LGBTQ Representation Attorneys in New York

Representing Clients with Understanding, Determination, and Ingenuity

For over 50 years, Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP has provided dedicated and compassionate legal support for all people. We were one of the first law firms in the U.S. to establish an LGBTQ Representation practice, and we continue to advocate tirelessly on behalf of our clients.

Call our New York and New Jersey LGBTQ attorneys at (516) 437-4385 or contact us online.

Who We Are

Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP was founded in 1969, the same year as the Gay Rights Movement. We established a dedicated LGBTQ Representation practice over twenty years ago, one of the first law firms to have one. We’ve been pioneering LGBTQ rights in New York and New Jersey ever since.

We are strong advocates for the legal rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning community. Particularly with the legal challenges of recent years and an uncertain future, our experienced team of LGBT lawyers in NYC & NJ are always at the forefront of both state and federal levels.

Our successful track record ranges from small personal matters to landmark cases that received national media attention.

Whichever your case, our New York LGBTQ attorneys provide dedicated, passionate, and resourceful representation strategically tailored to all your personal and business needs.

Our Services

Our LGBTQ Representation practice focuses on the following areas:

• Workplace discrimination and harassment
• Spousal and domestic partner rights
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
• Separation, divorce, and custody
• Surrogacy, adoption, and assisted reproduction
• Estate planning
• Estate distribution and inheritance
• Customized trusts and probate alternatives
• Healthcare proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney
• Fiduciary appointments
• Elder law
• Name change and gender marker change
• Real estate
• Co-owner agreements
• Pro bono speaker programs and training seminars for organizations and groups

Select Recognitions

• Special Congressional Recognition, 2021
• Crain's New York Business "Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives," 2021 – 2022
• Crain's New York Business "Notable Diverse Leaders in Law," 2022
• Schneps Media "Dan’s Out East End Impact Awards," 2022
• New York Law Journal “New York’s Top Rated LGBTQ Representation Lawyers," 2020 – Present
• New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2020 – Present (all practice partners)
• Long Island Herald “Top Lawyers of Long Island - Civil Rights," 2019

• Long Island Herald “Top Lawyers of Long Island - Pro Bono," 2019 – Present

• Nassau County Executive Special Citation, 2019

Partners

Joseph G. Milizio

Joseph Milizio is the founder of VMM’s groundbreaking LGBTQ Representation practice and leads the firm’s advocacy for LGBTQ rights.

As Managing Partner of the firm, he also heads the Business & Transactional Law practice and its various subpractices, as well as the Surrogacy, Adoption, and Assisted Reproduction practice. He is a key member of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice.

Mr. Milizio is a trusted advisor and provides legal counsel, representation, and education to the LGBTQ community in a wide variety of issues, including life and estate planning.

He is a member of the New York State Bar Association LGBTQ Law Section; member and former co-chair of theNassau County Bar Association LGBTQ Committee; founding member of the Suffolk County LGBTQ Advisory Board; member of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Board of Governors; founding member of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Long Island Chapter; member of the Hofstra University LGBT Advisory Board; and a longtime supporter of the Long Island Crisis Center and its Pride for Youth initiative.

A highly awarded and regarded leader in his field, Mr. Milizio is regularly featured in the press, including NBC, CBS, News 12, 1010 WINS, WCBS 880, Star 99.9, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, LI Herald, Long Island Business News, Gay City News, and Gay Parent Magazine.

Joseph Trotti

Joseph Trotti heads VMM’s Litigation Department as well as the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice. He is a key member of the LGBTQ Representation and Surrogacy, Adoption, and Assisted Reproduction practices.

A cofounding member of VMM's LGBTQ Representation practice, he’s been advancing equal rights in marriage, domestic partnership, adoption, divorce, and related matters for over twenty years. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association LGBTQ Committee.

For his pioneering work, the authoritative New York Law Journal named him a “2019 Trailblazer,” one of a handful of attorneys selected for the prestigious recognition. He is named to Best Lawyers in America 2022 – Present, Super Lawyers "Top Rated Family Law Attorney" 2020 – Present, and Long Island Herald “2019 Top Lawyers of Long Island” in the Family Law category.

Mr. Trotti was the executive producer of the documentary Left Out in America: Legislating Life, Love and LGBT, which won several awards, including “Best Directorial Debut of a Documentary” at the 2011 New York International Film Festival. It helped bring awareness to DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, eventually overturned by the US Supreme Court.

Andrew A. Kimler

Andrew Kimler heads VMM’s Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution practices and is a key member of the LGBTQ Representation Practice.

He has been representing LGBTQ persons in workplace discrimination and harassment cases for over 20 years.

His representation of transgender woman Marla Krolikowski, a high-profile, landmark wrongful termination case in 2012, received national media attention, including the New York Times, HuffPost, CNN, and an ongoing investigative report on WABC-TV. Its favorable result helped pave the way for LGBTQ workplace rights.

Mr. Kimler writes and lectures on LGBTQ rights before professional associations, symposiums, and organizations, and is a guest lecturer at the Queens College Political Science Department and the LGBTQ Studies minor.

Mr. Kimler is regularly featured in the press, including Law360, U.S. News, News 12 New York, News 12 Long Island, Newsday, Long Island Business News, LI Herald, LI News Radio, Longisland.com, and Gay & Lesbian Review/Worldwide.

Community & Pro Bono

Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP, our LGBTQ Representation Practice, and our attorneys proudly serve as a resource for the LGBTQ community, providing advocacy, counsel, and support in a range of matters.

Partners Joseph Milizio and Joseph Trotti are both members of the New York State Bar Association LGBTQ Law Section and the Nassau County Bar Association LGBTQ Committee, addressing equality in the law and the legal concerns of the LGBTQ community.

Mr. Trotti is a member of the Nassau County Supreme Court Matrimonial Pro Bono Panel, Suffolk County Matrimonial Committee Pro Bono Panel, and Suffolk County Bar Association Pro Bono Committee, helping provide access to justice for individuals and families of all kinds.

He is also a member of the Child Abuse Prevention Services Fundraising Committee, working to ensure that all children are protected regardless of their identity.

Mr. Milizio serves on the National Board of Governors of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S., and VMM is a major sponsor of its Annual Greater NY Golf Outing & Dinner fundraiser, as well as other initiatives.

The firm also supports the Long Island Crisis Center Pride for Youth initiative as well as Planned Parenthood of Nassau County, helping the organization promote reproductive healthcare and education, legislative advocacy, and voter education.

Recently, Mr. Milizio helped found the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Long Island Chapter, supporting and promoting LGBTQ businesses and professionals on the Island.

Additionally, VMM is the lone corporate sponsor of CUNY’s Pridefest and the Queens College GLASA (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance) club.

More than just donors, we are doers. VMM provides pro bono legal education (free speaking engagements and training seminars) to groups, organizations, associations, and institutions in an array of legal issues facing the LGBTQ community, including:

• Lectures, symposiums, CLEs, and other education opportunities regarding LGBTQ rights.
• LGBTQ training programs for business and organization staff and school faculty and students.
• Curriculum and guest lectures at academic institutions and educational organizations.

Call to work with our award-winning New York LGBTQ attorneys now at (516) 437-4385.