 2023.

Zetlin & De Chiara LLP announced that the firm has once again been selected for National Tier 1 in the areas of Construction Law and Construction Litigation by U.S. News for its annual “Best Law Firms” ranking. Additionally, the firm is ranked as Metropolitan Tier 1 in New York City and in New Jersey. 

Zetlin & De Chiara Senior Partner Carol J. Patterson has been named to City & State’s 2022 “Responsible 100,” a list of “New York’s 100 most outstanding corporate citizens.”

The award is intended to honor an “elite group of NY’s most powerful executives, thought leaders, visionaries and influencers, who are setting new standards of excellence, dedication and leadership in improving their communities and making transformative change.”

Roy Schwartz, Principal, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, received a Chapter Citation Award for his service to the Queens Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Together with Ray Mellon, a Senior Partner at Zetlin & De Chiara LLP, Roy has served as legal counsel to AIA Queens.

May the New Year bring you health and prosperity!

(New York, October 7, 2022) – Lion H. Song has joined Zetlin & De Chiara LLP in its New York office. Mr. Song represents design professionals, real estate owners and developers, and other members of the construction industry in litigation matters.

Jaimee Nardiello, Partner, was featured in the New York Real Estate Journal as an industry leader. The publication asked her about her career.

In an article on construction materials costs, Michael Vardaro, Managing Partner is quoted:

...The cost increases haven’t dampened demand, with construction for industrial and warehouse properties pushing ahead at full steam, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP Managing Partner Michael Vardaro told Bisnow. 

“I think we've seen certain things in the housing sector that maybe don't translate exactly in the commercial and industrial sectors, because those sectors, we've seen continued interest and people are moving forward with projects,” Vardaro said. “I won't say that everyone is not worried about the future, but they seem to be moving forward cautiously.”

Zetlin & De Chiara partners Michael Zetlin, Michael De Chiara, Bill Chimos, Tim Hegarty, Ray Mellon, Jaimee Nardiello, Carol Patterson, Loryn Riggiola,  and Jim Terry were once again recognized by Best Lawyers in their 2023 list of top Construction attorneys.

Additionally, Hal Blanchard, Rachel John, Anazette Ray and Roy Schwartz were selected as Ones to Watch.

James G. Papadakis has joined Zetlin & De Chiara in its New York office. Mr. Papadakis’s litigation practice concentrates on complex business disputes involving construction, insurance, and property matters. He represents construction industry clients in breach of contract, extra work and construction defects, insurance issues, as well as collections work involving mechanic's liens and payment bonds.

(June 7, 2022) Zetlin & De Chiara’s Construction Law practice was once again included in Construction Executive’s Top 50 Construction Law Firms™ list for 2022. The rankings are determined by surveying over 600 U.S. construction law firm practices. The survey gathered information related to 2021 revenues from the firm’s construction practice, number of attorneys who practice construction law, number of states in which the firm is licensed to practice, year in which the construction practice was established, and number of construction industry clients served.

New York, June 3, 2022) - Zetlin & De Chiara LLP announced that litigator Anthony De Ingeniis has joined the firm in its New York office. Mr. De Ingeniis represents clients in construction and commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts. Mr. De Ingeniis, was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. He received his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and his M.A. and B.A. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. 

Zetlin & De Chiara LLP continued to be recognized as leaders in the Construction sector, with the firm and five of its partners receiving high rankings in the Chambers USA ranking of America’s leading business lawyers.

Anazette Ray was recently featured in the NY Real Estate Journal's Ones to Watch Spotlight. She was interviewed by the journal and recognized for her wealth of experience representing architects and engineers in a wide variety of litigation matters.