Monthly Feature: Get to Know... Jacqueline Giordano
May 1, 2024
In order to be an attorney, one must be willing to read prodigiously. That’s never presented a problem for Jacqueline Giordano, a member of Bond’s labor and employment practice in Garden City. Jacqueline started reading early and regularly, from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to the biography of founding father and attorney Alexander Hamilton and most recently, reading about Barry Slotnick, the brilliant criminal defense attorney for infamous clients, in James Patterson’s non-fiction bestseller The Defense Lawyer. Jacqueline was able to immerse herself in the trials of Bernard Goetz, Manuel Noriega and John Gotti, among others, while her newborn daughter, Grace, was napping.
Newly back from her maternity leave, Jacqueline feels refreshed and excited to return to work. “Thanks to the firm’s generous leave policy, I was able to spend important time with my family and adjust to my new life as a mom.” Jacqueline also found she had adopted a new perspective upon her return. “My passion for my work remains unchanged, but I’m better able to categorize what is important, and what is not. I’ve become more comfortable doing the uncomfortable things.”
“My work has always entailed a little bit of everything, including negotiations, arbitration, litigation and general counseling on employment issues. I enjoy how my practice varies. Working in these different areas of labor and employment law has been helpful in a lot of cases. For example, in an employee wrongful termination case, a question might arise about a benefit allegedly due to them under a collective bargaining agreement—and I am able to draw from my experiences at the bargaining table to defend the client in litigation.”
A key moment in Jacqueline’s journey to her law career occurred during law school. As a student advocate at Hofstra Law’s political asylum clinic, she worked on a family’s political asylum application from start to finish. “To see a family that feared for their lives and had given up so much to come here; to hear their story and come to understand what it meant to them to ultimately be granted asylum was deeply rewarding. They were so deserving of this second chance at a stable life. The experience confirmed what I love about the law, and my desire to become a lawyer.”
Jacqueline joined Bond right out of law school on the recommendation of a professor at Hofstra Law, becoming a member of the firm in January 2023. As a member of the firm’s Recruiting Committee, Jacqueline is regularly asked by those interested in joining Bond what makes working at this firm so special. The answer is easy, it’s the people. “The Garden City office eats lunch together, every day, which really adds to our collegiality and overall effectiveness. Open dialogue during lunch provides invaluable lessons. You might have a question you are struggling with and someone at lunch will suggest something that gets you to a solution faster and more efficiently than you otherwise could have done alone. While these discussions at lunch were helpful to me as a new attorney, they remain just as helpful to me now. We are invested in our work, and each other. These relationships are extra special. This is one among the many reasons I envision my whole future at Bond. It’s both supportive and dynamic.”
