DECEMBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 23
About to celebrate its 44th anniversary in 2020,
Great Neck matrimonial and family law firm
Wisselman, Harounian & Associates and its
attorneys have been widely recognized as leaders
in their field. Firm founder Jerry Wisselman and
his partner, Jackie Harounian, recently spoke
with us about the firm’s mission, what makes
it unique, and several other subjects.
Q: What sets Wisselman, Harounian &
Associates P.C. apart from other law firms?
JW: Very few matrimonial and family law
firms can match the longevity of WH&A.
Jackie and I have been working together for
28 years and have been partners since 2006.
Since 1976, when I started our firm, my goal
has been to have trusted relationships with
our clients and to leave no stone unturned
in their representation. Family conflicts
can cause extreme emotional and financial
crises, and we provide the benefit of having
extensive experience to help our clients more
effectively achieve favorable outcomes and
navigate these difficult periods. Having started
as a sole practitioner, I quickly recognized
that it requires a team effort to best serve
our clients, and I have assembled one of the
largest matrimonial firms in the New York
Metro area, with nine attorneys having
diverse backgrounds, including accounting,
tax law, business, estate planning, foreclosures,
domestic violence, and psychology.
Q: What is the mission of Wisselman,
Harounian & Associates P.C.?
JH: Our mission is to educate, empower
Wisselman, Harounian & Associates Partners Preparing
to Celebrate 44th Year of Legal Excellence
and protect our clients, and we take that
responsibility very seriously. As we work
with our clients through difficult and deeply
sensitive times for them, we strive to provide
compassion, information, and direction so they
can confidently move forward and successfully
prevail in this transitional period. We continue
to work at being in the forefront of newly
developing areas of family law as society’s needs
evolve and change, including issues regarding
not only marital relationships, but nonmarital
relationships, single parents, LGBTQ issues,
fertility matters, cyber harassment, and the like.
Q: How has technology changed the way your
firm handles cases and clients?
JH: The ever-increasing role of technology
plays a more impactful role in the lives of,
and in our representation of clients. For
many individuals and families dealing with
family conflict, there is often digital evidence
which can have a profound effect on matters,
including emails, texts, postings on social
media, and videos. Cyber harassment has
become a more common threat and can
result in clients seeking and securing orders of
protection against this. New applications and
technologies are helping parents co-manage
custodial and family scheduling, and provide
a way to communicate with their child’s
other parent when phone, text and email isn’t
working for them. With the goal of reducing
conflict, these have been productive alternatives
for facilitating parents to communicate when
other means do not work.
Q: Have cybersecurity issues impacted your
company?
JH: With technology and the ability to transfer
documents comes the need for advanced
security for all clients, especially high net worth
clients. As a result, it is important to guard our
clients’ confidentiality and privacy, including
sensitive documents and financial records.
We continually take steps to prevent breaches
by constantly updating our systems, utilizing
password protection where possible. We also
advise clients to change passwords and take
extra precautions to store important documents,
photographs, and financial statements.
Q: How have the types of cases your firm
handles changed over the years?
JW: There have been sweeping changes during
the past decade, including no-fault divorce, a
significant move towards presumptive joint
custodial agreements, and newly evolving
equitable distribution and support laws. Also,
with a greater amount of second and even third
marriages, we are involved with a greater number
of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and
mediations. WH&A is committed to staying
ahead of the curve as social change transforms the
definition of marriage and the notion of family,
as well as with the emerging laws in this area.
Q: What is the biggest challenge that your
firm is facing?
JW: Our biggest challenge is to successfully
educate our clients and manage their
expectations about the divorce process during
a very difficult time in their lives. We work to
overcome their anxiety and uncertainty by
being responsive, and providing them with
realistic options at every stage. Each client is
important to us, and our goal is to help them
get to the finish line with their dignity intact,
and for them to move forward towards a better,
happier chapter in their lives.
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Firm founder Jerry Wisselman and his partner, Jackie Harounian, on the left
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