Marianne Bertuna: Executive Partner, Advocate, and Family Anchor in New York Law

Basic Information

Early Formation and Education

Marianne Bertuna went from classrooms to courtrooms to the New York bar. She earned a business-french degree from Georgetown University in 1998, demonstrating her math and subtlety skills. She graduated in 2001 with a JD. at New York Law School and started practicing at her present firm’s predecessor. Her rapid rise to partner in seven years showed her tenacity and detail.

Her Italian and French skills complement a practice that often requires clear legal, financial, and human translation. That early academic choice still influences how she builds deals and guides families through difficult estate procedures.

Building a Boutique Powerhouse

Bertuna has spent nearly her entire career with the same boutique platform, which became Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins PC. As Executive Partner, she manages the firm’s legal and commercial operations for criminal defense, civil litigation, real estate, and estates. She supervises the Wills, Trusts, and Estates Department and advises the Kings County Public Administrator in Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court, requiring diligence, judgment, and stewardship.

Growth and years define her firm term. Joining in 2001, she became partner in 2008 and got U.S. citizenship. Supreme Court in 2016 and contributed to Hamptons expansion. She likes the boutique’s close client relationships, multidisciplinary agility, and quick responsiveness. She combines courtroom toughness with conference room clarity when clients call.

Practice Focus and Client Approach

Bertuna’s legal toolkit is broad, yet several pillars define her practice:

• Criminal defense with a particular focus on DUI and DWI. She has been recognized among the Top 100 DWI attorneys in New York, a testament to courtroom craft and procedural mastery.
• Estate planning, probate, and administration. As Department Head and Counsel to the Public Administrator, she navigates asset inventories, contested estates, and surrogate proceedings with precision.
• Real estate transactions and disputes, both residential and commercial. Her family background includes real estate experience that informs methodical due diligence and deal structuring.
• Business and consumer matters and select white collar issues, where she synthesizes regulatory demands with practical risk management.

Her clients regard her as a tenacious, tactful strategist. She can argue and counsel, scrutinizing witnesses and redlining contracts. Families and business owners trust her because she simplifies legal issues in her writing and media commentary.

Admissions, Leadership, and Service

Bertuna’s admissions, leadership roles, and committee work reflect a career embedded in the New York legal community.

• Bar Admissions: New York; New Jersey; U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York; U.S. Supreme Court since 2016.
• Leadership: Past President of the Columbian Lawyers Association, 1st Judicial Department.
• Oversight and Discipline: Member of the Attorney Grievance Committee, Appellate Division, 2nd Department.
• Bar and Community Boards: Trustee of the Brooklyn Bar Association; Board of Governors, Poly Prep Country Day School; participant in the Kings County Criminal Bar Association.
• Event Stewardship: Chair of the annual Charles A. Rapallo and Justice Antonin Scalia Awards Luncheon.

These posts are more than titles. They indicate peer confidence in her ethics, judgment, and capacity to steward both people and processes.

Honors and Recognition

Across more than two decades, Bertuna’s recognitions form a consistent pattern.

• 2012 to 2013: Super Lawyers Rising Stars.
• 2014: Top Women Attorneys in New York Rising Stars in New York Times Magazine.
• 2021 to 2022: Lawyers of Distinction in Real Estate Law.
• 2022: Crain’s New York Business Notable Women in Law.

Her profile in recent years has continued to rise, with features highlighting her courtroom versatility and her dual command of criminal and estates work. Colleagues note that the accolades follow the outcomes. She wins trust first, then cases, and the recognition arrives as a byproduct.

Family and Personal Life

Bertuna’s life revolves around New York law and her husband, attorney and media figure Arthur L. Aidala. Political and media leaders attended their May 3, 2016, Plaza Hotel wedding in Manhattan. They routinely appear together professionally, on business platforms and in media like his radio show. Partners in law and life is more than a slogan for them.

Brooklyn is home to their two young children. Son born around 2017; daughter 2021–2022. Public references obscure the children’s identities while describing family life: a son’s baseball practice, a daughter’s dancing class, Brooklyn and Hamptons weekends. Trial calendars and firm administration set tough schedules, yet the family stays central.

Media Presence and Public Profile

Bertuna is private online. She regularly participates in firm communications, bar association events, and firm blogs and media commentary on legal subjects, including DUI developments. Her personal social media presence is small and purposely understated, but the firm’s accounts routinely highlight her for awards, community activities, and regional expansion.

Her public posture is purposeful. She foregrounds client service and professional leadership and allows the firm to do the talking, with bursts of personality surfacing in radio conversations or short pieces that translate legal developments into plain language.

Financial and Business Footprint

Bertuna does not disclose her salary, assets, or net worth. Her role as owner of a thriving Manhattan store serving celebrities and regular customers is visible. The Hamptons expansion shows customer demand-driven growth. She works in resilient and countercyclical industries like criminal defense, estates, and real estate. She has deepened and diversified the firm’s practice.

Timeline at a Glance

Role as Counsel to the Public Administrator

When New Yorkers die without a will or executors, Bertuna handles estate administration as Counsel to the Kings County Public Administrator. This job requires objectivity, transparency, and stringent Surrogate’s Court processes. Pragmatism and empathy for grieving families while the law handles the specifics are also needed.

Craft and Ethos

Bertuna specialises on poise and preparation. She has a deep understanding of DUI and DWI testing techniques and constitutional protections. She builds estate plans to protect assets from future dangers and minimize dispute. Anticipating concerns helps her navigate complex real estate closings. Stewardship runs through. Clients often come to her at inflection points, and she treats each matter as both legal and personal.

FAQ

Who is Marianne Bertuna?

She is a New York attorney and the Executive Partner at Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins PC in Manhattan. Her practice spans criminal defense, estates, and real estate.

What are her primary practice areas?

She focuses on criminal defense with a strong DUI and DWI component, estate planning and probate, and commercial and residential real estate.

Where is she admitted to practice?

She is admitted in New York and New Jersey, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the U.S. Supreme Court since 2016.

What leadership roles has she held?

She is a past president of the Columbian Lawyers Association, a member of the Attorney Grievance Committee for the Appellate Division 2nd Department, and serves on several boards.

What honors has she received?

Her recognitions include Crain’s Notable Women in Law 2022, Lawyers of Distinction 2021 to 2022, and Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2012 to 2013.

Who is she married to?

She is married to attorney and media personality Arthur L. Aidala. They wed on May 3, 2016, at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.

Does she have children?

Yes, she has a son born around 2017 and a daughter born in 2021 to 2022. Their names are not publicly disclosed.

Where does she live?

She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and balances family life with a demanding legal practice.

What is her role with the Public Administrator?

She serves as Counsel to the Kings County Public Administrator in Surrogate’s Court, handling estate administration matters.

Does she speak any languages besides English?

Yes, she has working knowledge of Italian and French.