Hear from the Counsel Financial team. Learn more about our lending philosophy, our application process and how a line of credit from Counsel Financial can help your firm reach its potential.

Perry Weitz, Esq., Chairman — is a founding partner of the NYC-based law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. (‘W&L’), one of the most preeminent plaintiffs’ law firms in the country and New York’s largest mass tort and personal injury law firm. Over the past 25 years, W&L has obtained billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements representing tens of thousands of victims in individual and class action litigation. As a result of the extraordinary success of W&L, Mr. Weitz has assumed a leading role in state and national cases involving asbestos poisoning, breast and hip implants, pharmaceutical recalls, product liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, general negligence, construction accidents, premises liability, toxic substance exposure, environmental pollutants, and consumer fraud, and is a top courtroom advocate, respected legal scholar and skilled manager of complex litigation. W&L has been featured by The National Law Journal on its “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” as one of the country’s 25 most respected law firms and in Litigation 2004 as one of the sixteen most successful plaintiffs’ firms in America. American Lawyer magazine also featured Mr. Weitz as one of the nation’s top 45 attorneys under 45. Mr. Weitz was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1985, having received his law degree from Hofstra University Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from George Washington University. He is currently Chairperson of the New York County Lawyers Association and a member of the American Association for Justice, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

Arthur Luxenberg, Esq., Vice Chairman — is the managing partner of W&L. As such, he manages the firm’s business and financial affairs and supervises the team of lawyers responsible for tens of thousands of lawsuits. Mr. Luxenberg is also the administrator of the firm’s mammoth mass tort settlements, devising claims and communications procedures and overseeing all of the firm’s significant individual actions. Mr. Luxenberg, who co-authored the Practice Law Institute Course Book, serves on the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and is on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Lawyers Guild. Mr. Luxenberg also serves on behalf of other numerous charitable and public service associations, such as the Children’s Medical Fund (trustee), Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Leukemia Society of America and the United States Holocaust Memorial (board member). Admitted to the New York State Bar in 1985, he received his law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Luxenberg is a member of the New York State Bar Association, New York County Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of the City of New York, and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

Charles Koppelman, Director — serves as a Director of the Company. Mr. Koppelman has both a vast and varied business and investment banking career, having been the Principal Executive Officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. since 2009, Chairman since 2005 and Director since 2004. In addition, he serves as Chairman of CAK Entertainment Co. He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EMI Music Publishing from 1990 to 1994 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EMI Records Group, North America, from 1988 to 1997. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Chairman of the Board of Steven Madden, Ltd. and was Acting Chairman of the Board of Steven Madden from 2000 to 2001. Mr. Koppelman is currently on the board of NYSE company Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. He serves on the arts board at Tufts University and is a former Trustee of North Shore Hospital. He has served on the Board of Governors of New York Hospital and is a former board member of Hofstra Law School where the Koppelman Hall resides.

Joseph DiNardo, Esq., Director & Founder — practiced mass tort and personal injury law for more than 26 years and was featured multiple times in the publication “Best Lawyers in America.” During his extensive trial career, he represented thousands of injured plaintiffs, obtaining many multi-million dollar settlements or awards on cases tried to verdict. Mr. DiNardo has also lectured for the New York State and American Bar Associations and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. DiNardo graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School and has dedicated his time to businesses financing the legal industry since 1998.

Chris Diamantis, CSSC, Director — founded Millennium Settlements, Inc., in 1995, a pioneer in the area of plaintiff-based structured settlement services. In 1998, he founded Integrated Financial Settlements, Inc. (IFS) where he is currently Chairman & CEO. IFS wholly owns three structured settlement consulting firms comprising more than 35% of the national market and originating more than $2 billion in annual structured settlement sales. He graduated cum laude with an undergraduate degree in Finance from Florida State University and completed certification from University of Notre Dame as a Certified Structured Settlement Consultant (CSSC). Mr. Diamantis is currently a member of the Board of Governors for the FSU College of Business; Immediate Past-President of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association; Director of The Gabor Agency, Inc.; Director of Esquire Bank; and a Trustee for Maclay School in Tallahassee, Florida.

Paul R. Cody, MBA, CPA, President — is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York State and has 20 years of experience in the private equity and financial services areas. Prior to joining the Company as its top Executive Officer, Mr. Cody was a General Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Seed Capital Partners, a private equity fund with a focus on early stage investments, and also at JoRon Management, a closely held private equity fund with investment interests ranging from non-recourse plaintiff funding to commodity-based financial products. In that capacity, he oversaw portfolio investment activities, led dozens of complex equity and debt transactions and frequently assumed operating roles within portfolio companies. Mr. Cody began his career with KPMG LLP, one of the world’s largest accounting firms. He has been a recipient of Business First’s “40 under 40 Award” in recognition of his record of professional success and community involvement. Mr. Cody holds a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and has served as an adjunct faculty professor in its School of Management.

Michael P. Callahan, MBA, CPA, Director & Chief Financial Officer — is the Company’s top financial officer and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York State. He has over 30 years of diversified experience in assisting companies in the development, growth, and structuring of business and financial operations. Mr. Callahan has served as Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of numerous public and privately held companies. In so doing, he has provided expert analyses and solutions in areas involving operations, finance, organization, administration, management, SEC reporting and shareholder relations. Mr. Callahan received a Masters in Business Administration from Monmouth University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Fordham University.

Hon. Joseph S. Mattina, J.S.C. (Ret.), Special Counsel–joined the Company upon his retirement from the bench in December 2003 and heads the legal underwriting and auditing departments of the Company. He has served the Western New York legal community for more than 48 years, 40 years as a prominent jurist. Judge Mattina is a former NYS Surrogate Court Judge, NYS Supreme Court Justice, Erie County Judge, Buffalo City Court Judge and Erie County Assistant District Attorney. His distinguished career has resulted in national recognition for numerous achievements, including The Treat Award for Excellence conferred by the National College of Probate Judges and was one of only 16 judges nationwide to be inducted as a charter member of the National Judicial College Hall of Fame. Judge Mattina was a recipient of the 2004 award from the Western New York Coalition of Blacks in the Courts, the Court Community Leadership Award in 2002, the Edwin Jaeckle Award in 1998 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1991. In addition, he was awarded the National Brotherhood Award in 1973 from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was honored by TIME Magazine in 1974 as one of the “200 Outstanding Young Citizens of the U.S.” Judge Mattina was named Mediator from 1969-1974 for the Affirmative Action Program under former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and was one of six judges on the New York State Supreme Court to preside over the Attica rebellion trials. He is the author of numerous articles, including “Investment Flexibility with Security”, “The Probate Court and the Non-Probate Revolution” and a textbook entitled “Sentencing” utilized by the National Judicial College and at various law schools throughout the U.S. Judge Mattina is a Faculty Instructor at the National Judicial College and an Adjunct Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo for over 30 years. He received his Juris Doctor from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.

Hon. Frank A. Sedita, Jr. (Ret.), Special Counsel — joined the Company as Special Counsel after retiring from the bench in December 2011. A lifelong resident of Buffalo, NY, Justice Sedita graduated Summa Cum Laude from Canisius College, later earning his Doctor of Law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. Having been admitted to both the New York State Bar and the Federal Bar for Federal District Court of the Western District of New York, Justice Sedita practiced law from 1961 to 1967, specializing in trial practice. In 1961, he was appointed Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Buffalo, New York, where he prosecuted cases for the City of Buffalo. Later, Justice Sedita was appointed Senior Deputy Corporation Counsel and was assigned as Counsel to the Buffalo Board of Education. Justice Sedita was appointed Associate Judge of the City Court of Buffalo in 1976; in that year he was also elected an Associate Judge of the City Court of Buffalo for a full ten-year term. In 1980, Justice Sedita was elected as a Family Court Judge for Erie County, New York, for a ten-year term. Justice Sedita was also elected Chief Judge of the City of Buffalo, New York. While in that position, her served in Buffalo Housing Court and in 1993 was named a “Citizen of the Year” by the Buffalo News for his work in the Housing Court. In 1994, Justice Sedita was elected a New York State Supreme Court Justice, 8th Judicial District, Erie County, New York for a 14-year term, and was presiding as a trial Justice in said position.

Megan B. Payne, MBA, Chief Operating Officer–oversees underwriting and general operations of the Company. She reviews and analyzes new loan applications as well as manages the relationships with current clients and leads. Ms. Payne also plays an important role in developing strategic marketing plans for the Company. Prior to joining Counsel Financial, Ms. Payne was employed at M&T Bank as a credit analyst and also as a commercial lender. While at M&T, she was invited into their intensive Management Development Program–an exclusive training curriculum targeted at forthcoming business operations leaders. Ms. Payne is also an active volunteer with the Mikey’s Way Foundation, each year leading a development committee in planning one of the Foundation’s biggest annual fundraisers. She received a Masters in Business Administration from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Rochester.

Earl G. Boyle, Esq., General Counsel — has over 20 years experience as an attorney. Mr. Boyle currently serves as a chief legal analyst for Counsel Financial, conducting legal due diligence on the case portfolios of existing clients and applicants. Prior to joining Counsel Financial, he was Assistant General Counsel at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, a Fortune 100, multi-line, international insurance and financial services corporation. In that capacity, he served as Corporate Counsel on regulatory issues affecting the company’s Casualty Claims Organization, Special Investigations Unit and Medical Organization. Mr. Boyle was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1992 and received his Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law. He is currently a member of the New York State Bar Association.

Joseph C. Kasouf, J.D., M.S., Deputy General Counsel — has more than 20 years of experience in corporate legal, litigation, budget, financial and business leadership. Most recently, he was Associate Vice President, Associate General Counsel at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, a Fortune 100, multi-line, international insurance and financial services corporation. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University and at Franklin University. Mr. Kasouf is a graduate of Syracuse University where he earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Speech Communication (cum laude), a Master of Science in Speech Communication, and a Juris Doctor.

Thomas Olivieri, CFE, Director of Financial Auditing — reviews, analyzes and audits the financial performance of applicants and existing clients for Counsel Financial. Prior to joining Counsel Financial, he served in an audit and due diligence role for a variety of companies for more than 14 years, most recently, GE Healthcare Financial Services. Mr. Olivieri graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the State University of New York at Fredonia and earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. In addition, Mr. Olivieri is licensed as a Certified Fraud Examiner.

James W. Cox, MBA, Director of Financial Auditing — reviews the financial performance of clients and applicants and works with clients on-site to ensure adequate and appropriate funding is provided throughout the relationship. Prior to his employment with Counsel Financial, he spent 21 years in the commercial lending and investment industries in various capacities. Mr. Cox graduated from LeMoyne College, in Syracuse, NY, with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He also earned an MBA from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Ryan D. Kagels, Controller — is responsible for financial and managerial reporting. In addition to his experience with Counsel Financial, he is skilled in both retail and non-profit accounting. He participates in various charities including the Mikey’s Way Foundation and Make-A-Wish Foundation of WNY. Mr. Kagels received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Niagara University. He also has earned the David A. DiChiara Memorial Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership and commitment to community service.