Dana Walsh Sivak, Esq.

Professional Experience

Dana Walsh Sivak is a Partner at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, 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 and adults with disabilities. 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 innovative “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. 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 work in guardianship has earned her a reputation as both a skilled legal advocate and a respected leader in the legal community. Her experience, insight and expertise has led judges to frequently appoint Dana to serve in integral roles in complex and often contested guardianship proceedings before the Court. Dana’s ability to provide compassion and guidance to clients struggling through emotional and challenging circumstances has allowed her clients to feel supported and empowered to make sound, informed strategic decisions regarding these often volatile legal proceedings, helping them to overcome obstacles and secure positive and meaningful results through her legal interventions.

Through Dana’s involvement in the legal community, particularly her role as Co-Chair of the Elder Law, Social Services and Health Advocacy Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, Dana has translated this experience into the growth of the guardianship bar through her creation of a mentorship program, aiming to foster a more inclusive and diverse community of guardianship law practitioners, and helping to train and mentor less experienced attorneys so that they may better serve the needs of this vulnerable population.       

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. Described as a “pioneer of elder law” for her commitment to expanding access to alternative treatment options for seniors, Dana has long been an outspoken advocate for access to medical cannabis by seniors. She is a frequent lecturer on the medical benefits of cannabis in the elderly population, and counsels nursing homes, assisted living facilities and residential communities for seniors in implementing medical cannabis programs for their residents and establishing policies that maintain compliance with applicable state 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 “Leaders in Law” Award, “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 Beyond the Balance Sheet podcast, and has been featured as a speaker at numerous professional conferences and panels, continuing legal education seminars and programs, and community educational programs on topics including elder law best practices, estate planning, Medicaid and advocacy in preventing and addressing senior-targeted scams.

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.  In addition to her work with the Nassau County Bar Association’s Elder Law, Social Services and Health Advocacy Committee, Dana 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 Nassau County, the Alzheimer’s Association (Long Island Chapter), and the Nassau-Suffolk Law Services organization. Dana is a member of numerous organizations, including the New York State Bar Association and Women’s Bar Association, the National Aging in Place Council, Gerontology Professionals of New York, and NYSHFA/NYSCAL, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Levittown Chamber of Commerce.  Dana also serves on the Northwell Health NICU Family Advisory Council and supports the North Shore University Hospital Auxiliary, helping to raise funds to support to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as a measure of her gratitude for the care she and her family received when her daughter was born and cared for there when she was born 14 weeks prematurely in 2015.  Dana also actively supports METAVivor, a charity devoted to developing treatment options for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.