Category: News on the Homepage

CMM Managing Partner Joe Campolo, a Stony Brook University alumnus, led a virtual interview at the annual Entrepreneurs Edge on April 8, 2021. This year’s featured entrepreneur was Pablo Legorreta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Royalty Pharma, the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties. As an experienced interviewer, Campolo asked thought-provoking questions that helped tell Legoretta’s story to inspire the students of SBU’s College of Business.

Watch the interview replay below:

Campolo Middleton & McCormick’s Mergers and Acquisitions team has successfully closed another deal, demonstrating resilience in the face of a challenging on-again/off-again transaction.

The deal involved our client, a crane company specializing in crane rentals and rigging services, as the seller in an asset purchase deal. Based on Long Island, the company has been servicing Long Island and the greater New York area for decades. The transaction was months in the making but CMM’s team – led by Vincent Costa – was able to push the multimillion-dollar deal across the finish line.

The deal demonstrates CMM’s perseverance and commitment to its clients through the firm’s ability to efficiently negotiate and close complex transactions during the pandemic. Where other firms see insurmountable challenges, CMM sees temporary bumps in the road to be negotiated and worked through. Learn more about our Mergers & Acquisitions practice and call us at (631) 738-9100 for guidance on your next sale, purchase, or restructuring.

When emotions are running high during a contentious litigation, it can be difficult for the parties living and breathing it to take a step back and decide the best path forward. A CMM client in the technology space recently found itself in that situation. Thanks to CMM’s business-focused approach, the client was empowered to see the full picture and make the best decision for the business.

Our client had sold a technology product to the plaintiff, who complained that it did not work properly; our client contended that the plaintiff had simply used it wrong despite receiving training and support. A lawsuit ensued, with an immense amount of discovery and tension to match. The parties would not budge on their versions of what happened, and it appeared that the litigation could go on indefinitely. The distance between the parties seemed to grow each day.

Sometimes litigation is a necessary and best approach to handling a dispute. Other times, expensive litigation can be avoided by a lawyer who takes the time to truly understand the issues. CMM’s David Green recognized that settling the case was in the best interest of all parties. Green was able to convince the plaintiff, as well as our client, that prolonged fighting through litigation would not benefit either side. Ultimately, the parties were able to put emotions aside and make a deal.

“Outstanding settlement! I’m very pleased with the result and thank you for keeping settlement discussions alive,” our client’s insurance adjuster shared with Green.

The plaintiff’s attorney agreed, telling Green that “Resolution is always possible with a professional on the other end.”

CMM is in the business of helping clients achieve their goals in the best way possible – not in litigating for litigation’s sake. Learn more about our litigation work here.

In a display of CMM’s expansive reach, the firm’s M&A team has completed another cross-border deal.

The deal involved a Dutch company that sold its equity interest in a California LLC that specializes in the manufacture and sale of rolled cones and tubes for the smoking industry. In addition to the sale to their business partners, the client also sold intellectual property rights to several patents and trademarks for certain smoking products that are distributed by the California entity.

The transaction was three years in the making, with numerous starts, stalls, stops, and restarts, but CMM’s team – led by Donald Rassiger with the critical support of corporate paralegal Katharine Campolo – was able to push the complicated deal over the finish line.

“Thank you for the great effort you all had and all the good work you did for the brand and the deal that took place. This is no goodbye!” the client shared following the closing.

CMM continues to push forward and embrace challenging times through hard work and positivity. The deal demonstrates the comprehensive diligence that clients expect from CMM.  Learn more about our Mergers & Acquisitions practice and call us at (631) 738-9100 for guidance on your next transaction.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP congratulates Managing Partner Joe Campolo on being recognized as one of the 25 Most Powerful People in Long Island Law. The LIBN Power 25 Lawyer List honors dedicated, accomplished attorneys who have persevered through challenges and positively shaped Long Island by making inspiring impacts on the lives of their clients and our region.

“We found these Power 25 attorneys have a true passion for their profession, but they do more than practice law. They have compassion for their clients. They have a comprehensive knowledge of their practice areas. They identify and accomplish important goals. In fact, they have helped shape the way we live and do business. No matter how busy they are, they continue to impress LIBN with their commitment to take the time to hear the needs of people, businesses, and Long Island,” says Joe Dowd, LIBN Editor & Associate Publisher.

As Managing Partner of CMM, Joe Campolo has advised business owners, executives, and board members on legal and business strategies. Highlights of his work include negotiating complex issues to a successful resolution with the SEC, achieving settlements for international corporates and not-for-profits under investigation by state agencies, guiding business owners through business breakups, and successfully negotiating multimillion-dollar projects for real estate developers.

Campolo is recognized for his business leadership and philanthropic efforts on Long Island, most notably his involvement as Chairman of HIA-LI’s Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge (LI-IPH) Task Force, where he attracts critical attention and investment to the park. As immediate past chairman of HIA-LI Board of Directors, Joe Campolo fights tirelessly for the economic stimulation and growth on Long Island.

CMM’s Joe Campolo has joined forces with John Miller, CEO of the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s VetDogs, to moderate the monthly meetings of the HIA-LI Gold Membership. The Gold program is open to CEOs and Presidents of HIA-LI member companies that currently have 10 or more employees. Members enjoy camaraderie, support from fellow business leaders, access to high-profile speakers and elected officials, as well as a forum to network and collaborate. Below, read Campolo’s article from the March 2021 HIA-LI Reporter about the benefits of Gold Membership. To learn more, call the HIA-LI at (631) 543-5355.

A Golden Opportunity

By Joe Campolo

In 2019, midway through my term as Chairman of the HIA-LI Board of Directors, I began to focus on getting the HIA-LI Gold Membership Program off the ground. Working closely with my friend and HIA-LI President Terri Alessi-Miceli, we envisioned the Gold Membership as not just another networking group, but an exclusive CEO forum: a comfortable environment for decisionmakers to discuss issues only fellow CEOs can understand, without being pressured for business. This forum would bring together business leaders with high-level speakers at impeccable events, offer direct interaction with elected officials and other influencers on policy issues, and foster collaboration among elite executives and business owners.

In January 2020, we held a fantastic kickoff event at Jewel in Melville. Over delicious sushi and hors d’oeuvres, CEOs of some of Long Island’s most influential companies mingled and looked forward to a full calendar of sophisticated speakers, delectable food, and immense opportunity.

Then 2020 laughed at us.

But since then, HIA-LI Gold Membership has transformed from an event-driven program into a critical resource for Long Island leaders continuing to navigate the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the truth behind the adage “It’s lonely at the top,” we have been meeting monthly on Zoom to discuss solutions to the very real challenges these businesses owners and leaders are facing. These range from economic concerns (“How can I better manage my cash flow?”) to employment issues (“How do I manage the return to the office for remote workers?”) and everything in between. The support we’ve given and received from the group has made all the difference when facing difficult decisions that would otherwise be paralyzing.

We have also continued to bring the high-level speakers we had always envisioned as part of Gold Membership. In January 2021, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul joined us to discuss the New York State vaccine rollout, and following her remarks, members stayed on the call to discuss their current issues and share advice. As of press time, we are gearing up for our next meeting featuring HIA-LI board member John Bauer of Littler discussing employment concerns, as well as Roy George, Assistant Vice President of Clinical Initiatives at Northwell Health, who will address post-COVID healthcare issues. Upcoming meeting topics include a focus on the restaurant/hospitality industry, a deep dive into healthcare, and future investment in Long Island.

Gold Membership is offered to CEOs and Presidents of HIA-LI member companies that currently have 10 or more employees. While the look of membership has evolved from our initial vision (although we’re hopeful we can resume in-person meetings sooner rather than later), the goal remains the same. Gold members have the opportunity to brainstorm and innovate with fellow leaders in a comfortable environment where the focus is on collaboration and learning, not trying to get business. We hope you’ll join us.

Joe Campolo, Chairman of the Innovation Park Task Force, delivered these remarks at the HIA-LI “Tradable Sectors & How They Impact the Economy” conference on February 10, 2021. Joe addressed the importance of tradable industries in the LI Innovation Park at Hauppauge, HIA-LI’s relentless efforts to grow these business clusters, and the momentous accomplishments the Task Force has achieved thus far. The panel included Matthew Brown, Vice President of Network Solutions & Technology, John Finn, Director of Leasing & Acquisitions at Damianos Realty Group, LLC, Devin Kulka, CEO of The Kulka Group, Anne Shybunko-Moore, CEO & Owner of GSE Dynamics, Inc, and Marc Blitstein, President & CEO of American Diagnostic Corp.

Good morning. Today we are here to discuss the tradable sectors that anchor the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge, which in turn anchors the Long Island and regional economies.

Contained within the Park’s 11 square miles are about 1,400 companies run by some of the most innovative minds in the country – several of whom we are fortunate to have on our panel today.

Thanks to the HIA-LI’s tireless efforts, including those of the Innovation Park Task Force which I proudly chair, the economic output of the Park has been well documented over the past few years. So has the fact that it is the second largest industrial park in the country, the first being Silicon Valley. These facts attracted the interest of our friends at the Suffolk IDA who, along with the RPA, commissioned an Opportunity Analysis to do a deeper dive into the businesses that reside in the Park and come up with initiatives to further anchor the Park to Long Island’s revitalized economy.

Nearly two years ago, the IDA released the more than 160-page report, and the conclusions were staggering – in addition to verifying the prior economic analysis that had been conducted, this report also found that the Park has the largest concentration of tradable businesses not only on Long Island, but also is a full 20% above the national average for tradable business clusters. 

Why is this so monumental? Well, to a region’s economy, tradable industries are a very big deal. Every ecosystem must include non-tradable businesses – the things that directly support the personal needs of the neighborhood. Thus, every community will have barbers, gas stations, delis, laundromats, 7-11s, and so on. And while these businesses play an important role, they typically employ local people who don’t require enhanced skills and who on average receive lower wages. These businesses are also fully dependent on the immediate residents of that location to consume their goods or services; there is simply not a synergy of either workers or customers who are going to commute a great deal for them. Therefore, dollars from non-tradable industries are non-growth dollars – they are simply being circulated around an area, without new dollars coming in.

High performing ecosystems, however, will also include tradable businesses, which are the businesses that aren’t dependent on customers from their immediate neighborhoods to thrive – these industries include aerospace, biopharma, manufacturing, IT, and others who have chosen to be there for reasons other than direct access to customers. These businesses enhance any community they are in because they vastly increase the local tax base by paying higher wages – all of which greatly stimulates the local economy. Tradable industries also attract skilled workers to relocate here from other states and cities, which also greatly helps grow our tax base without having to continue to raise taxes. An ecosystem with too few tradable businesses suffers greatly because it finds itself simply recirculating dollars rather than growing the pie.

The Opportunity Analysis has shown that while the national average for tradable business clusters is 38%, that percentage is much higher – 58% – in the Park.  Having realized this staggering disparity, a large part of the investigation into the report focused on the “why” – why is this little 11-square-mile tract of land in the middle of Long Island such a hotbed for tradable industries, and the answer, almost uniformly, was this area’s access to a highly skilled workforce.

The excitement we all felt when the report was released two years ago seems more like two decades ago now that COVID dominates our daily lives. But the economic devastation of the past year only makes even more apparent just how critical these tradable businesses are to Long Island’s long-term sustainability. An economy with no tradable businesses will eventually collapse.

Thus, the Opportunity Analysis set forth a very detailed action plan of ways for all stakeholders – private business, government, education, and the HIA-LI – to partner and make sure that we keep this vitality alive in our Park and on Long Island.

I am proud to report that immediately following the Opportunity Analysis, our Task Force rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Already, we have presented the possibility of a workforce development center in the Park to the Long Island Regional Planning Council, which declared this project one of regional significance and issued a grant to further develop the initiative. We have achieved a renewable energy milestone in the Park with the installation of solar panels on the 35,000-square-foot roof of Long Island Cares. We have also worked with the Town of Smithtown to reclassify zoning in part of the Park, allowing developers to apply for exemptions to construct apartment buildings with ground-level retail space.

Just yesterday, our Task Force met to outline our plans for 2021. This is a group made up of leaders in business, education, and government who are dedicated to collaboration and finding points of engagement to move the needle and make an impact. I look forward to sharing the progress of the Task Force with the HIA-LI community.

During this process I have learned that not only is Long Island a national treasure, but we are a national model for how business and government should partner, and how bipartisan cooperation and support, rather than insults, is how we on Long Island operate and get things done.

Achieving an excellent result for a client is always rewarding, but it’s particularly gratifying when that excellent result helps a client hit hard by COVID keep their business afloat.

CMM represents a fence installation company that was sued for various wage claims, including non-payment of overtime, by two individuals claiming to be former employees. Our client steadfastly denied that the plaintiffs were employees, explaining that they worked instead for a subcontractor. The plaintiffs’ attorney argued that our client and the subcontractor were “joint employers” and thus both subject to liability for unpaid wages.

These cases are often uphill battles for employers, but after discovery and depositions, it was clear that our client had not employed the plaintiffs. CMM’s litigation team, including Jeffrey Basso and Richard DeMaio, moved for summary judgment (essentially, asking the Court to find that there are no facts in dispute and to rule in our favor). In the motion, CMM argued that there was no evidence to support the “joint employer” theory.

This month, the Court agreed, issuing a decision that dismissed all claims. The Court wrote a detailed analysis of the factors of the various “joint employer” tests and found that CMM had clearly shown the absence of any triable issues of fact as to the plaintiffs’ employment. In granting our motion, the Court relied on much of what CMM argued and the cases we cited.

This outcome is a huge win for a client whose business was severely impacted by the pandemic. Had the case proceeded to trial, the client would have had an extraordinarily difficult time moving forward with their business. Thanks to CMM’s efforts, liability for the payment of wages to the plaintiffs is with the subcontractor, where it belongs, and our client’s business can continue on.