One local firm for the moments that matter most

Where one problem becomes three

People arrive asking about one thing and turn out to have several, which is a large part of the argument for a general practice. A few we see constantly:

• A crash produces both a ticket and a claim. How the ticket is resolved can affect the injury case, so the two are worth handling together rather than paying the fine and dealing with the rest later.
• A divorce that involves a house needs a closing. Transferring the deed and dealing with the mortgage are two different jobs, and the second is the one people forget — why that matters.
• An injury at work is usually two claims. Workers compensation against your employer, and a claim against whoever actually caused it, running at the same time.
• A driving charge is a court matter and a DMV matter. The DMV applies its own consequences on top of whatever the court does, and they are not the same process.

What we do not take

Worth saying plainly, because being told early is more useful than being told after a retainer:

• Contested custody. The firm is not handling child custody cases at present. Uncontested divorce, where the arrangements are already agreed between you, is different and we do handle it.
• Contested matrimonial litigation more generally. If the finances or the children are genuinely in dispute, that case needs somebody taking it on that footing from the start.
• Anything where we are not the right firm. This is not a formal list so much as a habit. If a matter needs somebody else, we would rather tell you in the first ten minutes.

Every county bar association runs a lawyer referral service, and the court system publishes CourtHelp for people without a lawyer. We will point you at both if that is what you need.

Where we work

Two offices — Cicero, about ten miles north of downtown Syracuse, and Cortland on Route 281. Between them they cover Onondaga County and Cortland County and the towns in between.

Which office you use is a question of which drive is shorter, not which case you have — both handle the same work. And a good deal of it never requires a visit: a ticket can be dealt with from a photograph, and an uncontested divorce is decided on the papers with neither spouse appearing.

Questions before you call

Do you handle contested divorce or child custody?

Not at the moment. We handle uncontested divorce, where the two of you have already settled the arrangements between you. If custody or the finances are genuinely in dispute, that is a different kind of case and we would tell you so on the first call rather than after a retainer.

What does a free consultation actually involve?

A conversation about what happened, what you are facing, and what the realistic options are. No obligation afterwards. If it turns out you do not need a lawyer, or that we are the wrong firm for it, we will say so. That outcome is common enough to be worth mentioning.

I am not sure which area my problem falls under.

That is normal, and quite often a single situation touches several. A car accident can produce an injury claim, a traffic ticket and an insurance dispute all at once. Describe what happened and we will work out which parts matter, at no charge.

Do you charge by the hour?

It depends on the work. Injury cases are generally handled on a contingency basis, meaning a fee only out of a recovery. Traffic, divorce and closings are usually quoted differently. New York requires the arrangement in writing before work begins, so ask on the first call.

Can you handle a case outside Onondaga and Cortland counties?

Sometimes, depending on the matter and the court. Our two offices and our working knowledge sit in Central New York, and that local familiarity is a large part of what we bring. If a case belongs somewhere else, we will be straightforward about it.

How quickly do I need to act?

Sooner than most people think. Traffic tickets carry a response date, injury claims have deadlines that drop to ninety days where a municipality is involved, and evidence decays regardless of any deadline. An early conversation costs nothing and preserves options.

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