January 23, 2020: NYSBA Honors Long Island Attorney with Lifetime Achievement Award

The Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) will present its Lifetime Achievement Award to Ellen Makofsky, principal, Makofsky & Associates, of Garden City, on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the 2020 NYSBA Annual Meeting.

“We are both honored and proud to be able to present Ellen with the Elder Law and Special Needs Section lifetime achievement award,” said Section Chair Tara Anne Pleat. “She is an amazing person and mentor. Ellen always steps up when the voice of wisdom is needed, and she is someone that women in the bar association can look up to and emulate.”

Makofsky has focused her practice on elder law since 1991, when elder law was first becoming a distinct practice. She has served as president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys New York and the Estate Planning Council of Nassau County. She is a former chair of the Elder Law and Special Needs Section and the Committee on Women in the Law, served three terms as NYSBA’s secretary and was a member of the House of Delegates for more than a decade. Her law firm is woman-owned, with an all-female staff.

“Ellen is admired for her excellence in serving her elderly and disabled clients and their caregivers while continuing to advance the practice of elder law,” said former Section Chair Judith Grimaldi. “Her special focus has been to champion the leadership of women in the profession and I thank her for being a role model and mentor to me and many women attorneys in the NYSBA.”

Honoring attorneys who render extraordinary service to the public and the profession is part of NYSBA’s Annual Meeting, which each January attracts thousands of lawyers from around the state, the nation and the world. They come to meet and connect with colleagues and to learn from experts in many areas of law.

A wide range of programs at NYSBA’s 143rd Annual Meeting Jan. 27-31 will explore current issues in law and legal practice. The Presidential Summit on Wednesday, Jan. 29, will look at White Nationalism and Domestic Terrorism in America.

At Thursday evening’s sold-out Gala Dinner, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan will receive the Gold Medal, NYSBA’s highest honor, and participate in a fireside-style chat with Prof. John Barrett of St. John’s University School of Law.

Other featured speakers at the Annual Meeting include New York State Attorney General Letitia James, the first African American and the first woman elected to that office; Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals; and Craig Boise, dean of Syracuse University College of Law.

For more information on NYSBA’s Annual Meeting, click here.

About the New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law, educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.

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Contact: Joan Fucillo 
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518-487-5670