Principal
The Law Offices of David R. Okrent
Protecting the Fragile…
The son of a business owner, David R. Okrent ’91 recognized at
an early age the importance of two business relationships in his
father’s life – his certified public accountant and the
attorney. David was determined to become a C.P.A., an
attorney and a successful business owner. Fast forward to the
present and he has accomplished all three of these goals. His
firm, with four offices, focuses on the areas of Elder Law, Tax,
Estate Planning, Children with Special Needs, Estate Administration
and Asset Protection.
A recent recipient of the “Man of Spirit Award” presented to him
by the Long Island Coalition for Aging in recognition for his
commitment to advocating for the elderly. Mr. Okrent is the
current chair of the Legal Advisory Board of the Long Island
Alzheimer’s Foundation, a past member of the former Planned Giving
Council of Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Advisory Board
for Friends of Karen and past co-chair of the Suffolk County Bar
Association Elder Law Committee and Chairman of the Tax
Committee. He presently serves as a member of the Suffolk and
NYS Tax and Elder Law Committees.
Mr. Okrent attended St. John’s Law part time while working as a
revenue agent for the Internal Revenue Service. He graduated
cum laude, in the top fifth percentile of his class.
“Academics are not enough, in order to be a successful attorney you
must successfully meld law school theory with life’s lessons
learned and a strong dose of people skills,” notes Okrent.
Okrent was moved to build his practice around Elder Law upon the
passing of his Grandmother. At the time, he was employed by a
NYC firm and could not tend to her needs at a critical moment of
her life. From that moment, he was determined to build his
own practice, ever mindful of the needs of clients, his staff and
family.
A frequent speaker and guest lecturer, Mr. Okrent has appeared
on television programs that address the needs of seniors including,
Best Years and Elder Law and Senior Forum. He was recently a
guest lecturer for St. John’s Law’s CLE program facilitating a
class on “Getting Started in Elder Law.” During times of
office expansion, Mr. Okrent strives to hire St. John’s Law
graduates who express an interest in Elder Law and the guardianship
of children. Married and the father of triplets age eight,
Okrent recognizes first hand the demands on today’s “sandwich”
generation who must often divide their focus between young children
and aging parents.
Okrent extends the following advice to St. John’s Law students,
“During school find an area of the law that you love and are
totally passionate about. Invest 110 % of yourself into that
practice area and you will be rewarded. If you are practicing
in an area of the law only for a paycheck and without passion, you
will never realize your potential nor truly find happiness. A
topnotch attorney without passion quickly loses the distinction of
being a topnotch attorney. In addition, find someone
whose work, life, family and accomplishments you admire, whether
they are a lawyer or not, and try to live up to that,” as Mr.
Okrent has with his own father and father-in-law.