The Cardone Team

The Cardone Team* is comprised of some of the area's finest legal minds. In addition, the firm also frequently works with a network of colleagues and associates around the country, ensuring that clients receive the most cutting edge and progressive representation possible.

Click on a name below to learn more about each member of the Cardone team.

• Clifford E. Cardone
• Bob Finkelstein
• Catherine Hilton
• Stanley J. Mongrue

Clifford E. Cardone

ccardone@phonecardone.net

Clifford E. Cardone is a personal injury and criminal trial lawyer who has tried more than 100 criminal and civil jury cases in several capacities: his private practice, as former senior trial attorney with the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, and former trial attorney with the Public Defender's Office. He has also served as an Ad Hoc Judge in Traffic and Municipal since 1997.

As the founder of The Cardone Law Firm, he concentrates in nursing home litigation, railroad litigation, personal injury cases resulting in brain damage, and automobile personal injury. Mr. Cardone is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and served as the Co-Chair of the CLE Summer School Planning Committee. Currently, he is a member of the Summer School Planning Committee. He is also a member of the New Orleans Bar Association Inns of Court and the Membership Committee of the Association of Trail Lawyers of America.

A frequent lecuturer at seminars dealing with personal injury topics, he is also a guest lecturer at Tulane and Loyola schools of law. Mr. Cardone's article, "Battling Nursing Home Neglect: Finding the Right Legal Pieces," was published in the Louisiana Bar Journal.

Mr. Cardone received his BA, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his Juris Doctor from Loyola University of the South.

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Bob Finkelstein

Mr. Finkelstein is an attorney with over twenty-one years legal experience. Since joining The Cardone Law Team in 1997, he has concentrated in personal injury matters involving auto accident claims, business law and commercial collections.

Prior to joining The Cardone Law Team, Mr. Finkelstein represented and defended the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office as house counsel from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1986 he was appointed and served as an Assistant City Attorney assigned to the New Orleans Police Department as Police Legal Advisor to the Superintendent of Police. In 1986, Mr. Finkelstein attended the FBI’s National Law Institute for Police Legal Advisors held in Quantico, VA. In 1987, he became Deputy General Counsel to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Dock Board) and was also appointed Police Legal Advisor to the Superintendent of the Harbor Police Department until 1995 when he entered private law practice on a full-time basis.

Overall, Mr. Finkelstein has sixteen years legal defense experience representing these various public entities. Mr. Finkelstein is a member of the Louisiana State Bar and New Orleans Bar Associations. He earned his BA degree in Political Science from LSUNO in 1975 and thereafter attained his JD degree from LSU Law Center in 1980. He also attended summer programs at Loyola Law School.

Other related professional experience attained by Mr. Finkelstein includes serving as Legislative Assistant to a Louisiana State Representative for House District # 99 in1976 and serving as the Central File Room/Records Supervisor in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office from 1976 to 1977.

• Mr. Finkelstein is admitted to:
• Louisiana Supreme Court
• United States Supreme Court
• Eleventh and Fifth United States Circuit Courts of Appeal
• United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana

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Catherine Hilton

Catherine Hilton is a personal injury and family law lawyer who has been with The Cardone Team since 1993, first in the capacity as Litigation Manager and now as an attorney.

Prior to working with The Cardone Law Team and attending law school, Catherine Hilton worked at Adams and Reese Law Firm in the Mass Toxic Tort Litigation area. Her work in this area required extensive coordination of local counsel nationally, as well as organization and computerization of tens of thousand of plaintiff case histories into a case management database.

Ms. Hilton’s current practice is divided between assisting Mr. Cardone in the nursing home litigation, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases and in representing clients in divorce, custody, support, and property issues.

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Stanley J. Mongrue

smingrue@phonecardone.net

Stanley J. Mongrue CPA, CFP/PFS graduated from the University of New Orleans in 1982 with a BA in Accounting. Mr. Mongrue completed the Certified Public Accountants exam and became licensed in 1985, then in 1993 became a licensed Certified Financial Planner.

Mr. Mongrue is the on-staff CPA with The Cardone Law Firm assisting in matters such as divorce, community property settlement, business valuations, real estate and lawsuit settlement accounting. Other areas of expertise include business and family tax estate planning, and business and individual bankruptcy.

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*An association for the practice of law, not a partnership or employees of The Cardone Law Firm.