STAFF
Ari Kornhaber, Esq.
President
Ari P. Kornhaber, Esq. is the Executive Vice President and Director of Sales for Esquire Bank; a full service commercial bank dedicated to serving the financial needs of the legal industry. Ari is also a Founder and Director of KEEPS America, the Nation’s leading provider of electronic funds transfer (EFT) to plaintiffs and claimants involved in personal injury, mass tort, disability and workers compensation cases and claims. Ari has spoken on the subject of financing, banking and EFT for lawyers, law firms and their clients, and the ethics surrounding the same, at numerous seminars and conferences across the United States. After receiving his law degree from Touro Law School in New York, Ari was a practicing plaintiff’s lawyer in New York City with the law firm of Pariser and Vogelman, PC and was a trial attorney for the law firm of Napoli, Kaiser and Bern, LLC, where he specialized in personal injury, medical malpractice and mass tort litigation.
Zharlyn Cardenas
Executive Assistant
Zharlyn Cardenas has worked with Randy Levine and Brian Schachter throughout her business career. Zharlyn started as a legal intern and eventually earned her way to head paralegal with Schachter and Levine, LLP where she handled all aspects of personal injury litigation. Zharlyn has become a vital component to the success of ESS Settlement Services as an Executive Assistant working directly with our law firms and plaintiffs with designing settlement proposals, preparing settlement documents, Government and Healthcare eligibility compliance, and lien resolution. Zharlyn acts as a liaison for our law firm clients making the process smooth between our Affiliate and Strategic Partners, Millennium Settlements Inc. and Providio MediSolutions. She has worked with plaintiff personal injury firms and their clients, insurance carriers such as automobile, medical, life and defense attorney firms.
Zharlyn Cardenas obtained her B.A. in Economics, A.A.S in Business Administration and her Paralegal Certificate. She also received State Certification from the New York State Department of Health for the Certified Nurse Aide Program.
Angie Martinez
Senior Case Manager
Angie Martinez is a Senior Case Manager with ESS Settlement Services, via our partnership with The Settlement Alliance. A 20-year veteran of the structured settlement annuity industry, Angie began her career in 1996 with Galaher Settlements. In 2004, Angie shifted to a plaintiff-exclusive structured settlement company. With her vast experience and attention to detail, many of the best legal teams in the country count her as a valued resource and have entrusted her with thousands of cases.
Angie has been married for 22 years and has three children. She is a volunteer with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Armed Forces Appreciation Committee. When she’s not helping clients, Angie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and escaping to the country.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS – EXCELSIOR WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Craig S. Pastolove, CIMA, CPWA
Managing Director – Wealth Management, Family Wealth Director
Corporate Client Group Director
Craig Pastolove is a Managing Director and a designated Family Wealth Director with Morgan Stanley’s U.S. Wealth Management Group. He has devoted the better part of his career to helping highly successful families manage the complex issues of managing significant wealth.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts, Craig began his career with Oppenheimer & Co. as a Financial Advisor. Within five years, he was named an Executive Director. In 2002, Craig attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and subsequently obtained the title of Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), sponsored by the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA). Craig and his team strictly adhere to IMCA’s Code of Professional Responsibility, which was adopted to promote and maintain the highest standard of personal and professional conduct in the industry.
In 2004, Craig’s group transferred its clientele to Smith Barney. Shorlty thereafter he was asked to join Citi Family Office, a division focused on servicing the complex needs of ultra high net worth clients.
In 2008, Craig joined Morgan Stanley, where he continues to hone the academic and practical skills required to effectively advise wealthy families and institutions. He recently was awarded the Certified Private Wealth Advisor title after completing a one-year course at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also sits on Excelsior Wealth Management’s Investment Committee, which is responsible for managing their proprietary equity, fixed income and alternative investment model portfolios.
Craig and his wife Kimberly reside in New York with their son Chase and daughter Brooke. He is very active in a variety of social and philanthropic organizations in the greater New York metropolitan area.
Scott Sklar
Managing Director
Financial Advisor
Scott Sklar focuses on providing exemplary service to institutional clients through capital markets coverage, proactive advice and consistent and direct communication. The relationships he has cultivated with some of the premiere hedge fund managers in the nation have enabled him to build one of the largest middle markets businesses at our firm. He works with funds and family offices that range in size from $200 million to $10 billion.
In 1992, Scott graduated from George Washington University with a B.A. in International Business. He subsequently joined Prudential’s training program, and by his fourth year, earned Council Producer status.
Scott left Prudential for Smith Barney, our predecessor firm, in 2001. He was named as a Director’s Council producer in 2009, his seventh year in a row of garnering this distinction. Then in 2011, Scott was awarded the title of Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. He also sits on Excelsior Wealth Management’s Investment Committee, which is responsible for managing their proprietary equity fixed income and alternative investment model portfolios.
Scott is married with three children and resides in Westport Connecticut. He services on the board of directors for the Jacobs Cure and his interests include reading, swimming and golfing.
Jesse S. Friedman, CFP
Vice President
Financial Advisor
Jesse joined Excelsior Wealth Management in 2001 immediately after graduation from Brandeis University with a double major in economics and political science and a minor in international business. He is the primary day-to-day contact for clients, overseeing the financial planning process and coordinating our efforts with their other advisors, including attorneys, accountants and family office directors.
After a year-long education process Jesse obtained his Certified Financial Planner ( CFP) designation, strengthening his expertise in tax, legal and retirement planning matters to further improve his tactical advice to clients.
Additionally, Jesse manages the other team members in a concerted effort to ensure that client needs are met efficiently and effectively. He also sits on Excelsior Wealth Management’s Investment Committee, which is responsible for managing their proprietary equity, fixed income and alternative investment model portfolios.
In his spare time, Jesse enjoys traveling, tennis, history and political debate. He is an active member of the Turtle Bay Society, the Brandeis University Alumni Association and Rodeph Sholom Synagogue. Jesse lives in Manhattan with his wife and high school sweetheart Melissa and their son Eli.
