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Pierro, Connor & Strauss Attorneys Honored by Best Lawyers®

Recognition for Estate & Trust Planning, Elder Law, Litigation and Tax Law

New York – Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC is proud to have six attorneys recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.

The awards were announced August 21 by Best Lawyers®, regarded since 1983 as the most credible measure of legal integrity and distinction in the United States. Best Lawyers® lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation for specific practice areas. Approximately 5% of lawyers in the United States are chosen, reflecting the selectivity and credibility of the results.

2026 Best Lawyers in America® – Capital Region, NY
Louis W. Pierro, Founding Partner is honored for the 19th year in four practice areas: Elder Law, Litigation- Trusts and Estates; Trusts and Estates and Tax Law.

Aaron E. Connor, Managing Partner, is honored in the practice areas of Elder Law, and Litigation -Trusts and Estates. It is Mr. Connor’s 2nd year of recognition by Best Lawyers®.

Arkley L. Mastro, Jr., Senior Counsel, is honored for the 2nd year for his practice in Trusts and Estates.

2026 Best Lawyers in America® – New York, NY
Peter J. Strauss, Senior Counsel, is honored for the 19th year in the practice areas of Elder Law, Litigation- Trusts and Estates; Trusts and Estates.

Anthony K. Khatchoui, Counsel, for Trusts and Estates, and Elder Law.

2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® -practicing fewer than 10 years
Patricia T. Whelan, Associate Attorney, is recognized for the first time by Best Lawyers® as Ones to Watch in America, 2026 Edition, in the fields of Elder Law, and Trusts and Estates. She practices in the Capital Region office.

“This honor reflects not only the commitment of our individual attorneys, but the strength of our entire team in helping families protect what matters most: their loved ones, their legacies, and their futures,” said Pierro.

“This recognition underscores our firm’s unwavering dedication to guiding families through life’s most important transitions with skill, compassion, and integrity,” said Connor.

In 2025, Pierro, Connor & Strauss was recognized for the third consecutive year by Best Lawyers® as National Tier I Law Firm for Elder Law in New York City and the Capital Region.

Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC provides trusted counsel to clients in locations that include Albany and the Capital Region, New York City, Garden City, Ronkonkoma, Hudson, and Lake Placid, and also serves clients in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida and Hawaii.

For more information or to view awards letters:
Beth Wurtmann
(866)951-PLAN
[email protected]

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Pierro, Connor & Strauss Attorneys Honored by “Best Lawyers”

Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC is proud to announce that three of its partners will be recognized in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and one attorney listed as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.™

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The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 and Ahlborn

Attorneys who practice in the area of personal injury litigation are familiar with the 2006 decision in Arkansas Department of Human Services v. Ahlborn which holds that under the Medicaid anti-lien statute a Medicaid agency is only entitled to recover a portion of a personal injury judgment or settlement that is “designated as payments for medical care”. Recently, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed that holding in the North Carolina case of WOS v. E.M.A by rejecting a North Carolina statute that provided for a statutory presumption that 1/3 of a tort recovery was the amount due under the state’s Medicaid subrogation claim because of the provisions of the anti-lien statute.

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