Practice Areas
Eleven areas of work, and a fair amount of overlap between them. If your problem sits across two of these, that is normal and it is usually the reason it has been difficult to get a straight answer elsewhere.
Business & Corporate Law
Do I need a business lawyer for this?
Most business problems arrive disguised as something else — a partner who stopped answering, a contract that turned out to mean something different than you thought, a la…
About business lawLitigation & Dispute Resolution
Do I actually have to go to court?
Usually not, and that is the point. Most disputes end in a negotiated resolution — but the terms you get depend heavily on whether the other side believes you are prepare…
About litigationReal Estate
What does a real estate attorney actually do in New York?
In New York, an attorney handles the contract and the closing on both sides of a residential or commercial transaction — this is not a state where you can skip it. The wo…
About real estateLandlord & Tenant
What are my rights here?
Landlord-tenant proceedings in New York move on strict timelines and the paperwork is unforgiving — a defective notice can end a case before the merits are ever reached. …
About landlord-tenantForeclosure Defense
Is it too late to do anything?
Almost never as late as it feels. New York foreclosures are judicial and slow, with mandatory settlement conferences built into the process, and there are usually more op…
About foreclosureProperty Tax Grievance
Is my assessment actually too high?
Often, and on Long Island the filing window is narrow and unforgiving — miss it and you wait a year. A grievance argues that your assessed value is higher than your prope…
About tax grievanceEmployment Law
Should I sign what my employer put in front of me?
Not before someone has read it. A severance agreement is a contract that trades money for the permanent surrender of every claim you might have, and it is presented at th…
About employmentEstate Planning & Probate
What happens to what I own?
Whatever you decide, or whatever New York decides for you. Dying without a will hands the distribution of an estate to a statute that knows nothing about your family, and…
About estate planningConstruction Disputes & Mechanic’s Liens
The work is wrong, or the money never came. Now what?
Construction disputes are contract disputes with a deadline attached. New York gives an unpaid contractor or supplier a mechanic’s lien, but only within a fixed window af…
About constructionMunicipal, Zoning & Land Use
Can I actually do what I want with this property?
That is decided by a town code, a zoning board, and sometimes a hearing where neighbours get to speak. Long Island zoning is intensely local — what is routine in one town…
About zoningCriminal Defense, DWI & Traffic
I have been charged. What happens now?
The first thing worth knowing is what you are actually charged with, because people routinely misjudge it in both directions. A DWI is not a traffic ticket — it is a crim…
About criminal defenseTalk it through with Mitch
Bring the situation, not a diagnosis. A short conversation usually makes the next step obvious.