Bond, Schoeneck & King to combine with smaller Long Island firm, adding 23 lawyers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, a Syracuse–based law firm with 250 attorneys across 13 offices, says it will soon be combining with a smaller Long Island firm.

Effective June 1, Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid — which is based in Melville, New York and also has an office in South Florida — will join Bond, bringing 23 lawyers.

The combination will boost Bond’s Long Island presence to 40 attorneys — the firm already has an office in Garden City — and continue its downstate expansion. A little over a year ago, Bond combined with New York City–based Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson, adding 15 lawyers.

“For a long time now, we’ve been looking to make our downstate practice, in particular our Long Island practice, full service. Currently in our Garden City office, we represent a lot of public-sector clients, we do a lot of litigation work, and labor and employment in particular. But we’ve always had a strategic plan to expand and diversify the practice,” Kevin Bernstein, chair of the Bond, Schoeneck & King management committee, tells CNYBJ in an interview. “[Lazer] provided us exactly what we’re looking for, and that is they are a commercial business and litigation firm. They do a lot of things, and basically, they would turn our practice downstate into a full-service location.”

Founded in 1987, Lazer, Aptheker, Rosella & Yedid began as a small commercial litigation firm. Since its founding, it added services in real-estate conveyance, financing, and leasing; general business and corporate law; mergers and acquisitions; debtors’ and creditors’ rights; tax; trust and estate; and banking litigation.

“Our culture is a great fit with Bond’s, making this combination something that our attorneys are looking forward to. We have referred services to Bond over the years in practice areas that we didn’t offer and know many of the lawyers professionally and personally,” Ralph Rosella, managing partner of Lazer, said in a statement. “This will be beneficial to our clients, and we’re excited to be part of a firm that can offer a broader array of legal services and excellent client service to help them realize their objectives.”

After the Lazer lawyers join, the Bond law firm, which was founded in 1897, will grow to 15 offices in five states and 275 attorneys.

For much more on this combination, including Bond’s expansion strategy and more comments from Bernstein, check out the May 9 weekly edition of The Central New York Business Journal.