Our Firm

Dan Buttafuoco

Dan Buttafuoco founded the firm in 1981 after graduating with a Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra University School of Law. His undergraduate studies were at Hofstra University New College, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Dan is currently completing Master’s studies at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a Master’s of Divinity.

Mark T. Freeley

For more than 20 years, Mark has litigated and settled many of the firm’s major motor vehicle and complex construction site accident cases, as well as all other types of serious injury and wrongful death cases. Mark has an extensive and diverse experience in pre-trial case preparation, depositions, mediation / arbitration, and trial preparation. He takes pride in carefully preparing each case as is if will go to trial, which typically results in a successful settlement for his clients. Mark has performed jury selections and trials in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. He has conducted nearly 1,000 depositions in accident-injury actions and has mediated and negotiated hundreds of six and seven figure settlements.

James Mccarthy

James joined Daniel P.Buttafuoco and Associates as a trial lawyer in 1991 and has tried and litigated many significant medical malpractice, automobile, premises, products liability and construction accident cases. James focuses his practice on the litigation and trial of medical malpractice cases. He has extensive experience in handling all aspects of such cases from initial investigation of potential claims through to trial. Over the years James has obtained millions of dollars for victims of birth injuries, wrongful death, untimely diagnosed cancer, surgical injuries and brain damage caused by physicians’ negligence.

Shawn Michael Alfano

Shawn M. Alfano joined the Buttafuoco firm as a trial lawyer in 2000 and has litigated and tried numerous motor vehicle, premises and construction accident cases. Prior to joining the firm Shawn worked as a litigator concentrating in employment law, civil rights litigation, matrimonial law and criminal law. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1998 from Touro College where he received his Juris Doctorate Degree, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Ellen Buchholz

Ellen joined Buttafuoco & Associates in December 2000. She has practiced plaintiff’s personal injury and medical malpractice for more than twenty years. An experienced and skilled legal writer, she is the attorney in charge of the firm’s appeals and complex motions that arise during the course of litigation. Ellen has successfully briefed and argued a number of cases in the appellate courts of the state of New York.

Scott Szczesny

Scott joined the Buttafuoco firm as an Associate in 2015. Throughout his work here, he has handled personal injury cases, including motor vehicle and premises liability. He has experience in dealing with and preparing cases throughout the entire litigation process in anticipation of trial, as well as settling those cases. He has drafted pleadings and both procedural and substantive motions in diverse areas including Bankruptcy, Labor Law, premises liability, and motor vehicle law.

Kristen Buttafuoco

Kristen Buttafuoco is the eldest daughter of the firm’s founder, Daniel Buttafuoco. From a young age Kristen worked in the office and grew up watching her father dedicate his professional life to helping accident victims rebuild their lives, and she knew she would one day follow in his footsteps. Kristen began working in the office full time after her graduation from law school in 2007. Like her father, Kristen has been active in her making a difference in people’s lives, both professionally and personally.