January 2, 2019: Longest Serving Member of State Assembly Among Those Honored by State Bar for Commitment to Elderly and Persons with Disabilities

January 2, 2019: Longest Serving Member of State Assembly Among Those Honored by State Bar for Commitment to Elderly and Persons with Disabilities

1.2.2019

By Communications Department

The Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) will honor 20-term New York State Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried with the Elder Law and Special Needs Section Award on January 15 during NYSBA’s Annual Meeting in New York City.

Gottfried has represented parts of Chelsea, the West Side and midtown Manhattan since 1970 in the State Assembly, where he is the longest serving member. He has chaired the Assembly Health Committee since 1987, and has been the author of numerous pieces of legislation seeking to provide legal services for the disabled and elderly.

Attorneys Frances M. Pantaleo, Esq of White Plains and Edward V. Wilcenski, Esq of Clifton Park will also be honored for their actions in furthering the rights of the elderly and persons with disabilities at the sections.

Pantaleo (Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, LLP) handles a broad range of matters emphasizing elder law, special needs planning, and guardian proceedings, as well as drafting and administration of special needs trusts. She is a former chair of the Elder Law and Section Needs Section and the co-chair of the Committee on the Elderly and Disables of the Trusts and Estates Section.

Wilcenski (Wilcenski & Pleat PLLC) practices in the areas of special needs estate planning and trust and estate administration, tradition estate planning and trust and estate administration, and elder law. He is a member of the Elder Law Section and past vice chair of the Medicaid Committee of the Elder Law Section as well as serving on the Elder Law Committee on Issues Affecting Persons Under a Disability.

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 their colleagues, and to learn from the experts in many areas of the law.

NYSBA’s 142nd Annual Meeting January 14-18 explores of current issues in the law with a presidential summit on January 16 that looks at the #MeToo movement, wrongful prosecutions and whistleblower laws. Speakers at other programs during the week includes former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara; New York State Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, who recently served as the state’s first female Attorney General; Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig; Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.; State Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried; and Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.

Contact: Brendan Kennedy
[email protected]
518-487-5541