A group of lawyers from New York-area firm Ahmuty, Demers & McManus has moved to Cullen and Dykman, joining its general liability, tort and insurance defense practice.

Brian Donnelly, Nicholas Cardascia, Erin Frost, Andria Simone Kelly, Gary Muhlstock and Daniel Winter have joined Cullen and Dykman as partners, and Melissa Manna as an associate. An undisclosed number of other associates and paralegals are making the move with them, their new firm announced Oct. 10.

The seven lawyers have worked on behalf of businesses in major New York industries, including real estate and construction, transportation, retail and hospitality, according to Cullen and Dykman. They will work out of multiple Cullen offices in the tristate area, including Garden City, New York, and Hackensack, New Jersey.

The partners have handled range of tort cases involving property damage, products and premises liability claims, alleged labor law violations, car crashes and other harms. Both Donnelly and Muhlstock worked as assistant district attorneys in Nassau County earlier in their careers, and Cardascia is a veteran appellate practitioner, having drafted over 100 briefs in New York and federal cases, the Cullen firm said.

Cullen and Dykman, which traces its roots to 1850, has offices in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., and lists 175 lawyers on its website. Ahmuty Demers lists about 68 lawyers across offices in New York and New Jersey.

Frank Cecere, the longtime managing partner of Ahmuty Demers, said in a brief interview that the group move was perfectly amicable.

"From our perspective, a group of attorneys decided to leave to go to another firm to work and we wish them well," he said. "The transfer has been very smooth."

Efforts to interview the new partners were unsuccessful. In a statement, Donnelly praised his new firm's reputation and Cullen and Dykman managing partner Christopher Palmer said the new hires "will add to the growth of our strong litigation group as we continue to expand and serve our client base."