Lecturer Bio
Lainie R. Fastman, Esq.
Originally from The Netherlands, Lainie R. Fastman has been practicing law since 1981, with a focus on estate planning, will drafting, post-mortem tax planning, guardianship proceedings, elder law, probate contests, estate litigation, and the administration of wills and trusts. Ms. Fastman first joined Hall & Hall in 1986 as an associate and was made partner in 2003. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Fastman was a solo law practitioner in Staten Island and a court attorney for the Hon. Frederic S. Berman in the New York County Supreme Court.
She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts Courts of New York. She is a member of the Surrogate’s Court and Elder Law Committees of the Richmond County Bar Association and a member of the Trusts and Estates Section and Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Fastman has authored numerous articles on trusts, estate law, probate, contested matters in the Surrogate’s Court, elder law and related issues for the New York Law Journal, CPA Journal, Richmond County Bar Association Journal, and the Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, as well as the Elder Law Journal of the New York State Bar Association. She conducts Continuing Legal Education (CLE)-approved lectures on estate tax, elder law, wills, asset protection, trust, Medicaid Planning and related issues for the Richmond County Bar Association, the Staten Island Women’s Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. She has lectured before civic associations on Staten Island; St. John’s University Staten Island Campus, and the Staten Island YMCA.
Ms. Fastman earned her Juris Doctor law degree, cum laude, from New York Law School, where she was given the Professor Vincent LoLordo Award for Excellence in Administration of Criminal Justice. She received her Bachelor’s degree from CUNY Richmond College, graduating with highest honors and a 4.0 grade point average.
She is fluent in Dutch and also has a working knowledge of German and Spanish. She was honored by the Richmond County Bar Association on March 10, 2017.
