Our Team

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Amy E. Orlando is the founding attorney of the Law Offices of Amy E. Orlando, LLC, where she practices in the areas of elder law, special needs, estate planning, and estate administration. She is also an Accredited Attorney and Federal Fiduciary with the Veteran’s Administration. Amy is the past State Ambassador to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), is the Past-President of the Connecticut Chapter of NAELA, while also sitting on the Public Policy and Membership Committees. She is the Vice Chair of the Board, and on the Trust Committee, for Planned Lifetime Assistance Network (PLAN) of CT, a non-profit serving as Trustee for Special Needs Trusts.  Amy has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA).  Amy teaches classes on elder law and estate planning for various adult education programs in Connecticut, and is a frequent lecturer on topics that include Medicaid, estate planning and elder financial exploitation. Amy received her law degree Cum Laude, from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. She is also a graduate Cum Laude with Honors from Wake Forest University where she played goalkeeper for Division I Field Hockey. Prior to attending law school, she worked in Social Services in Virginia and Massachusetts. Amy resides in Simsbury, Connecticut, and enjoys spending her free time working in her yard and is learning to sail!

Attorney Rachelle Apple was raised in Skaneateles, NY. She practices in the areas of elder law, special needs, estate planning, estate administration and taxation. Following her graduation from law school, she practiced in the areas of commercial litigation, in New York City, and estate planning and administration, business law, real estate and bankruptcy in Chicago. She is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Connecticut Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).

Prior to graduating from law school, Rachelle worked and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Northern Africa and the U.S., including time spent living and working on a fishing boat in Homer, Alaska.

Attorney Apple graduated magna cum laude from Binghamton University with a B.S. in Economics. She received her Juris Doctorate from Syracuse College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Connecticut, New York and Illinois.

Rachelle lives in Avon with her husband and three children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, sailing, traveling and dancing.

Karolina Block is an advocate-turned-paralegal passionate about navigating the complicated world of state-funded services, conservatorships, and special needs. Currently, Karolina handles Medicaid applications, preparing estate and asset protection documents, coordinates document signings, and correspondence with our clients. She also performs in-depth research on topics varying from veterans benefits to state-run programs, such as Husky Medicaid program. During calls to our firm, you can hear Karolina’s friendly European accent. She can be reached at [email protected].

For many years prior to joining The Law Offices of Amy E. Orlando, LLC, Karolina advocated for her child with special needs while also obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Master’s degree in Disability Studies. In her free time, she enjoys long walks, day trips with her daughter, rides down to the shoreline for Connecticut’s beautiful ocean views, and reading.

Coming soon!!  We will be introducing you to our newest amazing member, Floriana Carbone!

 

And, our beloved Kathy Pitura, although part time, is a delight as the first encounter with the practice when you call!