Reviews

There are not enough words to express my gratitude and appreciation for Jeanine. Aside from being knowledgeable, passionate, a complete professional and always working in her clients best interest, Jeanine guides her clients through what can be a very emotional process with care and dedication. Jeanine is always available to answer questions, provide insight and guidance, and give you the reassurance you need when you are feeling vulnerable and unsure. When my situation had an unexpected hurdle, Jeanine was my first phone call and she jumped right in to action to ensure the best for the baby, as well as myself. She took the time to check in throughout to ensure we were all doing ok, which meant so much to me and I knew the legal aspect of my situation was always taken care of. I highly recommend Jeanine to anyone exploring private adoption.

5 stars isn't even enough to describe the wonderful experience we had dealing with Jeanine. Jeanine is honest, caring and possesses a wealth of experience in adoption law. She is ethical, conscientious, and a consummate professional - three qualities that are essential to making the adoption experience a positive and successful one. Jeanine always makes herself available to her clients, whether it's to provide reassurance or advise on complex situations. The adoption of our second child involved a somewhat delicate situation. Jeanine handled it with patience, compassion and thoroughness, putting our minds at ease and ensuring all went smoothly. I can't recommend her highly enough. We are truly grateful to her.

We chose to work with Jeanine after having done a lot of research on different adoption attorneys in the area. Three years and a beautiful daughter later, we're still very happy with our choice. Our adoption situation came together at the last minute. Our daughter was born late on a Sunday night, and Jeanine's availability, expertise, and ability to respond quickly were instrumental in our happy outcome. Not only were we able to reach Jeanine at 10 p.m. on a Sunday for guidance, but by mid-morning Monday she had spoken to the hospital social worker, gotten key health information from the birth mother, and helped us retain an attorney in the birth mom's state to go to the hospital and go over the adoption paperwork with her so an adoption plan could move forward. Less than 24 hours after she was born, we had our little girl in her arms. Knowing that we had an older child back home in New York waiting to meet his baby sister, Jeanine did everything that she could to get us through ICPC in as short a time as possible. And when our girl was just four days old, we had clearance to bring her home! Jeanine's responsiveness was not a surprise to us, because we heard from countless friends in our adoption group how she was similarly a "rock star" in their adoption story. She was also remarkably accessible to us to answer questions throughout our adoption search. We were so spoiled by her tendency to answer emails within minutes, that if it took her an hour or two to respond, it felt like a long time. Private adoption can be a stressful process, and it was a relief to know that we had a knowledgeable and caring professional to guide us throughout!

The road to adoption is full of hope, but can be daunting. Having a lawyer with compassion, patience, and the experience to get things done is so important. Jeanine Castagna is that lawyer. In times of confusion, she helped keep us focused - and through the emotional rollercoasters, she kept us steady. She is knowledgable, kind, funny, empathetic - a great resource for adoptive parents and expectant parents. Her efficiency and keen understanding of process and adoption law make her a reliable source of information as well as a wonderful lawyer. I’m happy to have worked with her and hope to do so again!

Having decided that adoption was meant to be our road to parenthood, we quickly began researching the different options.  As anyone can tell you that has been through this process, you immediately become overwhelmed and unsure what the future holds.  After much contemplation my husband and I decided independent private adoption felt right for us.  We wanted to take a hands on approach to building our family.  With much reluctance and anxiety we took the first step.  We met Jeanine at a workshop and instantly realized we had just met the person that would support us legally.  She was clearly bright, knowledgeable, caring and interested in helping us grow our family.  Over the next handful of years Jeanine became an invaluable part of "Team Family".  She kept us clear headed and focused on our goal of becoming Mom and Dad during the most difficult times of our journey.  She effortlessly navigated through the endless procedures and piles of paperwork while handling any legal obstacles that came our way.  We now have completed our family and our boys are a beautiful blessing from above.  Quite honestly I hold Jeanine in the highest regard as a professional and a person.  She will always be a part of our journey...always be part of our family.

My husband and I consulted with another attorney in Manhattan, and then shortly after moved to Long Island. We got a referral to call Jeanine and am so happy we did. When I spoke to Jeanine the first time and explained who we had consulted with in the city Jeanine didn't waste our time or money having us have another consultation with her. That being said, within the 10 months it took us to adopt our twin girls, Jeanine never missed a beat. She answered every call, every email and although very professional, she was patient and kind and encouraging when things got tough. Jeanine was our rock in this journey and I' so glad we went with her. We truly could not have done it without her! Thank you Jeanine, your strength and wisdom is an inspiration!!

Working with Jeanine Castagna throughout our adoption experience was wonderful. Jeanine provided us with guidance and support as we needed, and her knowledge and expertise was incredibly helpful. Jeanine’s accessibility was an important component of her work, as we often needed information quickly during the adoption process. Jeanine was consistently able to provide kind and caring assistance, yet also manage all legal aspects of the adoption in a professional manner. Jeanine’s approach of direct, methodical communication made the process of working with her smooth, without surprises. This was quite comforting during what can be an emotional experience. Overall, we could not recommend Jeanine more highly and would be happy to converse with any prospective adoptive parents in detail about our experience.

When we began our adoption journey, my husband reached out to a few attorneys. He knew Jeanine was the right person for us immediately. She called him back very quickly. He felt confident in her knowledge. He felt comfortable. When he told me about her, I was so thrilled that she did initial appointments with people privately. I didn’t want a group introduction with the person who would be guiding us to find our child. Jeanine is everything he initially felt and more. She is warm, kind, clear, patient and honest. We felt so safe and taken care of during the ups and downs of the process. I felt so confident every step of the way that Jeanine’s expertise would guide us perfectly. Jeanine is available. It didn’t matter when we called or emailed, we got an almost immediate response. She helped us talk to expectant mothers. We knew that when it was time for an expectant mother to talk to her, they would feel comfortable. She helped us figure out which situations seemed viable and which seemed like red flags. When our daughter showed up unexpectedly, Jeanine was there every step of the way. We had one rocky week in our process, and Jeanine spoke with us multiple times every day. She helped our daughter’s birth mother get what she needed. And our girl came home. Jeanine feels like family to us. She deeply cares for parents and children, and knows her stuff. We recommend her to anyone who asks. We feel blessed to have her in our lives.

From my first meeting with Jeanine, I knew I had found the attorney who was going to work with me and for me in my adoption journey. From the beginning, Jeanine helped me to navigate through the paperwork and certification process and made herself available to answer any questions that I had. Jeanine's knowledge and expertise are two of the reasons that I had hired her but what I consider equally important is that Jeanine showed complete thoughtfulness and compassion when she spoke to my daughter's birthmother as she made her adoption plan. I am beyond thankful that I had Jeanine’s support through my ICPC wait time and her dedication to completing the finalization quickly. There is no one I would recommend more than Jeanine Castagna when selecting an adoption attorney.

We have know Jeanine for over five years. She helped us with both of our adoptions. Both were very different, but Jeanine was with us every step of the way! She is a fabulous lawyer who is not only professional, knowledgeable, but really gets to know you, cares about you and supports you. She always made time for you no matter how big or small the question was. We have recommended our friends to use her and will continue to do so. We absolutely adore her!!