Our Founders

Fordham University (B.A., 1979) Pi Sigma Alpha
New York Law School (J.D., 1982)

Born in a U.S. Army hospital in Stuttgart, Germany, on February 16, 1959, Thomas Beneventano was admitted to the bar in 1985 and practiced law in New York, as well as in the U.S. District Courts and the Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of New York.

Thomas began his legal career by working as an Assistant Corporate Counsel for the City of New York. He first worked in the Commercial Litigation unit, defending the city in several construction-related lawsuits filed by contractors and other related officials.

At the Tort Litigation Unit, Thomas honed his skills as a trial attorney by defending numerous personal injury/general liability and other similar cases. Eventually, he was assigned to defend some of the most serious tort cases against the city, in addition to supervising other city attorneys in the entire IAS Part of the New York State Supreme Court.

At Townley & Updike, Thomas served as the leader of the New York City Housing Authority Defense Team, where he defended numerous premises liability cases, including elevator accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, boiler explosions, and inadequate security. The role also involved preparing a training program for the firm’s litigation associates.

At the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Thomas was involved in the coordinated and nationwide defense of product liability, asbestos, and negligence-related litigation cases. At the same time, he headed the firm’s defense team assigned to a well-known leasing company involved in a highly publicized tower crane case in New York.

As co-founder, Thomas represents clients in various areas, including asbestos litigation, automobile, products liability, commercial, construction, environmental, and other insurance-related matters. He was particularly instrumental in defending asbestos litigation and ethylene oxide litigation defendants, as well as in representing lawyers and other professionals sued in their professional capacities.

In the Asbestos Defense and No-Fault Asset Recovery branches of the firm’s practice, and through his own efforts, Thomas introduced several significant insurance contracts. He excels in defending asbestos litigation and no-fault cases through effective depositions and discovery, consistently yielding favorable court resolutions for his clients.

Thomas has managed, overseen, and defended hundreds of cases filed throughout New York State against major and minor asbestos litigation defendants. The process has incorporated all pleadings, documentary discovery, depositions, expert discovery, motions, and all types of court appearances and proceedings through the resolution of these cases.

Thomas currently serves as the attorney for The Golden’s Bridge Fire District. The role draws upon all of his legal experiences, which began with defending municipal liability cases involving construction-related matters and personal injury cases.