Our Practice Areas

The Law Offices of Albert Goodwin is a New York City law firm with a practice focused on estates, real estate, civil litigation, and a defined set of related areas where our experience produces meaningful value for clients. We have been representing individuals, families, and small businesses in the New York region for over fifteen years, with a particular concentration in high-stakes contested matters as well as planning work that prevents disputes from arising in the first place.

Our work is grounded in Surrogate's Court practice — wills, trusts, probate, administration, guardianships, accountings, and the disputes that grow up around all of those subjects. Estate law touches almost every other area of practice: real estate enters through the sale of inherited property and partition actions among co-owners; criminal defense enters through Medicaid fraud and food stamp fraud cases that often surface in benefit applications; civil litigation enters through breach of fiduciary duty claims and recovery of misappropriated assets; personal injury enters when an estate has a survivor's claim or when a guardian needs to authorize a settlement; disciplinary proceedings enter when a professional license is at risk because of an estate-related allegation. We have built our practice to handle the full network of issues that an estate client may encounter, so that families do not need to coordinate among multiple firms.

We work on flat-fee, hourly, and contingency arrangements depending on the type of case. Routine probate and administration matters are handled on a flat fee. Estate litigation, civil litigation, criminal defense, and disciplinary cases are generally billed hourly. Personal injury and certain other matters can be handled on contingency. The fee structure is discussed and agreed in writing before the engagement begins, and we are transparent about cost throughout.

Browse the categories below or use the quick links to jump to a specific area. If you are not sure which category fits your situation, call us and we will help you place it. Most consultations are free, and we will tell you directly whether your case is one we can help with and what the realistic outcomes look like.

How We Approach New Matters

The first conversation with a new client follows a consistent pattern. We listen to the facts, ask questions to fill in the picture, and tell you what we think the likely path forward is. If we cannot help — because the case is outside our practice areas, because we have a conflict, or because we do not believe the case has merit — we say so and refer you elsewhere when we can. If we can help, we explain the steps involved, the timeline to expect, the fees involved, and the realistic outcomes.

We do not believe in over-litigating cases or in inflating fees through unnecessary work. Many of the matters we handle resolve through settlement, often after a thorough investigation has shown both sides where the case is heading. We pursue trial when settlement is not possible or when settlement would not produce a fair result, and we have a track record of trial work across the practice areas listed here.

Geographic Reach

Our primary offices are in Manhattan, with additional offices in Brooklyn and Queens. We practice throughout New York City and the surrounding counties — Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange — and in the upstate counties when matters call for it. For certain matters we also practice in Florida, where Albert Goodwin is admitted and where we maintain a presence to handle the increasing volume of New York to Florida estate and real estate work.

Working with Our Firm

Clients have direct access to the attorneys working on their case. We respond to phone calls and emails promptly. We keep clients informed of significant developments and explain documents and decisions in plain English rather than legal jargon. Our objective is for clients to feel that they understand what is happening in their case at every stage and to feel confident that the work is moving forward.