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New lawyer in town brings ambitious goals

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The newest lawyer in town wants to revolutionize estate planning and restore the place of ethics in law as a whole, all while creating the world’s biggest practice.

Having finished undergraduate school in two years, become a lawyer at age 23 and mastered the intricacies of estate planning since then, Natalie Elisha might be able to pull her ambitious goals off.

“Most lawyers look at the hourly dollar as god and in my opinion, if I’m not saving my clients and helping them, what am I doing in this area?” said Ms. Elisha, who became a partner with well-known Riverdale lawyer Robert Rubinstein last month.

Mr. Rubinstein, who has practiced here for more than 40 years, said he made Ms. Elisha a partner due to her unique expertise in elderly law, estate planning, asset management, trusts and related areas.

The eponymous partners in Rubinstein & Elisha, PLLC said her gift lies in helping seniors arrange their finances so they are protected from creditors, high health-care costs and other slings and arrows of aging.

Ms. Elisha said for instance, she can help seniors put their assets into trust funds and have them ready for Medicare the next month.

“I believe that it’s important, especially for seniors, to be sure their assets are protected, to be sure they’re not going to be paying $15 to $20 thousand per month for long-term care, home health care, the nursing home,” she explained. “That’s where we intertwined our practices,” she said of Mr. Rubinstein.

He said while he used to be skeptical of trusts, he found Ms. Elisha could help clients avoid high costs in court and other fees through one-time investments in sound planning.

“I think a lot of law is procedural nonsense, especially in the courts,” Ms. Elisha said. “And it gets held up and court resources are small, which is why I think our practice is unbelievable. You don’t have to worry about going to court. You do it once, and you’re done.”

After blazing through Binghamton University and St. John’s University’s School of Law on scholarships, Ms. Elisha went on to work for a real estate development company and then a trust and estates firm.

Natalie Elisha, Bob Rubenstein, law, Shant Shahrigian
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