Richard J. Keidel, Esq.
Richard J. Keidel, died January 2, 2006. Mr. Keidel was born in Far Rockaway but was a lifelong Valley Stream resident. Mr. Keidel was a 1980 graduate of Hofstra University, majoring in political science. He received his J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in June, 1983, and was admitted to the New York State Bar in March, 1984. Mr. Keidel also was admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in November, 1993.
Mr. Keidel devoted himself exclusively to the practice of matrimonial and family law and was a prominent attorney within the field. Mr. Keidel began his legal career in 1984 as an associate with the Law Offices of Willard DaSilva in Garden City, becoming a partner in the firm in 1991, when it was renamed DaSilva & Keidel. In October 1997, he joined the Law Offices of Stephen Gassman as an associate. In March 2003, Mr. Keidel became a member of the firm which became known as Gassman & Keidel, P.C. Mr. Keidel was also a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Mr. Keidel was a former chairman of the Nassau County Bar Association's Matrimonial Law Committee and a frequent lecturer on matrimonial law topics. Mr. Keidel had extensive experience in the area of appellate advocacy in matrimonial actions and had more than twenty reported appellate court decisions, the most notable being the seminal Court of Appeals cases of O'Brien v. O'Brien, 66 N.Y.2d 576 (1985), which established that a medical license was marital property in New York, and O'Shea v. O'Shea, 93 N.Y.2d 187 (1999), which defined the scope of counsel fees.
Among other professional associations, Mr. Keidel was a member of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, the Matrimonial Law Committee, Lawyers Assistance Committee, and Appellate Practice Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, as well as a Barrister of the New York Family Law American Inns of Court Foundation. Mr. Keidel also served as a Matrimonial Fee Arbitrator in the Matrimonial Fee Arbitration Program, under the aegis of the New York State Office of Court Administration. He also served as an Arbitrator in the Early Neutral Evaluation Program in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Nassau County.
Among his other noted professional accomplishments, Mr. Keidel revised two chapters of a matrimonial treatise published by Matthew Bender & Co. Mr. Keidel was a former editor of the Domestic Relations Reporter published by Matthew Bender & Co., and wrote articles for The Family Advocate, published by the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, as well as for other publications.
The attorneys at Gassman Baiamonte Gruner, P.C. applaud Mr. Keidel’s contributions to the practice of matrimonial and family law, both on the professional and personal level. His professionalism, dedication and work ethic were superlative and unparalleled. He will be dearly missed.
