DeAngelus, Goralczyk PLLC Constitutes One Of Largest Women-Owned Firms In The Area

By Christine Graf

Attorneys Karen DeAngelus and Jacqueline Goralczyk opened DeAngelus Goralczyk, PLLC in Clifton Park in 2019, and since that time, they have expanded their firm significantly.

Their law practice now employs 11 attorneys and 10 support staff members. In addition to their headquarters in Clifton Park, the firm has offices in Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Williamsville, N.Y., and Bonita Springs, Fla.

Although there are other women-owned law office in the area, there are few that are as large as DeAngelus Goralczyk.

“I think that being a women-owned firm of our size is unusual. We credit our success to keeping a laser focus on customer service and trying to serve our clients in a way that allows them to meet their goals,” said Goralczyk.

The pair decided to open their own firm after working in real estate law at different law practices in area. Having worked on opposite sides of transactions, they realized that had very similar ways of conducting business.

DeAngelus Goralczyk had been operating for just 11 months when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In the early days of the pandemic, the partners worried they would not be able to keep the new firm afloat.

“We were very nervous and had no idea what would happen,” said Goralczyk.

Because residential and commercial real estate is one of DeAngelus Goralczyk’s core practice areas, the pandemic-triggered real estate boom resulted in a surge in an unexpected business.

“There were many horrible things about the pandemic, but it certainly showed us an unprecedented real estate market,” she said.

In addition to real estate, the firm specializes in corporate law, privacy and cybersecurity, and trust and estates.

“We help people through the big transitions in life—buying and selling real estate, starting businesses, and planning for their futures. We hit all of those core services,” said Goralczyk.

DeAngelus Goralczyk is unique in that they are one of a small number of local firms that specialize in privacy and cybersecurity. Goralczyk received a Masters of Legal Letters (LL.M) in cybersecurity and data privacy from Albany Law School where she is now an instructor. She and her team help clients navigate state and federal regulations, reduce their overall risk, and minimize damages in the event of a cybersecurity breach or incident.

“There are an increasing number of regulations on businesses from both the state and federal perspective. The state regulations that are in place have become more cumbersome over the past two to three years,” she said. “What we do is work with the business and work with their IT provider or their managed service provider and their insurance company to try to put them in a place that not only do they meet the regulations but they are meeting security benchmarks.”

Although a growing number of small and medium-sized business owners have recognized the need to focus on cybersecurity, Goralczyk said that many have not.

“Unfortunately, it hasn’t been as prevalent as I would like it to be, and people are getting hit with cybersecurity incidents. People haven’t been as proactive as we would hope they would be. Surprisingly there is some lack of awareness. People tend to think that it only happens to large businesses with a lot of assets,” she said. “But, I think if they realize that small to medium-sized business are one of main targets, people may be more apt to take a more proactive approach.”

Goralczyk said business owners who have not been proactive are putting their businesses at risk.

“It’s not uncommon for small- to medium-sized businesses to have some sort of privacy or cybersecurity event that causes them to go out of business for one of three reasons. One, they are not insured or insurance denies their claim. Two, they did not have the proper precautions in place, and they get some sort of regulatory fine. And three, if they have some sort of financial loss outside of a loss of data, most organizations can’t come back from that.”

When working in the area of privacy and cybersecurity, the attorneys at DeAngelus Goralczyk work in conjunction with a business  MSP or IT provider.

“It’s a good partnership because we aren’t selling IT services or hardware or software. We really aim to be a partner with the IT company to help the client succeed,” said Goralczyk. “There’s no magic bullet in the privacy/cybersecurity game.”