Education

Union College
BA 1985

American University
JD 1988

Steven E. Cole

Steve Cole is a founding partner of Leclair Korona Giordano Cole LLP. He regularly represents businesses and individuals in complex disputes in federal and state courts, in arbitration, and before governmental agencies. Steve concentrates his practice in the areas of securities, ERISA, shareholder, and partnership litigation. His practice also includes trade secret and intellectual property litigation, employment litigation, and construction disputes. Steve represents the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in copyright infringement actions involving illegal downloading of recordings in federal courts in the Western and Northern Districts of New York.

Prior to forming Leclair Korona Giordano Cole LLP with his partners, Steve was a partner in the firm of Wolford & Leclair LLP with which he had been associated since 1995. Steve began his career as a litigator in 1989 as a Trial Attorney with the Tax Division of the US Department of Justice, where he received the Tax Division’s Outstanding Attorney Award in 1993. While at the Justice Department, he represented the Internal Revenue Service in federal courts throughout the United States.

As an attorney with the Justice Department and in private practice, Steve has been involved in numerous trials and arbitration hearings, including arbitration hearings before the New York Stock Exchange and National Association of Securities Dealers. Steve has also been an attorney of record in more than 50 cases resulting in reported decisions over his career. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Steve has lectured and written articles in the areas of civil litigation, tax litigation and securities issues. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Committees of the Monroe County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Cole is also a director of Farmworker Legal Services of New York, a non-profit legal services provider serving indigent farm workers in New York State.

Steve’s recent accomplishments include:

• Negotiation of a multi-million dollar buyout of a minority shareholder after obtaining favorable summary judgment decisions in two separate litigations
• Successful defense at trial of a registered investment adviser accused of imprudent investment management alleged to have resulted in multi-million dollar pension fund losses
• Negotiating a favorable seven figure monetary settlement for a property owner involved in litigation against a bonding company after on a default on a federally funded commercial construction project
• Obtaining pre-answer temporary restraining orders in favor of clients to prevent ongoing harm during litigation of separate limited liability company disputes
• Obtaining a pre-answer temporary restraining order enjoining enforcement of a commercial loan agreement’s default provisions based upon the defense of usury
• Obtaining summary judgment dismissal of civil rights claims against one NYS Corrections Dept. officer and partial dismissal with respect to another, resulting in a favorable settlement