Category: News on the Homepage

By Nick Musumeci, Long Island Business News

More than a hundred business professionals crowded into the ballroom at the Radisson hotel in Hauppauge. Some took notes, others simply listened, all intent on learning how to get the best deal possible.

“We’re not playing to not lose; we’re playing to win,” said attorney Joe Campolo, the event’s speaker and coordinator. “You’re only trying to get the best deal possible.”

The seminar’s purpose was to help businesspeople become better negotiators, by using proven techniques designed to help control emotions and dictate direction of the negotiation.

Campolo, who is managing partner of Ronkonkoma-based Campolo Middleton & McCormick, drew upon his years of experience as a lawyer to advise his audience on how to act in certain situations. This is the third year the seminar has been offered.

“Joe is a great presenter, and in my business you need to negotiate,” said Patricia Sullivan, an attendee who works in staffing. “I got some good information.”

One of the key points that Campolo stressed was how to manage emotions and use them to one’s advantage in different situations. “Emotions can divert attention from substantive issues,” he said.

Campolo also talked about how to view one’s adversary. For instance, when negotiating with someone of a lower title or stature, it’s important to show that person respect and consider the successes he or she has had. Campolo mentioned how some colleagues get offended when they are sent to negotiate with an associate rather than a partner, instead of mutually respecting their adversary for graduating law school and getting to where they currently are.

“A little bit of courtesy goes a long way,” Campolo said.

While some lines of work don’t necessarily involve negotiating with other businesses or clients, nearly every business professional will, at one time or another, have to negotiate with their superiors about their own compensation. Getting a raise is never easy, even for some of the hardest working employees, and Campolo stressed the importance of keeping one’s cool and staying alert during a stressful salary negotiation.

“Negotiation is a proactive process; if you prepare for it, you’ll get a better deal,” Campolo said. He mentioned how doing one’s “homework” on both the person one is negotiating with and the situation one is in will usually lead to a more lucrative deal. Even something as simple as finding out what college the opposing negotiator went to, or finding out what their favorite sports teams, bands or movies are can go a long way, he said, stressing that finding common ground can both ease tension and build an emotional connection with the superior. If one’s boss can identify with a subordinate, the boss is more likely to give a beneficial deal, Campolo added.

When asked how to deal with people that are unable or unwilling to compromise, Campolo simply replied, “Walk away.”

It’s safe to say that many of the attendees walked away from the seminar feeling a little more confident in their ability to negotiate.

Read it on LIBN.

Campolo, Middleton & McCormick is proud to recognize Managing Partner Joe Campolo on his “graduation” from the Energeia Partnership on February 7, 2018, joining an esteemed group of Long Island leaders who face the region’s challenges head-on.

Energeia, named for a Greek word used to describe the demonstration of inner character in deeds, is a leadership academy focused on identifying and addressing the issues that challenge Long Island.  Each “class” of Long Island leaders participates in a two-year academy based at Molloy College featuring a series of programs, each focusing on a particular issue impacting the region.

“When I started with Energeia two years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I soon found myself exploring and becoming educated on the challenges facing Long Island, and vastly improved my perspective on key issues such as education, racism, energy, healthcare, and transportation,” Campolo said. “It was a terrific beginning down a path designed to help Long Island leaders become more thoughtful about different perspectives before making decisions that impact people and society at large.”

Campolo has also been elected to the Energeia Board of Advisors, where he will develop programming to educate the next generation of Long Island leaders.

Frederick Eisenbud, Esq., chair of the Environmental and Land Use practice group at Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP, a premier law firm with offices in Ronkonkoma and Bridgehampton, has been elected to a three-year term as an At-Large Member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Section.

The Environmental Section brings together NYSBA members interested in environmental law for furtherance of the public interest in an effective and fair legal framework for protection of the human and natural environment. For over 135 years, NYSBA – the largest voluntary state bar organization in the nation – has shaped the development of the law, educated and informed the profession and the public, and responded to the demands of a changing society.

Eisenbud has a depth of experience that provides him with a comprehensive understanding of environmental law.  For over four decades, he has focused on providing responsive, smart and cost-effective solutions for the environmental law and litigation concerns of individuals, companies, municipalities, and community groups. Learn more about his career highlights, including serving in the Peace Corps in Liberia, starting the Suffolk County Environmental Crime Unit, and obtaining the first two jail sentences arising out of environmental crimes in New York State history here.

As the newly minted Chairman of the HIA-LI Board of Directors, Joe Campolo moderated a distinguished panel at the Annual Meeting & Legislative Breakfast on January 19, 2018 at the Hamlet in Commack. Campolo debated the 2018 economic forecast and policy with panelists New York State Senator Tom Croci, New York State Assemblyman Mike Fitzpatrick, Deputy Suffolk County Executive Jon Kaiman, Suffolk County Legislator Tom Cilmi, Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim, and Kulka LLC President Jack Kulka at an event that drew over 300 Long Island business leaders.

After opening the meeting with a focus on the need for transparency in government, Campolo shifted to the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Governor Cuomo’s efforts to blunt the impact anticipated in high tax states such as New York. Targeting the governor’s proposed payroll tax, he pressed the elected officials at the state level as to whether they are enabling the governor to take money from the pockets of business owners. The conversation then turned to more local issues as Campolo and county elected officials debated pension spending, Suffolk County’s fiscal condition, the rise in healthcare jobs, and projects to expand the sewer system.

Despite the disagreements that Campolo’s tough questioning revealed, the morning ended on a high note for the local business community. Immediately following the breakfast, HIA-LI President Terri Alessi-Miceli, Assemblyman Fitzpatrick, Supervisor Wehrheim, and LIBI President and HIA-LI Board member Mitch Pally joined Campolo at a press conference announcing an important new partnership among HIA-LI, the Regional Plan Association, and the Suffolk County IDA. As part of the partnership, the RPA will undertake an economic study of the Hauppauge Industrial Park—a major economic engine for Long Island—that will focus on identifying opportunities for the park and attracting and retaining employees. The study follows an economic impact study completed by Stony Brook University, which revealed that HIP businesses generate more than $870 million per year in revenue and property taxes and employ more than 55,000 people.

Campolo explained that “we want to keep our young people on Long Island and make it more affordable for them,” as Alessi-Miceli emphasized that the HIA-LI and its member companies “are primed for growth.”

Compiled by Adina Genn

Long Island Business News

Joseph N. Campolo, Esq.
Managing Partner, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP

The long overdue dialogue sparked by the #MeToo movement is not just a passing trend. In 2018, we must engage in an even deeper discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace.

The priority is to make sure that women who have been victimized are safe and able to tell their stories. I applaud and support the many women who have had the strength to come forward and call out the many men who have abused their positions of power.

However, this watershed moment also demands that we find the right balance between keeping victims safe and not overreacting when normal human behavior has occurred. While businesses must have proper procedures and training in place to create a safe workplace, it’s also important that they preserve the camaraderie and office culture that make their businesses sociable and enjoyable places to work. No one wants to work with a bunch of robots who don’t say a word out of fear that they might offend someone. Such a workplace culture would also be damaging to women, as they could lose out on promotions, projects, or mentoring relationships that involve close contact with the opposite sex, which employers may come to view as too risky.

As we continue to expose those men who use their powerful positions as a cover to disrespect women, we must also be cognizant of the fact that this swing of the pendulum has exposed innocent men to having their careers ruined by allegations that they said something inappropriate, rather than just having been friendly with someone.

Striking the right balance must be dealt with at the workplace level, and not through the courts. The unprecedented number of harassment allegations now coming to the surface will get lost in an overburdened court system; all claims, legitimate or not, will get muddled together in a judicial system that is simply unable to handle it all.

Instead, real solutions to sexual harassment in the workplace can only come from fostering an environment of collaboration and mutual respect among all employees. That means that men need to take responsibility for self-correcting their behavior as well as to stop ignoring (at best) or encouraging (at worst) when other men act inappropriately. We need to keep this dialogue open in 2018 for this national moment of reckoning to truly have a lasting impact.

Read it on LIBN.