Dana Walsh Sivak, Esq.

Professional Experience

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.