Asheville-based law firm Strauss Attorneys, PLLC, has announced the opening of its Raleigh office. This will be the fourth location. Strauss currently has offices in Asheville, Hendersonville, and Landrum, South Carolina, with a primary focus on estate planning. The Strauss Attorney law firm is now one of the largest estate planning law groups in North Carolina.
Attorney Cory Howes is heading up the Raleigh team, bringing on board attorneys Samantha Reichle and Jessica Mantekas, and seasoned paralegals Katherine Adams and Lenae Rastafar. Mr. Howes and his team enhance the capabilities and depth of expertise at Strauss, including more advanced tax planning for large estates. The new location will also enable the practice to handle estate administration in more geographic areas.
Mr. Howes comes to Strauss from The Forrest Firm, a full-service law firm where he was the Trusts and Estates Practice Group Leader. He began his career as a financial advisor with MassMutual, providing financial services to executive and professional clients, including employee benefit consulting services to businesses. After completing law school in 2008, Mr. Howes worked as a litigator before opening his own practice, Howes Law, PLLC, focusing on estate planning for families and professionals. His unique background in finance and litigation provides an exceptionally well-rounded approach to estate planning.
With the addition of the Raleigh team, Strauss Attorneys is well suited to handle estate planning issues from the quite simple to leading edge tax and asset protection strategies. The Firm’s 10 attorneys have expertise in elder law/Medicaid planning, charitable techniques, estate controversies, guardianships, estate tax minimization, and business succession planning. With attorneys licensed in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, Strauss Attorneys can serve a large part of the southeast.
“I’ve known Andy Strauss and Lee Mulligan for many years and consider them two of the best estate attorneys I know,” said Mr. Howes. “More importantly, they, as well as the entire team at Strauss, are great people. My team and I are thrilled to be joining such an amazing group. It is a natural fit for us since our values align so well with Strauss – truly getting to know our clients and helping them make informed decisions about their planning. I believe the synergies we each bring to the table will allow us to provide a more complete range of services and continue to improve the overall planning experience for our clients.”
Mr. Howes first met Andy Strauss and Lee Mulligan several years ago through a professional association of estate planning attorneys. They found they were aligned in their philosophy for practicing law and serving clients. Foundationally, it is about delivering customized estate planning to meet each individual client’s needs and focusing on client relationships. The decision to open the Raleigh office under Howes’ leadership wasn’t necessarily based on a desire to have another location, but to add to the services and level of expertise the firm could offer clients.
“Strauss Attorneys never set out to be one of the largest estate law practices in North Carolina,” Andy Strauss said, “but we grew out of necessity to meet client needs. Our goal first and foremost is to deliver customized, state of the art planning in a caring, compassionate, and understandable manner. It is through our constant effort to deliver exceptional service and value that we have been able to attract first rate attorneys and team members. We are excited to expand to Raleigh and to welcome our new team members.”
The Raleigh office of Strauss Attorney, PLLC, is located at 2626 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 310 in Raleigh. They can be reached at 919-828-0932 and found online at www.strausslaw.com.