Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh, P.C.

MEET VAL! Valentina Ognibene is the Judgment Enforcement Paralegal, Team Lead. Ms. Ognibene graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Police Studies from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2021. She began with the firm in February 2022. Val’s hobbies include watching sports (particularly the Boston Celtics), going to the beach, and spending time with her family, friends and three dogs.

MEET JOELLE! JOELLE CAROSELLA is the Senior Administrative Paralegal at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Carosella joined the firm in February 2021, starting as a legal assistant, and in just a short few months has moved up to her current position. Her primary duties as the senior administrative paralegal include new claim entry and processing, communicating with clients as well as marshals and sheriffs, and daily financial processing. In her free time, Joelle enjoys cooking and watching bad reality TV and true crime shows. She is a whiskey enthusiast and enjoys spending time with her fiancé and three cats.

Meet Kim! KIMBERLY SCIACCA is the Senior Litigation Paralegal, at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Sciacca graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Political Science from Queens College in 2015. Following her graduation, she began working in the legal field as a paralegal and joined the firm in August 2020. Her primary duties include calendaring and tracking court appearances and assisting our attorneys in the litigation process. In her spare time, Kim enjoys reading, taking trips to Disney, and spending time with her fiancé, family, friends and her rescue dogs Nena and Vanellope.

Meet Janet! JANET WECKERLE is the Operations Manager and Senior Investigative Paralegal, Team Leader at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Weckerle joined the firm in November 2018, starting as the Front-Desk Receptionist, and has steadily moved up several times, to her current position. Her primary duties include determining suit worthiness?of consumer collections matters, communicating with clients, skip tracing, and assisting the Office Manager in the harmony and well-being of the office. In her free time away from the office, Janet enjoys painting and drawing. She is also an aficionado of craft breweries and wineries.

Happy Halloween from Smith Carroad!

Meet Tom! THOMAS BENNETT is the Investigation & Judgment Enforcement Manager at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Mr. Bennett began his career the week he graduated from high school in June 1984, in the collections departments in the leasing industry. A career supervisor and manager, Mr. Bennett joined Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh in October 2003 as a Legal Assistant and quickly moved up the ranks. Mr. Bennett oversees the skip tracing, asset location, and investigative departments, and is the primary on-boarding staff trainer. Tom’s hobbies include gardening, music, and particularly loves vinyl records.

Meet Barbara! BARBARA HESSE is the Director of Operations for Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Ms. Hesse’s duties include general management of the clerical staff, new placement deployment, remittance implementation, and database and software programming and maintenance. Ms. Hesse has been employed by our firm since 1986, where she began as a data entry clerk! Barbara enjoys spending time with her two granddaughters.

"A Horror Show of a Settlement" In Gotham, there was a dilapidated amusement park, the “Gotham Playland”. You know the kind. Kiddie rides that had not been updated since they were installed in 1985. Concession stands where the paint on the counters was so worn, you can see where people rested their elbows, waiting for their funnel cake and soft hot pretzels. Old midway-games, like the ones that boast a “Prize for Every Player”, plush bears larger than the child who wants to win them, and where you throw a dart into a field of balloons, to win a meager prize (no more worthy than that of the dollar store), just to realize the scheme that you need to win seven, in order to “trade-up” to that mega-bear your child is eye-ing. Along came an investor, whom I shall refer to as “Zoltar”... https://lnkd.in/erz6tVNp

Meet Kevin! KEVIN M. KNAB, ESQ. is the Senior Litigation Associate Attorney at Smith Carroad Wan & Parikh. Mr. Knab attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook, earning a B.A. in History in 1986, and attended the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a Juris Doctor in 1989. He was admitted to practice law in New York in January 1990. A self-professed “jack of all trades, master of none”, his legal experience includes jury trial experience, active litigation in debt collection, as well as experience in real estate, wills and estates, matrimonial, personal injury, and criminal law matters. In his time away from law, Kevin enjoys travel, attending sporting and theater events, and almost always shows up early for everything.

Congratulations to Janet Weckerle for your upcoming wedding!