FRB - Key Persons
FRB invites you to explore how our professionals can meet your needs across our fully integrated areas of concentration. FRB's interdisciplinary approach allows the firm to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients that could only be secured through proficiency in complementary areas of law.
Alexander Ripps represents clients in transactional matters in the areas of business and estate planning. Mr. Ripps focuses on developing long-term relationships with clients by providing a personal touch and using his experience gained working across several diverse sectors.
Prior to joining Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, Mr. Ripps was a partner at one of California's premier trust & estate firms where he focused on both estate planning and estate litigation.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Ripps spent several years in Washington, DC as a legal analyst and journalist covering the tax, gambling, financial, sports, and agriculture sectors.
Mr. Ripps is actively engaged in the community. He is a graduate of the Jewish Federation's Community Leadership Institute, has served on the prestigious Brawerman Fellowship committee, and is the past President of the Southern California Gators Club.
More than anything, Mr. Ripps enjoys spending time with his wife and two children.
Education
The Catholic University Columbus School of Law - Juris Doctor
The Law and Technology Institute - Certificate Recipient
University of Florida, B.A. and B.S. - Political Science; Telecommunications-Production
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Coordinator
Bruce has broad experience in all aspects of real estate law with a concentration on the acquisition, sale, financing and leasing of commercial properties. He is also a seasoned advisor for buyers, sellers and developers in the residential market both within New York City and in Westchester and Nassau Counties, for properties ranging from single-family residences to co-ops and condos to subdivisions.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Elevated to Partner and Co - Chair of FRB 's Elder Law Practice Group
- Partner at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP
- Vice - Chair of the Nassau County Bar Association 's Elder Law
Dana Walsh Sivak is a Partner at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP, and serves as Chair of the firm's Elder Law Practice Group.
Dana is a dedicated and compassionate advocate who has devoted much of her legal career to addressing legal issues involving the elderly. She works closely with her clients and their families to craft individualized long-term care plans which include high-level Medicaid planning techniques that aim to preserve their assets while prioritizing their continuous access to excellent care.
Dana's significant experience representing both individual clients and corporate health care facility clients on complex legal issues has allowed her to develop a unique perspective on issues facing seniors. Her areas of expertise include Article 81 guardianship proceedings, complex Medicaid eligibility issues, nursing home litigation, and advocacy for quality-of-life initiatives for seniors. Known for her "outside-the-box" thinking, Dana draws on her extensive experience to devise creative solutions to issues her clients and their families are facing, including in contested guardianship proceedings and Medicaid "crisis planning" scenarios.
Described as a "pioneer of elder law" for her commitment to expanding access to alternative treatment options for seniors through the New York State medical cannabis program, Dana has long been an outspoken advocate for access to medical cannabis by seniors. She frequently lectures at health care facilities and regional conferences about the medical benefits of cannabis in the elderly population, advocating for increased access to medical cannabis for all seniors, regardless of their socioeconomic status. She helped spearhead the first regional conference about medical cannabis in the elderly population, "Cannabis & Aging: The Business, Politics, Law & Science of Cannabis" in December 2019. Since joining Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, Dana has been an integral member of the firm's Cannabis & Psychedelics Practice Group, assisting residential health care facilities in implementing medical cannabis programs for their residents, and counseling them on how to maintain compliance with the state's medical cannabis laws.
An accomplished author, Dana's work has been published in a number of prestigious legal publications, including the New York Law Journal, the New York State Bar Association Elder Law & Special Needs Journal, the Nassau Lawyer, and the Suffolk Lawyer. Dana has received numerous honors, including the Long Island Business News "Forty Under 40" Award, Super Lawyers "Rising Star" designation, "Who's Who in Healthcare Law," "Ones to Watch: Law", and the St. Vincent DePaul Legal Program Award.
Dana has been profiled in "Of Counsel" and the O'Connor Professional Group "Beyond the Balance Sheet" podcast, and has been featured as a speaker at numerous professional conferences and panels. In addition to her many speaking engagements, Dana was honored to be invited as a panelist at the St. John's University School of Law Leadership in Law Panel event hosted by the Women's Law Society to share her experience as a female leader in law at her alma mater. Dana was selected as an inaugural member of the St. John's University School of Law Alumnae Leadership Council and participated in its prestigious Mentoring Circles program for female alumnae in the first cohort of the senior attorney level circle.
Dana currently serves as a Vice-Chair of the Nassau County Bar Association's Elder Law, Social Services and Health Advocacy Committee, where she created and instituted a successful new legal mentorship program to help fellow attorneys enhance their legal skills and support one another in fostering a more inclusive community among elder law practitioners. She is an integral participant in the firm's charitable and community initiatives, actively supporting the firm's efforts on behalf of Girls Inc. of Long Island, Girl Scouts of Suffolk County, the Alzheimer's Association (Long Island Chapter), and the Nassau-Suffolk Law Services organization. Dana is a member of numerous organizations, including the National Aging in Place Council, Gerontology Professionals of New York, the Levittown Chamber of Commerce, and represents the firm as an Associate Member of NYSHFA/NYSCAL.
Dana resides on Long Island with her husband and two daughters, one of whom was born 14 weeks prematurely and serves as the inspiration for her family's charitable efforts supporting the March of Dimes and the North Shore University Hospital Auxiliary, for which Dana served as keynote speaker at the Auxiliary Luncheon and Fashion Show Fundraiser at Neiman Marcus raising funds to renovate the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at North Shore University Hospital. She also serves on the hospital's NICU Family Advisory Council to support families whose children are being cared for in the NICU at North Shore University Hospital. She is also an active supporter of METAVivor, a charitable organization devoted to raising funds to develop treatment options for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.
Education
St. John's University School of Law, Juris Doctor
St. John's University, Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude
Doug Singer focuses his practice in the areas of corporate law, estate planning and social enterprise law. On the corporate side, he works with privately held businesses and their owners, and has worked extensively with women and minority business owners. His work includes matters ranging from setting up entities to negotiating and drafting contracts to the purchase and sale of companies. Clients particularly value Mr. Singer's ongoing legal advice in the context of business and strategic considerations. His relationship-based approach enables him to understand the history, direction and goals of his clients.
In estate planning, the hallmark of Mr. Singer's approach is effective communication - active and careful listening, and explaining complex concepts in plain English, not legalese.
In his social enterprise practice, Mr. Singer works with companies that are as much about making a difference in the world as making money - in other words, companies pursuing significant initiatives designed to have social or environmental impact. He creates and works with benefit corporations and benefit limited liability companies, works with clients seeking to become Certified B Corporations, and advises clients regarding matters designed to further their mission and impact. Mr. Singer is a frequent author and speaker on the topic of social enterprise, social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility.
Prior to joining Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, Mr. Singer worked with Hollis Laidlaw & Simon, Webster & Sheffield and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York City. Thereafter, he was a co-founder and principal of Falcon & Singer P.C. and later the founder and Managing Member of Singer Law PLLC.
Mr. Singer has an AVⓇ Peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Education
Columbia Law School, Stone Scholar- Juris Doctorate
Hamilton College - B.A.
Elizabeth is an associate attorney in FRB's Private Client Practice Group. Her legal practice focuses on estate and succession planning, though her work often overlaps with FRB's Taxation Group in the context of structuring and administering trusts and estates.
Elizabeth is an avid animal lover, and in her spare time, she pursues her own creative endeavors, like drawing, sewing, and soapmaking.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Partner
- Adjunct Professor at the Maurice Deane School of Law
- Member of the Corporate
- Partner & General Counsel Long Island
Jim is a member of the Corporate and Securities Group. He has over 35 years of experience in corporate and government compliance, government contracts, trade regulation, and information technology. He has been in-house counsel for most of his career, including Northrop Grumman's Data and Information Division, CA Technologies, where he served as Vice President, Senior Counsel, and Associate Chief Compliance Officer, and at Overseas Military Sales Group where he was General Counsel and Chief Compliance. Immediately prior to joining FRB, Jim was a partner at Silverman Acampora, where he led their Government Contracts and Compliance Group.
A frequent lecturer on corporate and government compliance issues, Jim is an adjunct professor at the Maurice Deane School of Law where he teaches Corporate Compliance and Ethics and has served as a visiting professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he taught courses in Government Contracts. He is a member of the American, New York and Nassau County Bar Associations. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Attorney Professionalism and the Nassau County Bar Association Ethics Committee. Jim is a member the Catholic Lawyer's Guild and a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Jim is Vice President for North America and a United Nations Delegate of the World Jurist Association and a member of the Board of Directors of the World Law Foundation, as well as member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Import Export Association.
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer
Job Titles:
- Paralegal & Office Manager
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Managing Partner of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP
Kenneth J. Falcon serves as the Managing Partner of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP (FRB), a rapidly growing law firm based out of Long Island, New York. Ken's dedication to client success and his ability to identify innovative solutions have been instrumental in transforming FRB into a cutting-edge law firm spanning both coasts.
Job Titles:
- Accounts Receivable
- Manager
Ms. Bliss is a respected leader in the elder law field, regularly giving presentations to attorneys and the community on long-term care planning, as well as attending events held by the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association to keep current on policy changes. She mentors attorneys who are new to the trusts and estates practice.