New Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Chair Michael Cardello III Wants To Boost Membership
7.18.2024
Michael Cardello III, the new chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section, wants to get more attorneys involved and help them see the value of association membership, especially with the new one-price, subscription-based membership model.
“It’s important to get the word out to lawyers,” he said. “And not just to senior lawyers, but to more junior lawyers in an effort to promote the value of becoming actively involved in ComFed, in NYSBA… I don’t know if the younger generation of lawyers sees the value, and it’s our obligation as the leaders of ComFed to exemplify the benefits of being involved.”
He also wants section committees to be more active. “It’s the lifeblood of ComFed,” Cardello said.
A Career Change Set the Stage For Bar Leadership
Cardello studied at Hofstra University, earning a BBA in marketing and an MBA in finance, and then worked as a financial analyst for five years.
“When I was about 28, I decided to make a significant change in my professional life,” he said. “I decided to leave my job and career and go to law school at 29. I attended Hofstra Law School and graduated when I was 32 – which was one of the best professional decisions I’ve ever made – because my career has been terrific. I love what I do for a living and I can’t imagine doing anything else at this point.”
After law school, Cardello clerked for Judge Arthur D. Spatt, a U.S. District judge for the Eastern District of New York, for a year. He then joined Moritt Hock & Hamroff in 1997. He has been there for 27 years, rising to the position of partner in 2006. He serves as the firm’s managing partner, with a practice focused on commercial litigation and acting as a court-appointed discovery referee, adjudicating discovery disputes on behalf of the court.
“That’s a big part of my practice now, and it’s one of my favorite parts of my practice,” he said. “It brings me back to my beginnings as a law clerk in the Eastern District, writing decisions and managing cases from a different perspective than an advocate. But I do still like working as an advocate on behalf of clients, and I still do that.”
Cardello first got involved with the Nassau County Bar Association in various leadership roles. “Then I realized that I need to have a greater exposure to a bigger organization,” he said. “I looked into different types of bar associations and NYSBA, and ComFed specifically, fit the needs of what I was looking for.”
Cardello has been married for 30 years, and he has three adult children. His oldest son is a financial analyst; his middle son just finished his first year at St. John’s University School of Law and his daughter is in graduate school to become a teacher.
