Widely respected by his peers, Vince Stempel is one of the rising stars of the Long Island matrimonial bar, building a remarkable record of legal successes in less than 20 years. The Long Island native and St. John's graduate (he was a manager of the school's nationally ranked basketball and football programs), Stempel began his legal career in tax law; within two years he'd been hired by a prominent Long Island divorce attorney, who showed faith in him early and sent him into the courtroom to litigate key cases. That experience primed him for handling increasingly complex, contested divorces - and by 1990, only 32, he launched his own practice. From there, Stempel has continued to build a reputation for solid preparation and courtroom performance. In the mid-90s, Stempel received widespread notoriety for handling a custody fight over frozen "pre-embryos" based on the logic that the frozen "pre-embryos" were created during the marriage. Now in entering his professional prime, and always cheerful and personable, Stempel is incoming chair of the state bar's family law section; he handles a growing number of challenging and complex cases each year. Assisted by two associates and two administrators, Stempel is based in Garden City.