Courts and Law Brooklyn Boro

Frank Seddio offers career, political advice to young lawyers

March 9, 2017 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Adam Kalish, Sara Gozo and Hon. Frank Seddio. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese
Adam Kalish, Sara Gozo and Hon. Frank Seddio. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese
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Hon. Frank Seddio, Brooklyn Democratic Party leader and president of the Brooklyn Bar Association (BBA), sat down with the Young Lawyers Committee of the bar association for a brown bag lunch on Remsen Street on Tuesday.

“This is a group who joined the Brooklyn Bar because we’re interested in becoming leaders, and it gives us a chance to get to know him personally and for him to know us,” explained Adam Kalish, chair of the young lawyers section. “What better opportunity to pick his brain to learn from his great experience?”

It was a small group that met with Seddio, which was fine with most of those in attendance as it gave them a significant amount of time with the Democratic Party leader. Seddio talked about his decision to go to law school at 40 years old, gaining experience as an attorney and a little about his life in politics as well.

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He also told the group about the time that he nearly went to work for would-be President Donald Trump.

“In January of 1990, I was about to graduate from law school and I had an important meeting with a guy named Donald Trump and a friend of mine, Anthony Gliedman,” Seddio recalled. “I was telling them that I was about to move on and Donald said, ‘Why don’t you talk to Frank about coming to work for us?” because Anthony worked for him at the time.

“I told them I’d call them in August because I was graduating law school in May and taking the bar [exam] in July. Thank God, because in March, Ivana (Trump) decided to divorce him, in late April Trump declared bankruptcy on a number of things and then my friend Anthony Gliedman left in June, so I would have been there picking my nose trying to get through the rest of my life.”

Seddio then talked about starting out as general practice, and gave out many tips for the younger attorneys who run their own private practice. He also gave them tips for how they can get more involved and move up within the bar association’s hierarchy.

“Your client is your best form of next business,” Seddio said. “When they tell someone, ‘I got a great lawyer,’ their friends are going to want your number. I also can’t emphasize enough — don’t think you know everything and don’t take every case because you need the money. Those are the cases that hurt you in this business. Don’t be afraid to refer something to another attorney.”

Seddio, who was briefly a judge in the Surrogate’s Court and served nearly 20 years in the NYPD, went through the room and discussed each person’s career one by one. Also in attendance was Sara Gozo, president of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association. Seddio often consulted with her when giving advice.

“I think the most important thing that you’ve said is that you can get a lot of business from former clients who refer others to you,” said Gozo, who runs her own firm. “It’s also tough as a solo practitioner because sometimes work is slow and then someone comes in and they really needed an attorney five years ago, so you can go from being light to having five different matters in front of you really quickly.”

When it came to politics, Seddio’s advice was simple: Play to your strengths and devote yourself. He said that as attorneys, involvement in local bar associations can go a long way toward eventually running for office.

“The problem with politics is that if you are going to do it right, you have to really devote yourself to it and it’s a lot of work,” Seddio said. “Don’t do it unless you are ready to jump in with two feet. It can’t hurt to network with anybody, but you can do that at the bar, whether it’s the Brooklyn Bar, the Catholic Lawyers Guild, the Puerto Rican Bar Association or any one of those groups.”

 


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