Vincent J. Russo

VINCENT J. RUSSO, Managing Shareholder of Russo Law Group, P.C., Long Island’s Signature Elder Law, Special Needs and Estate Planning Law Firm with offices in Garden City, Islandia, Lido Beach and Manhattan, New York has championed the rights of seniors and people with special needs since 1985.Vincent is a Founding Member, Fellow and Fifth President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and is a Founding Member and First President of the New York Chapter of NAELA. He is the only NAELA member to receive the prestigious President’s Award twice. He is also a member of the invitation only, NAELA Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP). He is a Founding and current Chair of the NAELA Foundation (NELF) and the current Chair of the NELF Programs Committee. Vincent is a Founding Member and Past Chair of the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) and Co-Founder and Past Chair of the Board of ElderCounsel, LLC.Vincent is also a Member of the NYSBA Advocacy Committee on the Medicaid Budget. He is a Co-Founder of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP), Past Board Member and current President of the Guardianship Corporation of Nassau Cerebral Palsy Association and a Co-Founder of Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation for children with special needs.

Vincent is the Founding Chair and current member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center and a former Board Member of the Arthritis Foundation Long Island Chapter and Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County.

His professional achievements include an invitation to join the WHITE HOUSE 2005 Conference on Aging as an at-large delegate. This invitation followed two other major events in Washington, D.C. as a representative of NAELA: (1) Testimony before the UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGING on the proposed, detrimental changes in the Medicaid Program and (2) Featured Speaker at the Policy Forum of the CATO INSTITUTE on the subject of “Medicaid and the Long Term Care Crisis.”

Joining a special group of New York attorneys, Mr. Russo is Co-Chair of the New York State COMPACT Working Group, introducing new and innovative long term care program which is being considered by the New York State Legislative.

As a national advocate for people with disabilities, seniors and their families, Mr. Russo has appeared on the NBC’s TODAY SHOW, WNBC NEWS, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, CNN, NEW YORK TIME FORUM, CNBC, the FOX NEWS NETWORK, CSPAN II, WCBSRADIO, TELECARE, NEWS 12 LONG ISLAND, as well as numerous, other local radio and television programs. He created and co-hosts Family Comes First on cable TV, which won three Telly Awards, one for the “Alzheimer’s Impact on Family, The Henley Family Story”, one for “Military Moms” and another for “No Greater Love”.

His press interviews include The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, the Washington Post, and Newsday. His articles have been published in the New York State Bar Journal, The Elder Law Report, Nassau Lawyer, Trust and Estate, National Underwriter and the NAELA Quarterly. His 1993 cover story in Financial Planning – The Official Magazine of the International Association of Financial Planning – was well received by a whole new audience of professionals serving seniors. Since that lead article, Mr. Russo has written for a host of other professional organizations and has co-authored, New York Elder Law and Special Needs Practice and two consumer books on Estate Planning and Elder Law.

Mr. Russo is a nationally recognized speaker and noted authority on Elder Law, Special Needs and Estate Planning. His distinction in Elder Law, Special Needs and Estate Planning has made him one of the most prominent attorneys in his field.

Mr. Russo earned his law degree from Fordham University School of Law and his LLM in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. He is admitted to the New York, Massachusetts and Florida State Bars, and is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation.