Attorneys

Tara C. Fappiano focuses her practice on defending building owners, property managers, and other types of commercial property occupants in injury cases.  These include construction accidents, products liability, premises defects, and property damage.  She has significant experience in defending these types of clients in toxic tort and environmental litigation, including many cases involving lead-based paint.  She provides advice to all of her clients on best practices in risk management of such claims.  She also has experience in defending business tort claims and employment compliance issues.

Tara regularly lectures on developments in toxic torts and lead paint liability. She was co-chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Westchester County Bar Association, as well as co-chair of the Legal Referral Services Committee. She was also the author of a regular column in the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Newsletter entitled “Parenting for Professionals,” dealing with the complex issues that face working attorneys raising families.

Tara is also a member of the New York State Bar Association. She has served as a judge for the Pace University School of Law National Environmental Moot Court Competition, the American Bar Association Negotiation Competition, and the New York State Bar Association High School Mock Trial Tournament. She is also a member of the ABA Women Rainmakers

Tara has been honored by the Yonkers City Council for her participation as a speaker at The City of Yonkers First Green Conference and Trade Fair. She was also recently inducted into the National Association of Professional Women.

Tara received her undergraduate degree from Fordham University and her Juris Doctor from St. Johns University Law School, where she was an editor of the Journal of Legal Commentary. She is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey.

In her personal life, Tara serves as Vice President of the PTA, and has served as Co-Chair of the Special Education PTA, in Tuckahoe, New York.

Publications

• Social Media: Best Practices for Investigation in Claims Handling, and Considerations for Possible Litigation
  (Inside Medical Liability, PIAA, July 2015 )
• Marketing Success: How Did She Do That? Women Lawyers Show You How to Move Beyond Tips to Implementation - Contributor
  (American Bar Association, June 2015)
• Quoted in How To Form Your Own Summer Basketball League
  About.com July 2011)
• The Rules on Lead-Based Paint: What Property Owners Need to Know
  (Westchester County Business Journal, October 5, 2009)
• Will New EPA Regulations Change the Landscape of Lead Paint Litigation in N.Y.?
  Andrews Litigation Reporter (February 2009)

• Potential Litigation Arising From Toy Recalls Over Lead Paint, Andrews Litigation Reporter – Toxic Torts (2007)

• Don't Become a "Spoliated" Sport: Developments in the Defense of Spoliation, Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Journal, New York State Bar Association (2007)
• Parenting for Professionals: Practical Considerations for the Working Attorney — Facing Maternity Head-On, Westchester Women's Bar Association Newsletter (2007)
• Spoliation Motions: An Increasingly Potent Weapon, by Tara C. Fappiano and Abraham E. Havkins, New York Law Journal (2004)
• Note: Finding a Legal Remedy for the HIV-Positive Infant: Wrongful Life and Lack of Informed Consent Explored, St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary (1997)

Presentations

• Insurance and Risk Management for Property Management
  (Building Owners & Managers Association of Westchester County, November 2015)
• Strategic Marketing
  (New York Bar Association 2015 Marketing Your Practice Conference, November 2015)

 

• Finding Your True Grit
  (ABA Women Rainmakers, April 2015)
• Produced Continuing Legal Education Programs
  (Westchester County Bar Association, July 2010-2014)
• Harnessing the Power of LinkedIn
  (ABA Women Rainmakers, September 2014)
• Social Networking Sites, Discovery, Marketing & Ethics: A Potent Mix
  (Westchester County Bar Association, June 2014)
• Technology Tools for Client Communication, Business Development and Knowledge Sharing
  (Westchester County Bar Association, December 2012)
• Damages, Liability and Indemnity in Lead Paint Claims
  (Westchester County Bar Association, September 2011)
• Damages, Liability and Indemnity in Lead Paint Claims
  (Westchester County Bar Association, September 2011)
• Adapting to Sudden Life Changes
  (Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, July 2011)
• Post Remediation Care: Financial Assurance for Institutional and Engineering Controls
  (EMWA, May 2011)
• A Tale of Two Regulatory Programs: The NY and NJ Post Remediation Care Responsibilities
  (Westchester County Bar Association September 2010)
• Recent Developments in New York Toxic Torts Litigation (Andrews/Thompson West webinar, November 2008)
• Yonkers Green Conference and Trade Fair
  (Westchester County Bar Association, May 2008)
• Likelihood of Lawsuits from Lead Paint in Toys
  (Andrews/Thompson West webinar, October 2007)