Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC in Syracuse

Description

John Lipsitz and Michael Ponterio’s shared commitment to seeking justice for victims of the asbestos industry led them to form Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC in 1995. John Comerford joined the firm the same year as a law clerk and later became a partner. In January 2021 the name of the firm was changed to Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC to recognize the important role played by John Comerford. The attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford have a combined total of nearly 100 years of experience representing clients who have been injuriously exposed to asbestos.

John Lipsitz, Michael Ponterio and John Comerford have led the way in shaping asbestos law in New York State. Michael obtained the first personal injury jury verdict in an asbestos-related disease case in the State of New York while defending the plaintiff, an asbestos worker. The jury imposed punitive damages on the defendant asbestos manufacturer for its reckless disregard of the rights of the plaintiff (Racich v. Celotex Corporation). Two years later, Michael Ponterio and John Lipsitz obtained the first personal injury jury verdict in an asbestos-related personal injury case in Buffalo, New York. Again, the plaintiff was an asbestos worker, this time from the Union’s Buffalo local (Wolf v. Celotex Corporation). In November 2019, John Comerford obtained an $8 million verdict for a former Kodak worker diagnosed with mesothelioma, possibly the largest Monroe County asbestos verdict to date.

In the decades since Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford was founded, our attorneys have recovered over a billion dollars on behalf of their clients diagnosed with mesothelioma.

For John Lipsitz, Michael Ponterio, and John Comerford, the connections to this cause are incredibly personal.

For generations, the Lipsitz family has been rooted in the labor movement. With a career spanning six decades, John’s father Richard Lipsitz, Sr. was the preeminent attorney representing the interests of labor unions and workers throughout West