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New York Real Estate and Condominium Attorney

Lawrence F. DiGiovanna, Principal

Attorney Lawrence F. DiGiovanna

Mr. DiGiovanna has been a frequent lecturer on the topic of real estate and cooperative and condominium law to bar associations for mandatory continuing legal education, realtor groups and the general public. He also lectures to bar groups on professional ethics and disciplinary issues. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s 4,500 member Real Property Law Section.

In 1996, Mr. DiGiovanna was appointed by Governor Pataki to the board of directors of a major New York State Authority, the Environmental Facilities Corporation, for which he served as chair of its Audit Committee for more than 10 years. His term at EFC expired December 31, 2011. He has served four years as the chairman of the State Grievance Committee with disciplinary jurisdiction over Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island attorneys. The Appellate Division has also appointed Mr. DiGiovanna as a member of its Committee on Character and Fitness, which is responsible for screening new attorneys for admission to the Bar and suspended or disbarred attorneys for reinstatement.

He served as President of the 2200 member Brooklyn Bar Association for 2005-2006 and continues as Vice President of its separate pro bono services organization, the Volunteer Lawyers Project. In 2007, Mr. DiGiovanna received the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Freda Nisnewitz Award for his pro bono activities and its Annual Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Science of Jurisprudence and Public Service. He has also chaired the Association’s Real Property Section and Cooperative and Condominium Law Committee. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. DiGiovanna was responsible for the Association’s annual budget as chair of its Budget Committee.

In 1999, he was the recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Award for Pro Bono Service and the Poly Prep Alumni Association’s Special Award for Service. In 2004, he received the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2006, Mr. DiGiovanna received the St. Thomas More Award from the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Brooklyn. That year, he also received the “Good Scout” Award from the Brooklyn Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. DiGiovanna served on the board of directors of Lutheran Medical Center from 2010 through 2014 and was a member of its Legal and Audit Committee. He is also a former Trustee of St. Vincent’s Services, a major child care and foster care agency in Brooklyn, and is a past Trustee of Victory Memorial Hospital. Mr. DiGiovanna is currently the President of the William M. Casey Foundation, Inc., a title holding not-for-profit organization for HeartShare St. Vincent’s services.

Judicial Appointments

Chairman, State of New York Grievance Committee for the Second and Eleventh Judicial Districts: Appointed February, 1998 by the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department to serve as a member of the Grievance Committee with jurisdiction over complaints against members of the Bar in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Appointed Chairman, November, 2002. Term expired October 30, 2006.

Member, State of New York Committees on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department: Appointed October 1, 2008. The Committee is charged with approving new applicants to the New York State Bar and lawyers seeking reinstatement after suspension or disbarment in New York City and Long Island.

Civil Court of the City of New York: Small Claims Court Arbitrator, Kings County, 1999 to 2002.

Governmental Authorities

New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation: Member, Board of Directors, September, 1996 to December, 2011. Chair, Audit Committee, 1998 to 2010. Appointed by Governor Pataki with State Senate confirmation. EFC is a public authority which lends to New York State municipalities for construction and rehabilitation of their water and sewer facilities. It has approximately $12 Billion in assets and loans to municipalities.

Advisory Boards

Attorney General of the State of New York, Martin Act Task Force, Member, February, 1996 to 1998.

Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco Statewide Transition Committee,
Subcommittee on Structure and Personnel, 1994 to 1998.

Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, New York
Alumni Association, Board of Governors, 1984 - Present
Secretary, 1989-93. Recipient, 1999 Special Award for Service.

Professional Organizations

  • Brooklyn Bar Association, President, June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2006.
  • President-Elect, 2004-2005; First Vice President, 2003-2004;
  • Second Vice President, 2002-2003; Secretary, 2001-2002;
  • Treasurer, 2000-2001; Trustee, 1996-2000.
  • Recipient, Distinguished Service Award, 2000.
  • Recipient, Freda Nisnewitz Award for pro bono service, 2007.
  • Recipient, Annual for Outstanding achievement in the Science of Jurisprudence and Public Service, 2007.
  • Chair, Real Property Section, 1999 to 2010.
  • Chair, Committee on Cooperatives and Condominiums, 1997 to 2010.
  • Chair, Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law, 2002 to 2005.
  • Chair, Committee in Association with Brooklyn Board of Realtors, 1988 to 2000.
  • Chair, Budget Committee, 2007 to 2012.
  • Bay Ridge Lawyers Association
  • President 1988-89; Member, Board of Directors, 1983-1988 and 1993 to 1999.
  • Chair, Long Range Planning, 1994 to Present, and Annual Winter Seminar, 1999 to 2012.
  • Recipient, 2004 Distinguished Service Award.
  • New York State Bar Association, Sustaining Member.
  • Member (currently), Real Property Section, Second District Representative to Executive Committee, 2010-Present.
  • Committee on Cooperatives and Condominiums, 1997-Present.
  • Environmental Law Section, 1997 to 2012.
  • Member, Committee on Professional Discipline, 2001-04;
  • Member, Committee on Judicial Appointments, 2004-06
  • Delegate, House of Delegates, 2004-2007.
  • Member, Committee on Attorney Professionalism, 2008-2011
  • Member, Nominating Committee, 2005-2006.
  • Recipient, 1999 President’s Award for Pro Bono Service (2nd Judicial District).
  • Fellow, The New York Bar Foundation.

Charitable Organizations

Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, Member, Board of Directors.
2010 to 2014. Member of Legal and Audit Committee.

Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc., Vice President, Trustee, 1999 to Present. Kings County’s Pro Bono Legal Services Program.

St. Vincent’s Services Inc., Brooklyn, New York, Member, Board of Directors. A not-for-profit child care agency providing foster boarding home, group home, intermediate care and public education services to approximately 2,000 youngsters and their families in the New York Metropolitan area. 1997 to 2014.

William M. Casey Foundation, Inc., Brooklyn, New York. Trustee since 2002. President, 2014 - Present. Title Holding not-for-profit which owns real estate rented to child care agencies.

Victory Memorial Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, Member, Board of Trustees. 2001 to 2002.

Education

    C. W. Post College of Long Island University, 1969-1973.
    Bachelor of Science, Business Administration

    Delaware Law School of Widener University, 1973-1976.
    Juris Doctor
    Member, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law

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