Reviews

I had a consultation with Richard Shapiro in which he explained, nit why he thought, but why I was wrong about how I chose to leave my estate to my beneficiaries. Lawyers overall I’ve found as most of us have to be extremely dishonest greedy and not looking out for their client but their wallet. When with the years of trust, estate and probate experience, to the point that on occasions I wrote our errata’s to pending petitions, guided me as to what I know is best for my beneficiaries, Mr Shapiro disagreed however was unable to provide a valid argument as to why his thought on how I should distribute my estate was wrong and even made the ludacris assumption I should put monies for adults in their 40s 50s and 60s into a trust that would not be immediately distributed at the time of my death. My decision is to have my beneficiaries be saved from dealing with greedy corrupt lawyers, power crazed trustees and executors and very wisely instead leave monies to beneficiaries of accounts which they would then immediately without lawyers or other corrupt interference , get their money. Okay, so Mr Shapiro said you’re not protected legally then and a wife could then somehow get that money . Instead his brilliant idea appears to be to treat adults like under age children and have them subject to trustees , trustee fees and the power crazed people giving them money like an allowance. I’m apparently unable to make the decision it appears he thinks to allow my beneficiaries, all who are adults, to have use and enjoy the money I leave them without being subject in their 40s and 50s and 60s to being lorded over by a trustee..of course which gets a nice fee, plus a trust company also taking more money in fees. Be wise and find someone ..speak to several lawyers when planning your estate and remember your decisions will affect your beneficiaries. They can be subject to years of litigation to even get their portion If the trustee fails their fiduciary duties and without spending months or years and endless amounts of lawyer fees. Theres nothing they can do about it. I think Richard was not concerned about me, my beneficiaries, what’s best for us and the money and assets but it seems to me in my humble opinion he’s more interested in making the estate pay the most possible , and continue making it pay year after years in a trust for successful adults, including 2 attorneys, one pediatric surgeon, as well as other mature adults, who do not need babysitters and to have to go to strangers to get their money in dribbles from a stranger. Honestly it’s so disheartening time after time to see how corrupt people are when money is involved. Do your research, leaving bank or brokerage accounts to beneficiaries is easiest quickest and the way to avoid any greedy or disturbed lawyers or executors or trustees to harm your loved ones.

I've worked with Susie Sohn for many years on various business, personal, and real estate legal matters. Susie and her team have always been excellent and are a true pleasure to work with!

I am happy to share my experience working with Susie Sohn, an exceptional attorney who has become my go-to recommendation for my clients over the past couple of years. From the moment I was referred to her by a colleague, it was clear that I had found a true professional in the field. Susie’s hard work and dedication are evident in every interaction. She approaches each case with an impressive level of experience and expertise, ensuring that my clients receive the best possible guidance. Her ability to communicate effectively and transparently sets her apart, making the legal process much smoother for everyone involved. Working with her is always a pleasure; her friendly demeanor and professionalism create a welcoming environment. I wholeheartedly recommend Susie Sohn to anyone in need of an attorney. Her commitment to her clients and her exceptional skills make her an invaluable asset in the industry. Thanks Susie!

Diana L. Caccioppoli-Puglisi, Esq. Of the law firm Blustein Shapiro Frank & Barone, LLP is a fantastic attorney. She was my closing attorney and Diana was amazing. Diana made the entire process of selling my home easy. Diana is one of the best attorneys I ever had and would not hesitate to use her again in the future.

This is hands down the most disreputable, unprofessional, shady law firm that I have ever encountered in my life. Over a month ago I contacted them about handling my moms estate who passed away a few years ago without a will. My brothers mishandled the estate and I was trying to get it taken care of with the help of a lawyer given the complicated nature of the case. So every other day for over a month, their law clerk, Zachary Crosby (who also recently received his law degree) was going back and forth with me working the case to try and see where we are at before we get started. He gave me a quote as to how much it would be for their firm to represent me to close the estate but was unsure of the cost of potential litigation. At one point he suggested I pay them a one time fee of 750 dollars so he could get enough information for me to determine if moving forward was in my best interest. The entire time he kept pushing me to start the case so they could move forward, so I outlined a plan and said I wanted to reach out to my brothers first. I did and then came back to him to set up an initial consult and start the case and he said ok let me get back to you by the end of the day. I did not hear back from him for over 3 days, so I reach out again and he again ignored me. A few days later he responded back only after I emailed him and said I would call the office and talk to someone else. He tells me we are set up for the consultation next week with Megan Conroy and then tells me the next day, woops there was a miscommunication and Megan said they cant represent me. He never actually talked to a real lawyer at the firm about representing me and when he did they were not interested and his initial response was to ignore me and hope I would go away. He wasted 5 weeks of my time, tried to con me out of 750 bucks, disrespected the memory of my mother and completely ruined my case because now my brothers know what I am doing and they are going to block my attempts. Not to mention the fact that this is a difficult and depressing situation to deal with and now I have to do it all over again. I do not put this solely on the law clerk, I put this on the entire firm and especially the senior members because if nothing else they hired this shady, incompetent, mediocre individual and they are responsible not only for the behavior of their employees but also the training of their employees. I have worked with dozens of lawyers over the years on a multitude of different issues and I have never encountered anything like this. Welcome to the United States of Mediocrity. This is what happens when you lower the standards of education over and over again for decades. I will be reporting the firm to the attorney disciplinary committee as all the correspondences were done via email and I have all the emails and they had no right to mislead me and misrepresent their position. More importantly though, I wanted to leave a review and let people know to stay away from this firm. How bad a firm is this? They messed up my plans and ruined my case and did not even get paid for it. If they cannot handle their business and look out for their own interests, how competent do you think they are that they are going to be able to look out for yours? They do not care about you or your family, they are just a bunch of low level manipulative con artists. Think about that and save yourself the aggravation and go somewhere else.

Excellent law firm. I have engaged their services. Prompt responses, sage advice, and experienced barristers.

One of the Best attorneys in the area ..specially Diana Puglisi.

Amazing attorneys work here.

Rich is an exceptional attorney and one of the few elder law experts in NYS. As his client after a tragic event in my life, he established, guided in the planning of, and has maintained my estate/trust for over a decade. Rich is pro-active, intuitive, and compassionate, and that combined with his expert knowledge of the law, makes him the gold-standard in this field of the law. I recommend him without hesitation.

Richard Shapiro was hired to provide estate planning for me. The process was very thorough and I received a comprehensive plan addressing all my needs. I was satisfied with Mr. Shapiro on a personal and professional level. I believe that all bases were covered and would recommend his service to anyone.

Mr. Shapiro is always professional and courtesy. At times that assistance is in order, he is willing and able to guide us through our dilemma. His availability is constant.