Our Team

Janet M. Izzo is a partner of Gillette and Izzo Law.  Janet is an accomplished plaintiff’s personal injury attorney with over 35 years working in the civil justice system, 25 as an attorney.  Her career has focused on educating clients on their legal rights while aggressively representing them to recover compensation for their loss.

After graduating with her Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies in 1988, she started her career in the legal field working as a secretary for a sole practitioner.  Within her first year of employment, she realized that law school would be in her future.  She then began attending SUNY Oswego on a part-time basis while working full-time at the law firm. She earned her Bachelor of Science in 1996.  While continuing to work for the same sole-practitioner, she had advanced to the position of Paralegal.  She went on to attend Syracuse University Law School where she was an editor of the Syracuse University Law Review and earned her J.D. degree in 1999.  In 2013, Janet opened her own practice and welcoming Josh Gillette in 2022 to create Gillette and Izzo Law.

Janet is actively involved in a number of professional organizations including the American Association for Justice, the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Onondaga County Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. She has served on various committees of the Central New York Women’s Bar Association and was their President during 2005 – 2006.

Janet has served on the Camp Kesem Advisory Board since 2018, two years after her children attended the camp.  Camp Kesem provides a free summer camp, day programs and virtual meet-ups for kids and adolescents facing a parent’s cancer.  Although Camp Kesem is a national camp, each chapter is run by student leaders.  As an advisory board member, Janet helps provide strategic advice and guidance to the SU students to successfully fund camp.

Janet lives in Baldwinsville, New York with her husband and three children. She is incredibly passionate about her work to serve the men, women and children injured by the negligent and careless acts of others.

Education

• SUNY Oswego (1996)
• Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., 1999)

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

• New York
• United States District Court, Northern District of New York
• United States District Court, Western District of New York
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York

Professional Associations

• New York State Bar Association
• Onondaga County Bar Association
• New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers
• American Association for Justice
• Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
• Central New York Women’s Bar Association

Leadership

• President, Central New York Women’s Bar Association (2005-2006)
• Judicial Screening Committee, Central New York Women’s Bar Association (2006-2016)
• Onondaga County Bar Foundation, Secretary (2010-2018)
• Crouse Hospital Health Auxiliary Board Member (2017-2022)
• Camp Kesem SU Advisory Board (2017-present)
• Board of Directors, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers (2019-present)

Joshua M. Gillette is a partner of Gillette & Izzo Law.  His primary areas of focus are on plaintiff’s medical malpractice, catastrophic injury and personal injury cases. 

Mr. Gillette was selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers ® Rising Stars in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 and recognized by Upstate New York Super Lawyers in 2022, 2023 & 2024.  Founded in 1991, Super Lawyers recognizes only the top attorneys nationwide with only 5% of attorneys selected to Super Lawyers and only 2.5% to Rising Stars.  Also, he was selected to the National Trial Lawyers 40 Under 40 Civil Lawyers for the State of New York as well as to the National Trial Lawyers – Medical Malpractice Top 25. 

As a member of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, he also serves on their board of directors.  Additionally, he is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and the Onondaga County Bar Association.  He is admitted to practice before all New York State Courts, and the Northern, Western and Southern District Courts of New York.  He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Federal Claims, where he has represented plaintiffs in vaccine injury cases. 

Josh lectures on a variety of topics including medical malpractice and disciplinary proceedings, including lecturing to physicians, nurses and medical students at several continuing legal education programs.  He has written and presented on babies injured during labor and delivery as well as on the Medical Indemnity Fund and was a presenter at the 43rd Annual Regional Perinatal Symposium.  

Josh has extensive experience in cases involving medical malpractice, products liability, wrongful death and premises liability. Prior to his current position he spent nearly a decade as an associate and partner with a defense firm.  During that time his focus was on the defense of physicians and other healthcare professionals.  His experience representing defendants coupled with his current role representing plaintiffs has contributed to his success.  As a result, he has recovered over $20,000,000.00 for clients through settlements and verdicts.

In 2004, Josh earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Pre-Law along with a Bachelor of Arts in History with a Second Major in Interdisciplinary Social Science with an Emphasis in Business from Michigan State University through its Honors College.  After, he attended Syracuse University College of Law where he earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, in 2007.

Education

• Michigan State University Honors College (2004)
• Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2007)

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

• New York
• United States District Court, Northern District of New York
• United States District Court, Western District of New York
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York
• United States Court of Federal Claims

Honors

• 2024 Upstate New York Super Lawyers
• 2023 Upstate New York Super Lawyers
• 2022 Upstate New York Super Lawyers
• 2021 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2020 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2020 National Trial Lawyers Top 25 Medical Malpractice Attorney
• 2019 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2018 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2017 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2016 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• 2015 Upstate New York Rising Stars
• National Trial Lawyers 40 Under 40 (4-year member)

Professional Associations

• New York State Bar Association
• Onondaga County Bar Association
• New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

Leadership

• Board of Directors, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

Sylvia Bode Kraus is an experienced attorney who has focused her career on representing plaintiffs in complex personal injury cases.

Originally a native of Poland, Sylvia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia.  After working for several years as a paralegal for a plaintiff’s employment law firm in Rochester, New York, she decided that the law was her passion, and went on to earn her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, finishing second in her class.

After law school, Sylvia completed a two-year clerkship with the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, where she honed her research and writing skills.  Her career then took her to Syracuse, where she has spent over eight years working for a well-established small law firm that focused on representing plaintiffs in complex personal injury cases, including medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, and other catastrophic injury cases.

Sylvia joined Gillette & Izzo Law in 2024, bringing with her extensive experience in motion practice, appellate briefing, trial preparation, and all other aspects of litigation.  She is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the New York State Bar Association, and the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, and is admitted to practice before all New York State Courts, and the Northern District of New York.

Sheila joined Gillette & Izzo Law Office in 2017, bringing with her over 20 years experience working in the legal profession. She has worked for both sole practitioners and mid-size law firms. In addition, Sheila has also provided contract paralegal services for many attorneys in the local area providing her both exposure and experience in an array of different facets of the law.

Jennifer is a seasoned paralegal with 20 years of experience in the litigation field. Although Jen has experience in representing both Plaintiffs and Defendants, her passion and expertise lies in the representation of Plaintiffs. Jen enjoys working with Plaintiffs from the beginning of litigation to trial. Her experience and empathy with their various circumstances allows her to excel in working directly with clients one-on-one.

Kristina joined the team at Gillette & Izzo Law Office in 2023 as the Marketing Manager/Paralegal bringing with her over 10 years of experience in the legal field and over 8 years of experience in marketing and sales.  She has experience in many different areas of law, including bankruptcy, family, education and criminal.  Her position as the Marketing Manager/Paralegal combines the two career paths allowing her to work in both areas she is passionate about.