Personal Injury

I help accident and injury victims who have been hurt seriously and need to recover money damages from the person or firm that injured them. Over my decades of legal practice and helping clients, I have remained of the strong belief that success in the practice of law on behalf of my clients requires my deep, sincere and continuing desire to help people who have been wrongly injured. I always try hard to treat my clients with the respect they deserve and to explain the various aspects of their case to them in detail. So they can better understand their matter, and to make my clients feel secure and comfortable whether in my office or in the courthouse.

Estate Planning

I help individuals with their estate planning and elder law strategies. I am interested in helping my clients to meet their individual and family estate planning, their elder law goals and objectives including the preparation of essential documents such as wills, trust, powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills. I always try hard to treat my clients with the respect they deserve and to explain the various aspects of their matter to them in detail so that they can better understand. I want to make my clients feel secure and comfortable at all times when they are in my office.

NY, Jun 1971
Bar Number: 1495969

Accredited Estate Planner (National Association of Estate Planning Councils)

• United States Supreme court: New York: all New York State Courts and Federal Courts
• New Jersey: all New Jersey State Courts and Federal Courts in New Jersey

• American Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• Rockland County Bar Association
• National Association of School District Attorneys
• New York State Association of School District Attorneys
• Estate Planning Council of Greater New Jersey
• Certified Financial Planner

I attend continuing legal education programs on a regular basis and with great enthusiasm as sponsored by the Rockland County New York Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. I also attend programs sponsored by other providers. I recently completed a program of two full days in "Advanced Estate Planning" in May 2011 and I attended a full day program on elder law issues in February 2011.

I wrote an article called, "A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity", for the New York State Bar Association Journal, February 1998. I wrote on a historical mistaken identity case which was described by Professor John Wigmore, one of the great evidence professors, as, "the most astounding case of mistaken identity in the annals of legal history". The facts and event of the case occurred in the lower Hudson Valley in Rockland County, New York and the case was tried before a jury in Manhattan.

I also regularly write letters and comments addressed to legal and political issues. My letters and comments have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Rockland County Journal News and its website, and the Our Town newspaper.

My comments have also appeared in such varied media as C-SPAN, Ann Landers, Washingtonhotwire.com, avvo.com, and justia.com.

Azoy v. Fowler, New York Appeals Court, 57 A.D. 2d 541 (Appellate Division, 2nd Dept.)

On this appeal, I won on my client's behalf and obtained the right to a full jury trial. The court ruled in this published decision that my client could sue the executor of her father's estate for fraud and wrongdoing. On the basis of my client's discovery, after many decades, that fraud and misappropriation of assets had allegedly been carried out and covered up. The court ruled that a person who is the subject of such wrongdoing has two years from date of discovery (not from date of occurrence) to bring such a suit. This is a leading case on this point of law.

Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Town of New Hyde Park, New York Federal Court of Appeals, 47 F.3d 473

On this appeal and in this matter, I was serving as co-lead defense counsel for all municipalities in the State of New York that had railroads owned by Conrail, CSX Railroad, or Norfolk Southern Railroad located within their boundaries. The railroads were seeking to reduce their real property by sing in the local governments in Federal Court in New York under Federal law. This complex matter continued for over eight years as a defendant class action, which is to some extent a very unique matter. All of the attorneys in this matter were highly capable and qualified; the lawyering was excellent.

The case involved such complicated factors as the status at the time of the United States economy, the financial condition of the railroad industry in general, the financial strength and viability of the individual freight railroad companies such as CSXs- which railroads are much stronger than one would first believe due to technological advances? I am proud to have been a leading part of this case as a defense attorney. The case involved hundreds of millions of tax dollars. We eventually settled the cases involved to the full satisfaction of our clients.


(Decisions available at scholar.Google.com)

2

New York and New Jersey

O'Connell & Riley was established in 1978 in Pearl River, New York in the lower Hudson Valley and in Montvale, New Jersey. We are proud of the tradition we have now established over many years of helping individuals with their legal needs and problems. Over the years we have worked diligently to help our clients who are victims of the negligence of the wrongful acts of others.

My law firm was established with my law partner, Thomas F. O'Connell, Esq., to help people and to serve the legal needs of individuals in the geographic areas of Pearl River, Rockland County, New York, in the lower Hudson Valley of New York and in the geographic area of Montvale, Bergen County, New Jersey. We work extensively to help clients in the legal fields of accident and personal injury law for individual victims who have been hurt by the negligent or wrongful acts of other individuals, governmental agencies, or private firms. We also work extensively to help clients in the legal fields of estate planning and elder law, including preparation of essential documents such as trust on their behalf and with Medicaid and business continuation planning. Our firm is committed to providing needed assistance on a personalized basis to our clients in each of these very important areas.

I have served as an Assistant District Attorney in the County of Rockland (1974-1976).

I have served as an Adjunct Professor, College and graduate school level, at both Pace University and Long Island University for the past two decades.

• "SuperLawyer"--Thomson Reuters Metro-New York Attorney Rating Publication
• Martindale-Hubbell attorney peer rating program: "AV"--"Very High to Pre-Eminent"
• Lawyers.com attorney peer rating program: "AV"--"Very High to Pre-Eminent"
• Avvo.com attorney peer rating website: rating "10.0"--"Superb"
• Who's Who In American Law: Pro Bono Publico Award ("attorney acting for the public good")
• Rockland County Bar Association: "Citizen of the Year"- ("for public service") Our Town Newspaper, Orangetown, New York, 1998

Chief Paralegal, Angela Vignola

(845) 620-0722

Monday through Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Otherwise, by appointment as scheduling permits.

No

Spanish: other language translators are available on a scheduled basis.

New Jersey Office
210 Summit Avenue
Suite A11
Montvale, NJ 07645

Retainers and legal fees are always established by agreements with client.

$300, but matters are often taken on fixed or agreed fee basis.

Or percentage fees in contingency matters, such as accident and injury cases, whenever possible.

There is no fee for any initial consultation in all accident and injury cases.

In estate planning matters, I recommend what work should be carried out and quote a fee in advance for that work at the initial free consultation.

In elder law matters, I charge for the initial consultation because legal advice is given at the very first consultation.

I have a written agreement which must be acceptable and agreed to by the client before billable or contingency work commences. The client must feel comfortable with my proposed fee structure before I proceed. I never pressure a client to sign a retainer.