Louisa M. Portnoy

Louisa M. Portnoy is an associate attorney at the firm, practicing primarily in our New York City office.

Louisa’s entire legal career has been in the area of matrimonial and family law. She joins the firm from the New York County Supreme Court, Matrimonial Division, where she served as Assistant Law Clerk to the Honorable Michael L. Katz. She also previously practiced at a boutique matrimonial and family law firm. This combination of direct judicial work and private practice experience gives Louisa an uncommon vantage point on how contested matrimonial cases are actually decided.

Working with Judge Katz, Louisa managed a docket of more than 250 matrimonial cases and assisted in drafting well over one hundred motion and post-trial decisions, addressing both custody and financial issues. She handled preliminary and status conferences with attorneys and pro se litigants. That experience has given her a practical understanding of how a court reads a record, how it weighs a party’s conduct and courtroom presentation, and when a motion is worth bringing.

In law school, Louisa served as a Senior Associate Editor of the Hofstra Law Review, and was named a Child and Family Advocacy Fellow. She represented young people in special immigrant juvenile matters through the Youth Advocacy Clinic, assisted parents in obtaining guardianship appointments for their adult children under Article 17-A of the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, and interned with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and with a United States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of New York.

Louisa offers her clients a clear view of a divorce from both sides of the bench. She knows the flow of a contested family law matter and what a court may read as a weakness, and she is able to counsel clients on when to press an issue and when accepting a situation better serves the peace of a family. When a matter must be litigated, she is fully prepared to litigate it.

Areas of practice

Education

• Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (J.D., 2023)
• University of Delaware (B.S., 2019)

Honors and Awards

• Cum laude; Top 10% of class
• Hofstra Law Review, Senior Associate Editor, Vol. 51; Staff Member, Vol. 50
• Published, Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 51, Issue 4
• Child and Family Advocacy Fellow
• Dean’s Honor Scholar
• Public Service Award (Gold Level)

Professional Memberships

• Young Attorneys Matrimonial Society
• New York City Bar Association – Matrimonial Law Committee