Commercial Federal Litigation Section Officers

David H. Tennant serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee for the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section.  He co-chairs the Section's Appellate Practice Committee and is a member of the Section's Committee on Commercial Division.  He acts as the Section's liaison to the Commercial Division in Rochester.  Mr. Tennant's practice involves complex commercial litigation, product liability, insurance and appellate matters.  He is a past Chair of the NYSBA's Committee on Mass Disaster Response.

Tracee E. Davis, Chair-Elect

Tracee E. Davis is of counsel at Zeichner Ellman & Krause LLP in New York Cityin the firm’s commercial litigation group.  Ms. Davis has served on the Executive Committee of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section since 2002 and served as Section Secretary from 2004 to 2005.  Ms. Davis is Chair of the Section’s Diversity Committee and is the former Co-Chair of the Section’s State Court Counsel Committee.  She also served as a member of NYSBA’s House of Delegates from 2004 to 2009.

Ms. Davis’ practice involves complex commercial litigation, consumer class actions, banking, commercial real estate and insurance matters in state and federal court.  She has extensive experience handling disputes in New York’s Commercial Division.  Prior to private practice, Ms. Davis served as the Principal Court Attorney to Justice Charles Edward Ramos of the New York State Supreme Court, Commercial Division in New York  County  and as Senior Court Attorney in the Law Department of the New York State Supreme Court, in New York  County. 

Throughout the years, Ms. Davis has lectured extensively on various topics involving complex commercial litigation and New Yorkcivil practice.  She has been appointed to various task forces, including the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Mandatory Retirement of Judges in 2007 and the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Wrongful Convictions in 2008.  In 2004, she participated in the presentations given to the Justices of the Commercial Division at the New York State Judicial Institute at Pace  University.

Gregory K. Arenson, Vice-Chair

Gregory K. Arenson is a partner with the firm Kaplan Fox & Kilsheider LLP. He is a seasoned business litigator with experience representing clients in a variety of areas, including antitrust, securities, and employee termination. His economics background has provided a foundation for his recognized expertise in handling complex economic issues in antitrust cases, both as to class certification and on the merits.  Prior to joining Kaplan Fox, Mr. Arenson was a partner with Proskauer Rose. Earlier in his career, he was a partner with Schwartz Klink & Schreiber, and an associate with Rudnick & Wolfe (now DLA Piper).

Mr. Arenson’s pro bono activities include being a co-chair of the New York State Bar Association Task Force on the State of Our Courthouses, whose report was approved June 20, 2009, and a member of the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Standards for Pleadings in Federal Litigation. He also serves as a mediator in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition, he is an active alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having served as a member of the Corporation, a member of the Corporation Development Committee, vice president of the Association of Alumni/ae, and member of the Alumni/ae Fund Board (of which he was a past chair).

 

Nicole F. Mastropieri, Secretary

Nicole F. Mastropieri is an associate at Nixon Peabody LLP in New York City and a member of its litigation and dispute resolution group.  She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and reinsurance matters.  Ms. Mastropieri has been Secretary of the Section's Executive Committee since 2011.

Paul D. Sarkozi, Treasurer

Paul D. Sarkozi is a partner at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP in New York City and a member of its litigation and alternate dispute resolution practice group. Mr. Sarkozi has been a member of the Section's Executive Committee since 2006, is the Chair of the Section's Committees on the Commercial Division and is the former Co-Chair of the Section's Commercial Division Law Report Committee.

A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Mr. Sarkozi's practice focuses on business litigation and arbitration, both in the United States and internationally, with a particular concentration on disputes in New York's Commercial Division. His experience covers a broad range of matters involving banking, media, technology, securities, contracts, partnerships, real estate, antitrust, and employment disputes, and he has also represented corporations and individuals in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations.  Mr. Sarkozi has extensive experience in settling business disputes - both in the context of litigation and through mediation. He currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Columbia Law School, where he teaches the "Negotiation Workshop," and also serves a private mediator and in the Commercial Division of the New York County Supreme Court.

Mr. Sarkozi has also played an active role in the Section's CLE offerings. In 2009, he organized and coordinated several programs for the Section's Spring Meeting.  In 2008, he presented programs on "Piercing the Corporate Veil" and "Conducting Effective Depositions."  Finally, in 2007 Mr. Sarkozi participated in the presentations given to the Justices of the Commercial Division at the New York State Judicial Institute at Pace University.