About Rachel:
Rachel Hirschfeld is a nationally renowned expert in estate planning and a passionate advocate for people and their pets. Having created the Pet Protection Agreement* and Hirschfeld Pet Trust©, she is a frequent author and lecturer, often quoted in newspapers, legal journals and other media outlets including: ABC Nightline, CBS Early Show, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Today Show, The New Yorker, Newsweek, Dow Jones, Newsday, The New York Sun, Bottom Line Retirement, The National Academy of Elder Law Attorney's Journal, Consumer Digest, and Fox News. Ms. Hirschfeld's lectures in continuing legal education have been selected for live web casting by Thomson Reuters' publishing house.
Ms. Hirschfeld is an active member of the prestigious National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) where she serves on the Advanced Programming and Education committees. Ms. Hirschfeld has served on the Elder Law committee and Trusts and Estates committees of the New York State and the New York City Bar Associations. Ms. Hirschfeld works closely with animal shelters and sanctuaries throughout the USA as well as Animal Committees of the American Bar Association, New York City Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
- Through her practice, and the devastating illnesses of her beloved shelter-rescue dog, Soupbone - the missing link in her life that ultimately set her on the path of her most important life's work - she created the Pet Protection Agreement and The Hirschfeld Pet Trust both of which help transition and protect pets.
- Ms. Hirschfeld's mission is "to ensure that every pet that has found a loving home is guaranteed a secure future." She lives with her two shelter-rescue pets are Swizzle and Topper, a rescue dog and cat and the newest arrival, Tama, a feral cat.
In an ongoing effort to provide for pets during a patient's stay in the hospital, Ms. Hirschfeld has co-developed a program and the associated necessary legal forms for caring for patients' pets. Ms. Hirschfeld is presently spearheading changes in the New York Pet Trust Bill.
An honors graduate of Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Ms. Hirschfeld has interned in U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's office in the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and clerked for the Honorable William G. Bassler, Justice of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition to New York State, Ms. Hirschfeld is admitted to argue before the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Ms. Hirschfeld produced several shows on and off Broadway as well as in England, including On Golden Pond (Tony nomination, James Earl Jones), Blithe Spirit (Tony Award, Angela Lansbury), and Oleanna starring Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman. She is currently a Tony voter, and until recently, a Grammy voter. Ms. Hirschfeld is the first Haute Cuisine chef in America, having graduated first in her class from the Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in Paris, France, with the highest possible honor, Tres Bien. She remains a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier—women of achievement in the culinary, fine beverage and hospitality professions. Fluent in English, French, Italian and Hebrew, Ms. Hirschfeld represents clients around the globe and can be reached at rachel@Petriarch.com.
