Edward A. Flood, Esq.

The Suffolk Pro Bono Project is pleased to honor Edward A. Flood as its Pro Bono Attorney of the Month. For the past three years, Mr. Flood has vigorously represented victims of domestic violence in divorce proceedings. It is his skillful advocacy and generosity that has earned him this distinction.

Ed Flood first connected with the Project to offer his services in 2014, after learning about the work of the Project at a Suffolk Academy matrimonial CLE program. He was particularly interested in representing survivors of domestic violence in divorce matters. The Project put him right to work. Since then, he has zealously advocated for three matrimonial clients, all domestic violence survivors. His cases were emotionally challenging. The clients had been deeply impacted by the long-standing physical and emotional abuse and were still dealing with financial exploitation by their abusers. In some of these cases, their children were suffering from the trauma of seeing their mothers physically abused.

As the father of three young children, Mr. Flood cared greatly about the outcome of these pro bono cases and felt a great deal of responsibility for the role he played in his clients’ lives. “As a parent, these cases really hit home,” he explains. “The clients’ circumstances made me want to help in all ways possible.” Mr. Flood describes the transformation he saw in his pro bono clients. “At the start of the case, you can see the effects of battered spouse syndrome. The clients often made excuses for the abusive spouse’s behavior and you could see how dependent they still were on their spouses. But in time, I saw my clients break this cycle of dependency and start to stand up for themselves. It’s a really rewarding thing to witness.”

Edward Flood has been practicing law in Smithtown, New York since starting his own law firm in April of 2012. Flood and Doyle is a general practice law office. Mr. Flood primarily practices family and matrimonial law, but also represents clients in criminal, real estate, civil litigation and estate planning matters. His partner, John Doyle, is a criminal defense and general civil practice attorney.

Mr. Flood knew he wanted to be a lawyer at a very early age. After obtaining his undergraduate degree at St Joseph’s College in 2007, Mr. Flood attended Western New England University Law School, and earned his J.D. in 2010.

Mr. Flood started his legal career at Jones, Lang and LaSalle (JLL), a worldwide property management company, where he did contractual work for Citibank. His sister, Erin Filiberto, was also working as an attorney at JLL in 2012 when they decided to start a law firm together in Smithtown, Filiberto and Flood.

In addition to knowing at a very early age that he wanted to be a lawyer, Mr. Flood knew he also wanted to be in politics. He is presently Chief of Staff for a New York State Assemblyman, Dean Murray and recently began his own run for public office in the Suffolk County Legislature.

Given the demands of his legal practice, his political campaign, his chief of staff position, and his ever-growing family (his fourth child is due next month!), Ed Flood has little in the way of free time. His days of playing adult club lacrosse, golfing and spending days at the beach are on hold for now. With most of his children still very young (ages 7, 2 and 10 months), Mr. Flood devotes all of his free time to his wife and children. And he still finds time to volunteer!

The Pro Bono Project is grateful for all Mr. Flood has accomplished for the Project’s most vulnerable clients. It is with extreme pleasure that we honor him as the Pro Bono Attorney of the Month.

The Suffolk Pro Bono Project is a joint effort of Nassau Suffolk Law Services, the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Pro Bono Foundation, who, for many years, have joined resources toward the goal of providing free legal assistance to Suffolk County residents who are dealing with economic hardship. Nassau Suffolk Law Services is a non-profit civil legal services agency, providing free legal assistance to Long Islanders, primarily in the areas of benefits advocacy, homelessness prevention (foreclosure and eviction defense), access to health care, and services to special populations such as domestic violence victims, disabled, and adult home resident. The provision of free services is prioritized based on financial need and funding is often inadequate in these areas. Furthermore, there is no funding for the general provision of matrimonial or bankruptcy representation, therefore the demand for pro bono assistance is the greatest in these areas. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Ellen Krakow, Esq. 631 232-2400 x 3323.