Burner Prudenti Names Two New Partners

After naming a new managing partner and a former top New York State judge as a name partner, Burner Prudenti Law, P.C., has named two new partners as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

A women-owned trust and estates, elder law, and real estate firm serving clients from the East End to New York City, Burner Prudenti named Brittni Sullivan and Melissa Doris as partners.

Britt Burner, who joined the firm more than a decade ago and has held numerous leadership positions in the state’s bar association, a few months ago took the helm as managing partner.

Founder Nancy Burner remains a partner as the firm — with locations in Manhattan, East Hampton, East Setauket and Westhampton Beach — celebrates its 30th anniversary.

And the Hon. Gail Prudenti, former Dean of the Hofstra Law School and New York State’s Chief Administrative Judge, joined as a name partner in 2023.

“This furthers our commitment to growing the firm, bringing up younger attorneys and keeping the firm vibrant,” Britt Burner said.

Brittni Sullivan joined in January 2013 as a legal intern while in law school, rising to senior associate before being named partner.

Since 2015, she has concentrated her practice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Guardianship.

In 2024 for the eighth consecutive year she was named a Rising Star attorney for the New York Metro area by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters publication. No more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in the state receive this honor.

Sullivan was also recognized as a 2025 The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Elder Law in Setauket for the second consecutive year.

She received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Iona College in 2011 where she graduated magna cum laude and her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law in 2014.

She received the Linda Carmody-Roberts Scholarship in law school for her commitment to pursuing a career in the Trust & Estates and Elder Law fields. And she was named a Public Justice Foundation fellow for her commitment to community service.

Sullivan in 2018 was named an “Outstanding Woman in Law” by Hofstra Law’s Center for Children, Families and the Law and Long Island Business News

“Brittni has shown incredible abilities in elder law, Medicaid and estate planning. She has really been a leader and heads up our Medicaid department,” Burner said. “She’s a great public speaker who has done continuing legal education for the bar association and countless public seminars for the community.”

Sullivan sees her new position as a continuation of growth at the law firm, which itself has been growing.

“Over the past 12 years, I have been part of a team centered around collaboration, respect and putting the clients’ needs first,” Sullivan said. “I am excited for this next phase in my life and to continue the legacy this firm has had provided to the community for the past 30 years.”

Melissa Doris joined the firm in February 2020 after more than a decade at a prominent Long Island Trusts and Estates law firm. She brought extensive knowledge of estate planning, trust and estate administration, taxation, elder law, special needs planning and residential real estate.

Doris received her Bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University in 2005 and graduated cum laude from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in 2010.

She was recognized as The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Elder Law and Trusts & Estates in Setauket in the 2024 and 2025 editions.

From 2015 to 2020, she served as a committee member and played a key role in establishing the annual Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Yaphank

“Melissa is an incredibly well-rounded attorney with a background in trusts and estate administration, estate planning and real estate,” Burner said.

Doris said she was happy to continue her work at Burner Prudenti, while beginning a new chapter as partner.

“I am committed to the firm’s long-term growth and success, to lead and guide my colleagues,” Doris said, “and to continue to give our clients the quality and compassionate legal representation that they have been accustomed to for the last 30 years.”

In addition to leading the firm, Burner has carved out a career as a key lawyer and a leader among lawyers.

She served as Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Elder Law And Special Needs Section until June 1. She also served as Chair of the New York City Bar Association Committee on the Legal Problems of the Aging and as a member of the governor’s Master Plan for Aging.

They also join Nancy Burner and name partner Gail Prudenti who oversaw the state’s court system with a $2.7 billion budget, 3,600 judges and 15,000 employees, as well as serving as dean of the Hofstra Law.

Prudenti also served as the first female Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department in New York State.

One of the region’s better-known and more experienced elder law, trusts and estate firms, Burner Prudenti works with elderly and younger clients, planning their futures.

“We do a lot of estate planning,” Burner said. “Our focus is on planning. In some cases, that surrounds elder law. In others, it’s wealth preservation and estate tax planning or planning for the efficient passage of assets from generation to generation.”

Although the firm is celebrating its 30th anniversary all year in various ways, Burner said the partnerships are part of a recognition of the past and looking forward.

“We really built the firm on a foundation of education for our clients and communities and customer service,” Burner said. “As we celebrate that anniversary, we’re really looking to the future.”