Richard Portale

Mr. Portale received his BA from the University of Buffalo and his JD from John Marshall. While at UB, Mr. Portale majored in Interdisciplinary Studies, Classics and Philosophy of Law. He played football, basketball and rugby. After Law School, Mr. Portale moved to Westchester, NY, where he studied for the Bar while co-managing the re-election campaign of DA - Jeanine Pirro. That year, Ms. Pirro earned a greater % of votes than any candidate in County history. In January '98, Mr. Portale was hired as an ADA at the Westchester DA's Office. During his near 5 year tenure, he rose through the ranks: Motions & Appeals, Grand Jury, Narcotics & Gangs. As a prosecutor, Mr. Portale won a conviction in every case he tried but one (Lou Galgano). Mr. Portale Left the DA’s Office in 2002 & joined one of the most successful Plaintiff’s Medical Malpractice Firms in the nation – Duffy, Duffy & Burdo, where he further honed his trial & litigation skills. Longing to return to his true passion - Criminal Law, Mr. Portale established his own criminal practice in Westchester County and started making his mark by trying and winning a number of impossible cases. In May, '08, Mr. Portale was named partner at Pappalardo & Pappalardo, one of the busiest criminal practices in the tri-state area. Notably, in his first year at the firm, Mr. Portale won acquittals in the following trials; a 'Shaken Baby' homicide, 6 counts of burglary, Burglary 1st and Assault 1st and a hung jury in a homicide where he defended an off-duty police officer. On January 1, 2012, Mr. Portale was named Senior Criminal Trial Counsel at Gaines, Gruner, Ponzini & Novick, where he is charged with establishing a criminal division at the boutique litigation firm. Mr. Portale joined forces with his longtime pal James Randazzo who is regarded as one of the premier Federal 1983 Civil Rights defense attorneys in the business, to form Portale Randazzo LLP. All in, the firm brings over a century of litigation and trial experience. Mr. Portale has tried scores of cases to verdict over the last 27 years, winning all but 5. He is admitted to the Bars of New York, United States Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Second Circuit Courts of Appeals, DC Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. Specialties: Criminal Law, litigation