Russell N. Adler and Peter J. Strauss Join Drinker Biddle’s Private Client Group

Two of the nation’s leading trusts and estates lawyers, Russell N. Adler and Peter J. Strauss, have joined Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP as part of the firm’s Private Client Group.  They will practice out of the firm’s New York City offices.

Adler and Strauss, both formerly with the law firm of Epstein Becker & Green, have decades of experience between them in assisting clients in the spheres of estate planning, estate administration, income tax planning and elder law.  In fact, their department at Epstein Becker was named the top elder law firm in the United States this year by US News and World Report.  Adler joins Drinker Biddle as a partner; Strauss will be Of Counsel to the firm.  Both add long and substantive experience to an already strong trust and estates practice while bringing focus to the legal problems of seniors and people with disabilities.

“Russell and Peter bring a wealth of experience to Drinker Biddle and our Private Client Group,” said Lisa S. Presser, Chair of the Private Client Practice Group.  “We are delighted to have them join our thriving New York office.”

“Russell and Peter’s reputations precede them and we are thrilled to have them join us in New York,” said Alfred W. Putnam Jr., Chairman of the firm.  “Their learning and wisdom in estate planning and elder law will be of tremendous value to our clients in need of those services.”

 Mr. Adler was the Chairman of Epstein Becker & Green’s Personal Planning Group.  He is a frequent and noted lecturer on topics such as elder law, planning for persons with disabilities, estate planning and estate administration for numerous organizations such as the New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the Estate Planning Council of New York City and New York Law School.  Adler is the immediate past chair of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Legal Problems of the Aging Committee and has also just completed a term on the Association’s prestigious Trusts, Estates and Surrogates Court Committee. He also served on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section and is a member of the Planned Giving Committee of Yeshiva University.  His articles on estate planning and elder law topics have been published in the New York Law Journal and Trusts and Estates.

Mr. Strauss frequently speaks on topics of elder law and estate planning. He is a prolific author and has written articles for numerous professional journals including the New York Law Journal. Strauss is a coauthor of “Aging and the Law,” a treatise for professionals, and the consumer-oriented book, The Complete Retirement Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Safeguard Your Money, Your Health and Your Independence.  He is a founding member and fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorney, a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and serves as Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law at New York law school where he teaches Elder Law & Aging in America and is director of the Guardianship and Wills Clinics.

Adler earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his B.A. from Yeshiva University.  He is also a past recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for property law.

Strauss earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his A.B. from Bowdoin College.  He was named Best Lawyers’ “New York City Elder Law Lawyer of the Year” in 2012.