Energetic, knowledgeable and experienced, Peter Bodnar is one of Southern New York's original leaders of modern divorce law.

The Queens native brings a unique combination of skills to the field - a shrewd litigator, Bodnar possesses the quantitative skills of an investment banker and the negotiating instincts of a seasoned dealmaker. Further, the personable Bodnar tends to clients like a good physician, colleagues say, but that's not surprising: His brother is a pediatrician, his sister a dentist.

The enterprising Bodnar began practicing in the early 70s, well before the passage of the state's equitable distribution statute. An early clerkship with Family Court Judge Evans Brewster inspired him to pursue matrimonial law.

From the start he has handled many high profile cases, including a 1983 case, won on appeal, that set precedents on the treatment of assets brought into a marriage. Today Bodnar's 7-attorney firm handles scores of complex and challenging cases each year.

Beyond his work, Bodnar is a worldwide traveler, and husbands various business interests in Europe through entities based in Budapest, Hungary, an ancestral home.