August 2019
The MLO Minute
As our firm celebrates our new name of McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse, Ryan, and Marone, we are spotlighting our named partners and celebrating their numerous achievements. These individuals are highly accomplished in our profession and are deeply valued in our firm as a result of their long and successful tenure in our legal family. Previously known as “McAndrews Law Offices, P. C.,” the firm is nationally recognized in the fields of special education, special needs planning, estate planning, and elder law. The firm has become one of the largest law firms in suburban Philadelphia, and also maintains offices in Scranton, Wyomissing, Wilmington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Alexandria (Virginia), and Georgetown (Delaware).
As stated by Dennis McAndrews, the Founder and Managing Partner of our firm, “Lesley Mehalick provides our firm and our clients with a unique blend of skill, insight, compassion, and dedication. In addition to having practiced for many years in the field of Estate Planning, Lesley earned a Master of Tax Law with an additional Certificate of Estate Planning from Villanova University and maintains bar memberships in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. During her time at Villanova, Lesley initially began working with our firm on a part-time basis, but quickly established herself as an indispensable member of our team, and quickly rose to the position of Supervising Partner for Estates and Trusts. In addition to providing general oversight to her Department, Lesley maintains a substantial caseload, and testimonials by her clients are uniformly outstanding and reflect her devotion to the needs of those we serve. Lesley is an exceptional attorney who represents the highest standards and traditions of our profession.”
Our firm’s CEO, Katie Ryan, states that “Working with Lesley is both a pleasure and a privilege. Every day we experience her professionalism and deep concern for the needs of our clients. She is a wonderful mentor to every attorney in her Department, and we constantly observe the careful collaboration she provides with every attorney to ensure that we maintain high standards of excellence in our work. Everyone who comes in contact with Lesley—whether it is a client, fellow attorney, Judge, and everyone else—comes away from any interaction with her deeply impressed by her character and competence.”
Lesley’s practice includes Estate Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Guardianship, Post – Litigation Planning, Personal Injury Settlement Planning, Trust Administration Counseling, Waiver Program Counseling, Medicaid/Social Security Compliance, Estate Administration, Elder Law Planning, and Orphans Court matters. She has extensive experience in post-litigation planning and utilizing various techniques and trusts designed to meet the specific needs of the plaintiff, which may include maintaining eligibility for public benefits or making a plan to protect the monies. Lesley regularly assists families in navigating through special needs planning, whether a young child, adult or elder family member is involved. These efforts include qualifying clients for public benefits when they receive a lawsuit recovery, preparing special needs trusts, bringing guardianship proceedings, and carefully crafting an estate plan that maintains a disabled family member’s eligibility for essential public benefits.
Dennis McAndrews, states that, “Anthony Marone has established himself as one of the most outstanding elder law and estate planning attorneys in Pennsylvania, and even nationally. Since joining our firm after a long career with the Commonwealth where Anthony reviewed thousands of trusts and addressed a wide variety of issues related to public benefits and protection of elderly and vulnerable citizens, he has handled every type of elder law, special needs, and estate planning matter with a high level of skill, efficiency, and personal concern for our clients. We are greatly privileged to have Anthony as part of our legal family and to call him our friend and colleague.”
Our firm’s CEO, Katie Ryan, states that “One need only look at the testimonials on our website from clients to recognize the value which Anthony provides to the clients we serve. He has a great capacity to understand the needs of our clients and to address their needs with compassion and skill. All of us at the firm, as well as every client we serve, benefit from Anthony’s experience, wisdom, and even temperament.”
Lesley Mehalick, the Supervising Partner of Estates and Trusts, says that “Anthony is a highly valued colleague and one with whom I consult frequently where unusual or extraordinary elder law or special needs issues arise. Our clients, our staff, and our fellow attorneys all have deep respect and affection for Anthony.”
Anthony has extensive experience representing elderly and disabled individuals in a variety of matters involving Medical Assistance benefits, wills and trusts, estate planning, decedents’ estates, guardianship, and Special Needs Trusts. He has pursued cases on behalf of his clients in a variety of forums including Orphans’ Court, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court, Federal Court, as well as administrative hearings. He successfully litigated matters involving Medicaid Qualifying Annuities, Medical Assistance eligibility, eligibility of aliens for public benefits, distributions from Special Needs Trusts, and guardianships of intellectually disabled and mentally ill individuals.
