01
Business & Corporate
From the LLC you form this month to the sale you close in ten years, we are the outside general counsel for small and mid-sized businesses across Queens.
Learn moreWoodside · Queens · New York
Legal counsel and attorneys at law in Woodside, NY
Twelve attorneys, twelve practice areas and one office on 61st Street — representing the businesses and families of western Queens since 1998.
12Attorneys across twelve practice areas
8Languages spoken in our Woodside office
1998Serving Queens since
The Firm
A full-service firm, in the neighborhood it serves
Most of our clients live or do business within a few subway stops of this office. That proximity is the whole point.
Woodside Law & Legal PLLC was founded in 1998 as a two-attorney practice above a storefront on Roosevelt Avenue. Twenty-five years later we are twelve attorneys covering the twelve areas of law that Queens households and Queens businesses actually need — and we still take the first call ourselves.
Being full-service matters more than it sounds. The client who buys a two-family house here also forms an LLC, writes a will, hires an employee and eventually settles an estate. When all of that sits with one firm, nothing has to be explained twice and nothing falls between two sets of lawyers.
Practice Areas
Twelve practices under one roof
From a commercial lease to a green card, a closing to a criminal charge — find the practice that matches your matter, or call and we will point you to the right attorney.
02
Real Estate
Queens real estate has its own rules — board packages, two-family certificates of occupancy, estate sales, and buildings older than the paperwork that describes them. We close them every week.
Learn more
03
Banking & Finance
We sit on both sides of the table: community lenders who need documents that hold up, and business borrowers who need to understand what they are actually signing.
Learn more
04
Civil Litigation & Defense
Being sued is not the same as being wrong. Our litigation group defends businesses and individuals in Queens Supreme Court, the federal district courts and arbitration.
Learn more
05
Immigration
Woodside is an immigrant neighborhood, and it has been since long before this firm opened. A quarter of our practice is helping the people who live here stay here.
Learn more
06
Estate Planning & Probate
For most Queens families the estate is the house. Planning is what decides whether it passes to the next generation cleanly or through two years of Surrogate's Court.
Learn more
07
Family Law
Family matters are decided on facts, but they are lived as loss. We handle both parts — the filings on time, and the conversation before you sign anything you cannot undo.
Learn more
08
Personal Injury
If you were hurt because someone else was careless, the insurer's first offer is not the measure of your claim. It is the measure of what they hope you will accept.
Learn more
09
Employment & Labor
New York gives employees some of the strongest protections in the country — and gives employers a compliance burden to match. We work on both sides of that line, in separate matters.
Learn more
10
Criminal Defense
An arrest is not a conviction. What happens between the two depends heavily on having someone at the arraignment who knows the courthouse and the assistant district attorney across from them.
Learn more
11
Landlord & Tenant
New York housing law changed substantially in 2019, and a great deal of what small landlords and long-term tenants each believe about their rights is now out of date.
Learn more
12
Bankruptcy & Debt Relief
Bankruptcy is a tool, not a verdict on anybody's character. Used at the right moment it stops the garnishment, ends the calls and lets a household start again.
Learn more12Attorneys on staff
12Practice areas
8Languages spoken
1998Serving Queens since
The Attorneys
The lawyer you meet is the lawyer who does the work
No matter is handed to someone you have never met. Every client knows which attorney has their file and how to reach them.
Margaret A. Halloran
Managing Partner
Margaret founded the firm's business practice in 1998 and has spent twenty-five years advising Queens companies through formation, growth, financing and sale. She chairs the firm's management committee and still handles closings herself.
Rafael E. Santos
Partner
Rafael leads the real estate group and has closed well over a thousand Queens transactions — co-ops, condos, two- and three-family houses, and small commercial buildings. He grew up six blocks from the office.
Priya N. Chandrasekhar
Partner
Priya advises community banks, credit unions and lenders on regulatory compliance, loan documentation and workouts. She came to the firm after eight years in a Manhattan financial institutions group.
Daniel K. Whitfield
Partner
Daniel heads the litigation and civil defense group. He has tried cases in New York Supreme Court and the federal district courts, and handles the firm's most contested commercial disputes.
Local Counsel
We know these courts, and this neighborhood
Queens County Supreme Court, Queens Family Court, Queens Housing Court, the Surrogate’s Court on Jamaica Avenue and the Eastern District at Cadman Plaza — we appear in all of them.
Woodside is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the United States, and this firm was built to reflect it. Between our attorneys and staff we take matters in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, Tamil, Igbo, Polish.
Areas we serve: Woodside · Sunnyside · Jackson Heights · Elmhurst · Astoria · Maspeth · Long Island City · Corona · Rego Park · Forest Hills.
In Their Words
What clients tell us
They explained the whole closing in one sitting, in plain English, and then caught an open permit on the house that would have cost us thousands after we moved in.
I brought them a partnership that had gone bad and expected a fight. They settled it in six weeks and I still have a working relationship with the man.
My mother's estate was a mess and nobody in the family agreed on anything. Mr. Pak got it through Surrogate's Court without the family falling apart.
Illustrative client comments. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Common Questions
Before you call
Do you offer a free consultation?
Yes. The first consultation is free and runs about thirty minutes — long enough for us to understand the matter and tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer, what it is likely to involve and what it should cost. Call 000-000-000 or use the contact form.
What areas does the firm serve?
Our office is in Woodside and most of our clients are from Queens — Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Astoria, Maspeth, Long Island City, Corona, Rego Park and Forest Hills. We also appear throughout New York City, Nassau County and the federal courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.
How does the firm charge?
It depends on the work. Residential closings, entity formations, wills and uncontested divorces are quoted as flat fees. Litigation and ongoing business counsel are billed hourly against a retainer. Personal injury is handled on contingency, with no fee unless there is a recovery. Whichever applies, you get the fee arrangement in writing before we start.
What languages do your attorneys speak?
Between our attorneys and staff we handle matters in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, Tamil, Igbo and Polish. Woodside is one of the most linguistically diverse neighborhoods in the United States and the firm was built to reflect that.
Talk to a Woodside attorney today
The first consultation is free and takes about thirty minutes. Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly whether you need a lawyer, and what it should cost.