About

Deborah Nilson is a graduate of Syracuse University (1981, B.S. in Finance, Magna Cum Laude, Beta Gamma Sigma) and New York Law School (1984, Juris Doctor). She is a member of the New York State Bar, the Bars of the United States District Courts of the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Deborah began her career at the law firm of Richard K. Bernstein & Associates, where she practiced mainly corporate law, and polished her French while working with a French-speaking clientele. In 1989, she co-founded the law firm Rozan & Nilson LLP, where she expanded her client base. In 2006, Deborah formed her own firm, Deborah A. Nilson, PLLC.

Michael Vaz d’Almeida is an Attorney at Law admitted in New York and in France (Paris Bar). He is a graduate of the Fordham University School of Law (LL.M. in International Business and Trade Law), of the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (French LL.M. in Competition & Contract Law), of the University Paris X Nanterre La Défense (French LL.M. in Business Law), and the University Paul Cézanne Aix-Marseille III (French LL.B. in Law with a specialization in Business Law).

Prior to joining The Nilson Law Group, PLLC in 2019, Michael worked as an attorney-at-law in a large law firm in France focusing on antitrust laws, business contracts and European law. He was a legal intern in several other small and mid-size law firms, in large companies in the US, France and Luxembourg, as well as at the Court of Appeal in Paris and the French Competition Authority.

Michael is a native French speaker, fluent in English and in Spanish.

Publications: Effects of COVID-19 on Business Contracts: Force Majeure Clauses, French American Chamber of Commerce newsletter (May 6, 2020) (co-authored with Deborah A. Nilson).

Nancy Maurice is a graduate of Louisiana State University (2019, LL.M. in Comparative Law with a focus on Business and International Trade), of the University Paris Nanterre (2015, LL.M. in European Business Law, Competition & Contract Law), and the University of Essex (2014, LL.B. in English and French Law with a specialization in Business Law). Nancy was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2020.

Prior to joining The Nilson Law Group, PLLC as an Associate in July 2022, Nancy worked as a litigation attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, and as law clerk in several firms in Paris, France where she gained significant experience focusing on international commercial litigation, business contracts, and a variety of corporate matters.

Nancy is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and of the American Bar Association where she serves as an appointed Young Leader.

Nancy is a native French speaker. She is fluent in English and has a professional working proficiency level in Spanish and Portuguese.

Publications: Things Left Unsaid: Implicit Obligations Under Louisiana Law in Star Financial Services, Inc. V. Cardtronics USA, Inc., 12 J. Civ. L. Stud. (2019).

Emmanuelle Molina is a graduate of Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center (2020, Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Intellectual Property, and Comparative, International & French Law at Cornell University Law School – Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Long Island University – C.W. Post (2011, M.S. in Immunohematology and 2007, B.S. Biology and Psychology). Emmanuelle was admitted to the New York State Bar and the Bars of the United States District Courts of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York in 2021. 

Prior to joining The Nilson Law Group, PLLC as an Associate in June 2023, Emmanuelle worked as a litigation attorney where she gained significant experience focusing on international commercial litigation and intellectual property—particularly in fashion, music, and entertainment law, and was a legal intern with the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County: Children’s Law Bureau. 

Emmanuelle is a member of the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association – Fashion Law Committee, The New York Intellectual Property Law Association – Copyright Law and Practice Committee, the Suffolk County Bar Association, The Paris American Club, Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc., and is the Vice President of the Touro Law Alumni Association Board of Directors. 

Born and raised in France, Emmanuelle is a native French speaker. She is also fluent in Spanish and English, and has an elementary proficiency level in German and Italian. 

Publications: As Pertains to the Criminal Justice System, Is Hindsight 20/20?, 9 J. Race, Gender & Ethnicity 191 (2020). 

Florian Dylewski is a French Attorney at Law, admitted to the Paris Bar in 2019. He graduated from Emory University School of Law (2023, Juris Doctor with Honors with a Transactional Practice Certification; 2021, LL.M). Before joining The Nilson Law Group, PLLC as a Foreign Legal Advisor in August 2023, Florian worked with us as a summer associate while attending Emory University School of Law. He also worked as a legal extern for an Atlanta-based boutique law firm where he assisted with M&A and financing transactions. 

Prior to moving to the United States, Florian attended law school in France at Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, where he obtained his License. He also holds a Master’s degree in Business and International Taxation Law from Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, France. Florian served as counsel for small, large companies and asset managers/private equity firms in France on corporate and transactional matters. Florian also has significant experience in business litigation and courtroom proceedings.  

Florian is a native French speaker. He is fluent in English and has a professional working proficiency level in Spanish.  

Nathalie Gast is a graduate of Mercy College (2003, A.A.S. in Information Technology, Cum Laude) and Lycée Acajou and has a Baccalaureate in Philosophy and Literature. She also attended courses at the Katherine Gibbs School (2000, Certificate in Administrative Studies with an Information Technology Focus, Dean’s List). Born and raised in Martinique, Nathalie’s native tongue is French.

Nathalie has over ten years of administrative and technology related experience. She started her career in database management and has since run offices and moderated websites. Most recently, Nathalie spent four years as a Trademark Researcher at a well-known, large intellectual property law firm, where she played an integral role with the maintenance of international trademark portfolios and brand enforcement, translated trademark descriptions and legal documents, as well as served as an interpreter. Nathalie joined The Nilson Law Group, PLLC in April 2011.

After a bicultural upbringing (USA/France) and a Harvard PhD in Comparative Literature (French, Spanish, and Russian), Claudine Frank taught humanities and French literature at the undergraduate and graduate levels in several U.S. institutions. While living in Paris with her family for many years, she then produced two scholarly editions focused on French avant-garde 20th-century intellectuals. Most recently, since her return to New York, she has undertaken pro bono legal translation for immigration attorneys; volunteered as a tutor at City College of New York; and acquired an ABA-approved Paralegal Certificate at Long Island University. Always drawn to research and archives – whether cultural or corporate – she joined The Nilson Law Group, PLLC, as a paralegal in January 2021.

Publications: The Edge of Surrealism: A Roger Caillois Reader (Duke University Press). Georges Ambrosino, Georges Bataille : L’Expérience à l’épreuve. Correspondance et inédits (1943-1960) (Éditions les Cahiers).

Ibou, a native of Senegal in West Africa, began his academic journey by earning his Associates of Applied Science in Business Administration in 2009, followed by a BBA in 2010, from the West African Catholic University and Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Dakar (Business School). Fascinated by the American culture, he ventured to the US to broaden his horizons and pursue further studies.

Fluent in his native Wolof as well as English and French, he worked as a translator in various agencies. His passion for fostering cross-cultural connections emerged as he worked for the NYS board of education, supporting foreign students in acclimating to life in the US. Ibou has also worked for a well-known telecommunication agency in business development.

Most recently Ibou held the role of a trademark paralegal at a prominent IP firm, where he managed both domestic and foreign trademarks. After an enriching time at the Nilson Law Group from 2018-2020, he has now returned in the firm in August 2023.

Claude Hilaire studied at the Law School of Port-au-Prince, State University of Haiti before getting a scholarship at the Louisiana State University as an exchange student in Law (2010-2011). She went back to her country to work in gender-based violence. She also volunteered in human rights grassroots organizations to give back to the community.

Claude moved to New York a few years ago to work at the Consulate of Haiti. She joined The Nilson Law Group in March 2022. She is fluent in both English and French.