Our Attorneys

Sidney Baumgarten has over 40 years of general practice experience. During his distinguished career he has served as an Assistant District Attorney, Law Secretary to a Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Assistant to the Mayor and founder and Director of the Midtown Enforcement Project. During his tenure in the Queens DA's office he was involved in the prosecution of many organized crime figures such as Gambino, Gallo, Columbo, Eboli, Della Croce, and others.

A graduate of Brown University and New York Law School, his legal experience has included insurance law, estate planning, criminal, matrimonial, international and administrative law.

During his career, Mr. Baumgarten has also been noted for his extensive civic and military activities. He has been a member of the Exchange Club, Lions Club, and Queens County Chapter of the Elks. He later served for many years as President and Board Chairman of the East Side Chamber of Commerce in Manhattan. Currently he is Board Chairman of New York Therapeutic Communities Inc., a drug rehabilitation program he helped found over 30 years ago during his service as general counsel to Phoenix House and is also a board member of En Foco, Inc., a not-for-profit organization promoting photography of Latino and other artists of color.

His military career has spanned more than 35 years of service in the Army, Army Reserves, and New York Guard. He retired in 2005 with the rank of Brigadier General. During the activation after 9/11 he was Chief of Staff of the New York Guard Army Division at Camp Smith. Among his many decorations, he was awarded the New York State Conspicuous Service Medal by Governor Pataki for his service on and after 9/11. The citation says, among other things, that "he made the mobilization and deployment of the troops look easy".

After 9/11 Mr. Baumgarten founded the Battery Park City Community Emergency Response Team and served as its Chief for 5 years. Its Marine Rescue Team was one of the few CERT teams deployed to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and was awarded a Presidential Citation.

His career also includes heading a medical device company for more than 10 years. He became a passionate promoter of cardiology diagnostic technology and has lectured at many medical conferences and medical schools on spectral analysis of EKG waves and has several published articles on the subject.

Here are some comments regarding Mr. Baumgarten:

-"Calm, well-spoken, and broadly experienced" ( Hon. Samual Tripp, late Special referee, and author of a seminal treatise on Motion Practice) -"It is most important for the morale of the people like myself to to have people of his caliber serving our City"
(Alex Parker, former owner of One Times Square)

-"His keen intellect and firm grasp of the law are important, but it is really his temperament that make him most suited"
(Richard L. Geist)

-"I have watched him function as an attorney, law secretary and a prosecutor, and his ability is exceptional"
(Hon. George D. Marlow, Justice of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Dept.)

-"I've seen his rare and very precious combination of zeal, even- handedness, unflappability and, above all, honesty. I'm sure he's made some enemies along the way, but that's the measure of how well he's done his job"
(Fred Papert, First President of 42nd St. Development Corp.)

-"He has the ability to work with people across a broad spectrum of the economic scale. His clientele includes some of the most influential people in the business world as well as men and women much less fortunate"
(Edwin M. Charles Esq., Home Life Insurance Co.)

-"Mr. Baumgarten is without question the finest lawyer I know. His knowledge of the law, his appreciation of human rights, and his practical common sense are beyond question"
(Peter J. O'Connor, Former Assoc. Professor, Fordham Law)

-"His ability and integrity are unquestionable"
(J Irwin Shapiro, Late Justice, App. Div. 2nd Dept.) -"One of the great public servants of our City."
(Rabbi Dr. Alvin Kass, NYPD Chief Chaplain)

In a recently published book entitled Ghosts of 42nd Street (William Morrow Publ. 2004) the author says:

"Founded in 1976 by Sidney Baumgarten - the Mayor's Office of Midtown Enforcement brought a ferocity to Midtown smut-busting not seen since the heyday of Fiorello LaGuardia. On paper, Sid Baumgarten was a liberal of the sort that Richard Nixon loved to hate: a Jewish, Ivy League educated lawyer and clubhouse Democrat. But Baumgarten also happened to be an army combat veteran and National Rifle Association member who believed viscerally in the social primacy of law and order. Erudite and outwardly calm, he seethed with frustration over Times Square's transformation into Sodom and Gomorroh.

Mr. Baumgarten's presence at Michael J. Devereaux and Associates has given the firm an added dimension, a keen advisor and counsel.

He is a resident of Battery Park City where he resides with his beautiful Brazilian wife, Terry. They have six children, including graduates of Harvard, Brown, Washington University (St. Louis) and Rutgers, and he and Terry have 6 grandchildren.

MICHAEL J. DEVEREAUX AND ASSOCIATES, PC d/b/a DEVEREAUX AND ASSOCIATES
39 Broadway, Suite 910, New York, NY 10006
Tel: 212.785.5959, Fax: 212.785.4487, info@devlegal.com

Website designed by 15 minutes media