10.03.2022

Shaub Ahmuty Citrin & Spratt is pleased to announce the promotion to partnership of Robert D. Castillo, Lena Holubnyczyj, Jeffrey P. Schnaars and Patricia A. Tierney-Stone, as well as the promotion to Of Counsel of Danielle Chin, Erin Stalzer and Payne Tatich. These are well-deserved promotions of superior attorneys with excellent work ethic. We are proud to have them as members of the firm.

Prior to rejoining the team at Shaub, Ahmuty Citrin & Spratt, LLP in 2021, Robert D. Castillo gained a vast array of invaluable experience working with numerous firms and court systems. He spent three years at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office mainly with the Street Narcotics and Gangs Bureau, where he prosecuted criminal cases, conducting approximately twenty trials, as well as numerous hearings and Grand Jury presentments. He was a highly valued member of the medical malpractice team at Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt, LLP from 2015-2017. While in California, Robert worked as a litigation associate at two firms, handling toxic tort litigation as well as trusts and estates litigation. Similarly, he defended corporate entities from inception through trial, handling countless depositions and drafting numerous motions.

Prior to pursuing a legal career, Lena Holubnyczyj worked as a certified physician assistant in numerous specialized areas of medicine — including general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, interventional cardiology, and cardiac electrophysiology — which provides her with invaluable first-hand experiences and in-depth medical knowledge allowing her to write sophisticated medical malpractice appellate briefs and motions. Lena rejoined Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt in 2019, having previously worked at the firm from 2009 to 2011. Just prior to rejoining the firm she worked for a large regional healthcare system as Senior Claims Counsel in the Department of Risk Management. 

Jeffrey P. Schnaars spent time at a general liability firm and as an Assistant District Attorney for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office in the Felony Trial Bureau prior to joining Shaub Ahmuty Citrin & Spratt in 2017. He gained extensive litigation experience with the Nassau ADA, working cases from inception through jury selection and trial verdict, trying over 20 cases. During law school, Jeffrey interned for the United States District Court Justice Denis Hurley of the Eastern District of New York and at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, adding to his extensive litigation experience.

During her career, Patricia A. Tierney-Stone had previously worked at two prominent medical malpractice defense firms before finding her home at Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt.  In doing so, she has built a noteworthy reputation for trustworthiness, dependability, and ease in which she can passionately advocate on behalf of our clients while developing and maintaining solid professional relationships with her adversaries, all of which have aided in her many successes. She has been successful in obtaining numerous summary judgment awards, as well as multiple voluntary discontinuances for her clients both as a result of her dedicated expertise and trusted relationships throughout the industry. 

Through Danielle Chin’s work at prior medical malpractice firms and interning for a Supreme Court Justice who handled medical malpractice actions, she has developed an extensive medical malpractice background that has allowed her to diligently and expertly handle all phases of litigation. Further, she judges a medical malpractice moot court competition in conjunction with Hofstra University and Northwell Health, and teaches law students about conducting successful depositions as part of a course taught at Hofstra University Law School by Nassau County, Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens.

Erin Stalzer (Deacy-Stalzer) credits her inimitable experiences- notably, studying abroad under Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, successfully handling matters involving required arbitration, mediation, subrogation and appellate work, and completing an internship in the felony Gun Part of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office- with having broadened her views and interest in creatively approaching her cases, so as to formulate, implement and execute the very best defense realistically available to each of her clients. Her unique and multifaceted perspective was further broadened by her experience working at a prominent plaintiff’s personal injury law firm prior to joining Shaub Ahmuty Citrin & Spratt.

Prior to joining Shaub, Ahmuty, Citrin & Spratt in 2020 Payne Tatich worked at a plaintiff’s firm, as well as both the Torts and Special state Law Enforcement Division of the New York City Law Department, helping to develop an unparalleled ability to empathize with both parties and analyze complex cases clearly and objectively from a unique point of view. He received the Legal Rookie of the Year Award during his time with the New York City Law Department and participated in the Criminal Justice Clinic at the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic during law school.