The firm’s annual promotion of attorneys consists of five exceptional lawyers in Alabama, Fort Lauderdale, and New Jersey.
Florham Park, NJ (Jan. 8, 2025) – Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. is pleased to announce the promotion of five attorneys to principal or counsel, acknowledging their dedication to providing excellent service to clients. The promotions took effect on January 1, 2025. The attorneys elevated to the firm’s partnership are Benjamin Akselrad, Megan Cannella, Laura Pizzitola, and Zachary Rosenberg while Bruno Garofalo has been promoted to counsel.
The latest promotions class highlights the firm’s growth, diverse talent, and commitment to development. Based in New Jersey, Alabama, and Florida, this group exemplifies the firm’s broad capabilities, diverse talent, and its service to clients in high-growth industries.
"We are thrilled to announce the promotion of these five exceptional attorneys.,” said Frederick Schoenbrodt, II, Chair of the firm’s Management Committee and Managing Principal of the firm's Florham Park office. “Each of them has shown a strong commitment to providing top-tier service to our clients and embodying our firm’s core values. We are proud of Ben, Meg, Laura, Zach, and Bruno for their accomplishments here. We recognize their talent, expertise, and achievements and look forward to their continued growth and success in their new roles."
Principal Promotions as of January 1, 2025
Benjamin E. Akselrad (Florham Park, NJ) is a member of Bressler’s Private Client practice group and centers his practice on advising individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations. He assists clients with estate planning, estate administration, asset protection, and philanthropic matters. For businesses, he provides guidance on issues related to formation, capital raising, reorganizations, succession planning, mergers, acquisitions, and sales. Additionally, he advises non-profit organizations on governance and growth challenges and represents clients before the IRS and state tax authorities. Akselrad is the author of the annual update for the treatise titled, “New Jersey Estate Planning, Will Drafting and Estate Administration Forms,” which is published by LexisNexis’ Matthew Bender & Company, Inc. He earned his Tax LL.M. from the New York University School of Law, a J.D. from Rutgers Law School, and a B.S. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Megan E. Cannella (Florham Park, NJ) is a member of Bressler’s Private Client practice group. She focuses her practice on estate planning and administration for high-net-worth clients, business succession planning, and charitable planning. Cannella frequently participates in the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s (NJICLE) New Attorney Day Program, where she leads discussions on basic estate planning for newly admitted attorneys. Before joining Bressler, Cannella was an associate at both an Am Law 100 law firm and a boutique tax law firm. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarkson S. Fischer Jr., P.J.A.D., of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, and interned for the Honorable Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. She earned a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and a B.A., cum laude from Rutgers University.
Laura Pizzitola (Birmingham, AL) is a member of the Financial Institutions practice group. She primarily represents broker-dealers and other financial services professionals in sales practice and customer disputes in state and federal court, and in arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). These cases often involve complex financial products. Pizzitola also has considerable experience navigating both firms and registered representatives through the expungement process, including court confirmation. In addition to her litigation work, Pizzitola assists with securities regulatory matters. Active in the legal community, Pizzitola is involved with the ABA Litigation Section Securities Litigation Committee. She earned her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and her B.S., summa cum laude, in Marketing from the University of Alabama.
Zachary M. Rosenberg (Florham Park, New Jersey) is a member of the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He represents property owners, developers, lending institutions and businesses in a full spectrum of commercial real estate transactions, including commercial loans, acquisitions and sales of all types of commercial properties, leasing transactions, and joint ventures. In addition to his real estate practice, Rosenberg advises closely held businesses in general corporate matters and has successfully represented numerous cannabis companies in connection with licensing and approvals in municipalities throughout New Jersey. Rosenberg earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School, where he served as Publication Editor for the Rutgers University Law Review. He received his B.A. from McGill University.
Counsel Promotions as of January 1, 2025
Bruno A. Garofalo (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a member of the firm’s First Party Property Insurance Defense and Insurance Litigation practice groups. His practice primarily involves handling first-party residential and commercial property coverage and litigation related to property damage claims for insurance carriers throughout Florida. Before joining Bressler, Garofalo worked for a multi-practice law firm in Coral Gables, FL, where he focused on first-party insurance. He received his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law and a B.A., cum laude, in Political Science and Social Science from Florida State University.