This week on the Touro Law Review Podcast, we are joined by guest speaker Anthony LaPinta. This podcast is moderated by Professor Lynne Kramer. The topic of discussion surrounds the Valva case where Michael Valva and his fiancé, Angela Pollina were found guilty of the murder of Michael Valva’s eight-year-old son, Thomas Valva. Anthony LaPinta discusses in this podcast the important facts of this case. Mr. LaPinta explains how he voluntarily agreed, alongside two other top defense attorneys in the country, to represent Mr. Valva– an indigent defendant –as assigned counsel.
Mr. LaPinta and Professor Kramer discuss the seemingly difficult task of representing such an unpopular defendant where the facts of the case are as troubling and emotional as the facts are in this case. However, Mr. LaPinta’s strong beliefs in the criminal justice system and the foundational notion that everyone is entitled to an attorney allows him to zealously represent such unpopular defendants. Throughout this conversation, Anthony LaPinta and Professor Kramer discuss picking a jury, dealing with client honesty or dishonesty, and making good faith arguments in a defense.
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Our guest today is Anthony LaPinta.
Anthony LaPinta, Esq.
Anthony M. La Pinta is the managing partner in the Hauppauge firm Reynolds, Caronia, Gianelli & La Pinta PC, and one of Long Island’s most accomplished and respected trial attorneys. He specializes in all phases of federal and state criminal defense, representing individuals and businesses in white collar, non-violent and violent crimes at the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts. He has been selected to the 2014 edition of “Super Lawyers” magazine and has earned the “Preeminent-AV” rating with the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell Attorney Peer Rating System. He is an adjunct professor of criminal law at St. Joseph’s College, a past president of the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association, and the former chairperson of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Ethics and Professionalism Committee. He has also been a guest legal commentator and contributor for Court TV, Fox News, Newsday and News 12-Long Island. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Political Science from State University College of New York at Oswego, and his J.D. (Trial Advocacy) from Temple University- James E. Beasley School of Law.
Professor Lynne Kramer
Lynne Adair Kramer is an AV rated attorney and Super Lawyer with over 35 years of practice experience. She founded her own firm in 1979 and grew it from a solo practice to a firm employing 15 people, making it the largest matrimonial firm in a county of 1.5 million. Kramer owned and operated her firm until 2006, when she joined Touro Law Center as a full-time faculty member. Prior to that, she taught at Touro Law as an adjunct faculty member for 17 years, and was chosen by students as the Adjunct Professor of the Year multiple times. At Touro Law Center, Prof. Kramer regularly teaches courses in Interviewing, Negotiating, and Counseling, Trial Practice, Selected Topics in Trial Practice and Law Practice Management, and serves as the faculty supervisor of their trial teams. She is also the Director of the law school’s renowned Court Observation Program, which was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Prof. Kramer has been very active in a variety of professional organizations rising to become the second female president of the Suffolk County Bar Association, representing 3200 lawyers in New York. Prof. Kramer’s activities have also involved service to her community. She is a Past President of the Board of VIBS (Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk County) an agency dedicated to the eradication of domestic violence, and is a past president of the board of the Suffolk Y JCC. Kramer is a co-author of THE BROCKHURST FILE, A Mat Ladies Novel, winner of the 2015 Pinnacle Prize for best novel of the year, and co-authored THE EXPERIENTIAL GUIDE TO LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT, Opening and Operating Your Own Firm (Carolina Academic Press 2016) of which a second edition was published in 2022.
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