Dean Pillarella

Associate

Dean.Pillarella@lewisbrisbois.com

Dean Pillarella is an associate in the New York office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Appellate Practice.

Mr. Pillarella primarily drafts and argues substantive motions and appeals in the New York trial and appellate courts in civil rights, general liability, Labor Law, premises liability, products liability, professional liability, sexual abuse/misconduct (Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act), and transportation matters, among others.  

He has experience at all stages of appellate practice in the state courts, including pre- and post-appeal motion practice and at the Court of Appeals stage.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Mr. Pillarella was primary appellate counsel at a corporate and insurance defense firm in New York City, where he handled matters from inception through trial and appeal. There, his briefing and argument in Belfand v. Petosa, 196 A.D.3d 60 (1st Dep’t 2021), culminated in a signed opinion of the Appellate Division, First Department, effectively preventing private suits against the State of New Jersey in New York as a matter of constitutional law. The opinion was subsequently cited by the Supreme Court of Alabama and published in the New York Law Journal and the New York City Bar Association’s CPLR 2021 Update. 

Prior to joining the defense bar, Mr. Pillarella was an associate at a Brooklyn, NY, plaintiffs’ firm where he handled state and federal commercial, civil rights, and torts matters from inception through appeal.

Mr. Pillarella is an avid writer and student of the law with an unwavering passion for New York civil practice. He has professionally published on topics ranging from New York civil practice, to constitutional and civil-rights law, to criminal law and procedure. His essay Utilizing CPLR 2001 to Cure Service Defects: 10 Years of Ruffin was featured in the New York Law Journal to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Ruffin v. Lion Corp., 15 N.Y.3d 578 (2010), and its increasing impact on New York service of process. His essay The Informal Appearance, Its Origins, Instances, and Impact, was cited in a recent addition to Professors Siegel and Connors' New York Practice, the definitive treatise on New York civil practice. The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers also recently cited the article as providing a "thorough" discussion of the “informal appearance” doctrine.

He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and New York City Bar Association, where he sits on the Legal History Committee.

Mr. Pillarella earned his Juris Doctor from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in 2018. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and history from the University of Scranton in 2015.

Primary Area(s) of Practice

  • Appellate

Associations

  • New York State Bar Association
  • New York City Bar Association
  • Columbian Lawyers Association of the First Department

Professional Presentations

  • Recent Important Appellate Decisions & Expected Impacts on N.Y. Litigation (Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act), Lewis Birsbois Appellate Webinar, March 31, 2023.
  • Interstate Sovereign Immunity in the Wake of Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt, 139 S. Ct. 1485 (2019), New York City Bar Association (Legal History Committee), February 17, 2021.

Education

Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

Juris Doctor, 2018

University of Scranton

Bachelor of Arts, 2015

Publications

Representative Matters

  • Clarke v. Povella, 210 A.D.3d 581 (1st Dep’t 2022)
  • Belfand v. Petosa, 196 A.D.3d 60 (1st Dep't 2021)

Legal Alerts

Military Service

United States Coast Guard Reserve