From My Clients
Testimonials
We have known Jeanine for over five years. She helped us with both of our adoptions. Both were very different, but Jeanine was with us every step of the way! She is a fabulous lawyer who is not only professional, knowledgeable, but really gets to know you, cares about you and supports you. She always made time for you no matter how big or small the question was. We have recommended our friends to use her and will continue to do so. we absolutely adore her!!
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Randi, Dan, Hailey and Aubrey G.
"Adoption is a complicated process, so it is so important to have the right support when you start your journey. When we adopted our 2nd son in 2016 we knew we had made the best decision with Jeanine representing us. As we rode the emotional rollercoaster, it was so reassuring to have Jeanine on the other end of the phone reminding us she was going to get us through it. And boy did she ever! All the expectant parents that we spoke with had glowing things to say about Jeanine as well. That is what you want in an adoption lawyer, someone who can be knowledgeable, reliable, and most importantly kind and caring. This is exactly what you will get with Jeanine Castagna."
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Kim and Noah, Adoptive Parents
I met Jeanine Castagna in January 2013 when I began my adoption journey. From our initial meeting, it was evident to me that Jeanine genuinely cares about her clients and her expertise and knowledge become invaluable as you go through the sometimes difficult aspects of an adoption journey. Jeanine was responsive to all my questions throughout the process but, more importantly, she made my daughter's birthmother feel at ease when they spoke about her adoption plan. Jeanine was readily available when I traveled to bring my daughter home and continued to work quickly towards her finalization. I fully recommend Jeanine when you are choosing a lawyer to represent you for your adoption. She is highly respected in this field, completely trustworthy and will go above and beyond for her clients. I feel fortunate that I was able to work with Jeanine towards the completion of my family.
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Kristin
Testimonial for Jeanine Castagna When we began our adoption journey, my husband reached out to a few attorneys. He knew Jeanine was the right person for us immediately. She called him back very quickly. He felt confident in her knowledge. He felt comfortable. When he told me about her, I was so thrilled that she did initial appointments with people privately. I didn't want a group introduction with the person who would be guiding us to find our child.
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Jeanine is everything he initially felt and more. She is warm, kind, clear, patient and honest. We felt so safe and taken care of during the ups and downs of the process. I felt so confident every step of the way that Jeanine's expertise would guide us perfectly.
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Jeanine is available. It didn't matter when we tailed or entailed, we got an almost immediate response. She helped us talk to expectant mothers. We knew that when it was time for an expectant mother to talk to her, they would feel comfortable. She helped us figure out which situations seemed viable and which seemed like red flags.
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When our daughter showed up unexpectedly, Jeanine was there every step of the way. We had one rocky week in our process, and Jeanine spoke with us multiple times every day. She helped our daughter's birth mother get what she needed. And our girl came home.
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Jeanine feels like family to us. She deeply cares for parents and children, and knows her stuff. We recommend her to anyone who asks. We feel blessed to have her in our lives.
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I highly recommend Jeanine to anyone who wants to adopt From the initial consultation in her office to the finalization process in court, I felt that Jeanine was behind me all the way. My adoption journey was not easy. I chose to adopt as single parent. I was an "older" prospective adoptive parent. I had chosen to adopt through private domestic adoption. I knew that the process could be stressful, emotionally demanding and financially draining. Jeanine did nothing to sugarcoat any part of the process. I knew exactly what to expect! At the inception, Jeanine gave me assurance that I was going to be successful if I did not give up. Going through an initial failed situation was devastating. However, Jeanine showed true empathy and compassion. She gave me time to vent and express grief but quickly advised me that if I kept moving forward I would be successful. At each step of the journey to adopting my beautiful daughter, Jeanine was nothing but ethical and honest, forthright and straightforward. She was a true advocate in every sense of the word and an educator of the adoption legal process. Every complication that came along the way was met with keen and astute knowledge of the process and immediate action. Jeanine knew exactly what needed to be done to overcome each challenge. She kept me abreast of everything that was happening in terms of the legal paperwork and when possible advised me on how to appropriately navigate through the adoption legal system to minimize my expense. Jeanine is without question an experienced adoption advocate who is highly regarded in the profession. When searching for an adoption lawyer, many names came up. I choose Jeanine for several reasons. She was not only a fellow of the American Academy of Adoption attorneys in New York State but had received accommodations and recognition in the profession as "an Angel in Adoption". The word angel in adoption truly describes Jeanine in that you get the sense that this is not only her life's work and profession but that she has a higher calling to do this work. Jeanine is regularly at the Adoptive Parents Committee meetings, workshops and conferences. She has ongoing presence at Adoption Support Groups giving advice and lending support at various stages of the journey. I met Jeanine at one of these support group workshops. I felt at the beginning of my adoption journey that my situation was unique, the outcome uncertain and that I needed a miracle. Jeanine gave me the encouragement that I needed at every step of the process. She was personal and professional. She was accessible, determined and unwavering. Thank you Jeanine for being the "angel" that made my dream come true!
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Lynn
In the beginning of our adoption journey it was basically an email relationship of Q & A's, and quickly turned to a relationship that I knew would last for a lifetime. Jeanine is a great attorney that really knows her trade. She also has a great relationship with other attorneys throughout the country as well. My husband and I went through an extremely rocky journey and Jeanine was right there with us every step of the way. Calling her at midnight, or 1am when the birth mother had changed her mind and we had to give back the baby we were bonding with for 3 days, to showing up at my daughter's funeral. Jeanine never missed a beat. She's kind and warm but is strong and tough when she needs to make it happen. Thank you for being the greatest attorney, support and friend we could of had. We wouldn't have continued to the end if it wasn't for Jeanine!! Our daughter just turned three!!
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xoxoxo
Leslie
Choosing an attorney to work with for our adoption processes was a significant decision. As two dads, we wanted to make sure we were selecting an attorney that would understand our needs. Working with Jeanine Castagna throughout our adoption experience was wonderful. Jeanine provided us with guidance and support as we needed, and her knowledge and expertise was incredibly helpful. Jeanine's accessibility was an important component of her work, as we often needed information quickly during the adoption process. Jeanine was consistently able to provide kind and caring assistance, yet also manage all legal aspects of the adoption in a professional manner. Jeanine's approach of direct, methodical communication made the process of working with her smooth, without surprises. This was quite comforting during what can be an emotional experience. Overall, we could not recommend Jeanine more highly and would be happy to converse with any prospective adoptive parents in detail about our experience.
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Scott & Alex
Our dreams came true four times! We have the privilege of raising four amazing children through open adoption. Our journey began 10 years ago when we began researching adoption. We learned of two attorney's whom we wanted to have consultations with, one of which was Jeanine Castagna. They both happened to be speaking at a local APC meeting we attended, and there was no question further consultation was not needed, Jeanine was who we wanted: The adoption process can be scary especially when its your first time, but Jeanine was always there to answer any question or for support, even on Mother's Day during our first contact. You are never alone on your journey with Jeanine by your side. Her love of what she does clearly comes through with every phone call or meeting.
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We adopted our first son 5 months after certification. The process was smooth and handled with great care for us and our son's other parents by Jeanine. We decided to adopt again when our son was 16 months old and trusted her to help us with this next journey. Almost two years later we were chosen and adopted our second son. Again, Jeanine was of great support and completed the adoption with efficiency, care and love.
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To our complete surprise our relationship with Jeanine would continue when we were asked by our seconds son's birth parents to adopt their new baby. Our third child, a daughter was born 10 months later. Over a year later Jeanine called us with the biggest surprise, our son and daughter's birth parents contacted her with news of a new baby on the way and wanted us to adopt. This is where I felt Jeanine was a friend as well as our attorney. As we discussed this possible addition to our family I cried, wondering if we could do it. Jeanine being the amazing human being she is, cried with me and told me "you guys were meant to do this, we will make it work". And we did! Our fourth child, a son was born and all went smoothly again thanks to Jeanine.
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To this day 10 years later she is a friend. We highly recommended her and have, numerous times. Friends have used her and loved her as well. Having an honest, ethical, hard working, efficient, caring attorney completing our adoptions has meant the world to us. Jeanine helped our dreams come true!
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Meghan and Kenny
Having decided that adoption was meant to be our road to parenthood, we quickly began researching the different options. As anyone can tell you that has been through this process, you immediately become overwhelmed and unsure what the future holds. After much contemplation my husband and I decided independent private adoption felt right for us. We wanted to take a hands on approach to building our family. With much reluctance and anxiety we took the first step.
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We met Jeanine at a workshop and instantly realized we had just met the person that would support us legally. She was clearly bright, knowledgeable, caring and interested in helping us grow our family. Over the next handful of years Jeanine became an invaluable part of "Team Family". She kept us clear headed and focused on our goal of becoming Mom and Dad during the most difficult times of our journey. She effortlessly navigated through the endless procedures and piles of paperwork while handling any legal obstacles that came our way.
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We now have completed our family and our boys are a beautiful blessing from above. Quite honestly I hold Jeanine in the highest regard as a professional and a person. She will always be a part of our journey...always be part of our family.
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Nancy and Charlie
"Retaining Jeanine Castagna as our adoption attorney truly was the best decision we made upon starting and throughout this long journey. We always felt Jeanine was there for us not only as our attorney but as an advocate. It was obvious that she deeply WANTED us to be successful and find this happiness. Even when the chips were stacked against us, she never let us give up. She made herself available and always answered and addressed all of our questions, no matter how silly we thought they may have been. She offered her support through the hardest times and always encouraged us to keep on going. She is honest, forthcoming and always told it to us "as it is" whether we wanted to hear it or not. This eventually led us on the path of bringing home our beautiful little boy. Throughout this stressful part of the process, she worked around the clock to make sure every aspect ran smoothly and all of our paperwork was filed correctly. She went far above and beyond specifically during the very stressful time while we were out of state waiting for ICPC. She happily tolerated and responded to the many nervous phone calls and texts at all hours of the day and night and weekends. Although it was never said, we always knew and deeply appreciate how much extra time and genuine care she gave us, more than anyone would hoped from an attorney. Through the good times and bad, Jeanine was a strong beacon of hope for us and even when it got difficult knowing she was there made us keep going. Now that we are long finalized and the "job" is done, Jeanine remains a positive force in the lives of so many families. We are thankful that she still remains part of our lives and our son will grow up knowing and loving her. We are all truly lucky!
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Anissa and Brian
The road to adoption is full of hope, but can be daunting. Having a lawyer with compassion, patience, and the experience to get things done is so important. Jeanine Castagna is that lawyer. In times of confusion, she helped keep us focused - and through the emotional rollercoasters, she kept us steady. She is knowledgeable, kind, funny, empathetic - a great resource for adoptive parents and expectant parents. Her efficiency and keen understanding of process and adoption law make her a reliable source of information as well as a wonderful lawyer. I'm happy to have worked with her and hope to do so again!
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Kristy