At 17, when bilateral tumors took her hearing, Jessica Klersy transformed adversity into strength when she experienced firsthand what it meant to be dismissed, overlooked, and underestimated. Classrooms turned hostile. Professors mocked her. People made assumptions rather than asking questions. But instead of shrinking away, she transformed her pain into purpose. Now as a lawyer, Jessica fights for the people most often silenced—the elderly, the disabled, and the vulnerable—ensuring their voices are heard and dignity protected.
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“I dreamed of becoming an attorney from a young age,” Jessica recalls, “mostly because I just liked arguing.” However, everything changed when she lost her hearing due to bilateral cholesteatomas—benign tumors in the middle ears. This condition left her navigating a silent world that suddenly left her extremely isolated, potentially shifting her dream of pursuing law out of reach.
As she grew older, however, her experiences with discrimination and judgment reignited her determination.
“The more people judged me for losing my hearing, the more I felt drawn back to law. I wanted to make a difference for people who couldn’t always defend themselves.”
Before attending law school at Touro College, Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and therapeutic recreation at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue, NY. Her curiosity about the human mind and behaviors, especially the forces behind people’s choices, guided her studies.
“I was fascinated by what drives people to act the way they do. Is it nature or nurture? Is criminality learned from your environment? I’ve always been intrigued by those questions.”
Through these tough experiences as a young adult, Jessica learned how hard self-advocacy can be, long before her career took shape.
“Because I looked and sounded normal, a lot of people judged me. They thought that I was just ignoring them. Whereas, the people who did know about my hearing, like some of my professors in college, would make nasty comments.”
She stated in particular, one memory she will never forget happened shortly after she obtained a BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid) implant made by Cochlear, something that Jessica was extremely excited about. She was attending a college class when a professor asked everyone to introduce themselves and explain an interesting fact about themselves.
The professor then turned toward her, exaggerated his speech, and in front of the entire class mockingly asked, “Can you hear me?”—imitating the voice of someone born profoundly deaf.
“The remark was meant to humiliate me,” Jessica remembers. “But I just looked at him and said, ‘I’m deaf, not dumb—and unfortunately, this device now lets me hear your ridiculously ignorant comment.'”
That moment became a turning point. “At least I had the ability to use my voice to speak up against bullies,” she says. “A lot of people with disabilities don’t have that same privilege.”
Late in her college years, Jessica began working in group homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities—an experience she describes as pivotal.
“Working in the group homes changed me. I saw how residents were often treated with dismissal and disrespect, and I couldn’t stand it. I wanted to make sure they were treated with the same dignity and integrity as anyone else.”
That sense of empathy, born from her own experience with marginalization, would become the cornerstone of her legal career.
When Jessica was younger, one of her ex-boyfriends had an older brother with a severe disability. She remembers how strangers would stare and whisper in public, judging what they didn’t understand.
“That was a big reason I went into this field. I could defend myself if someone made a comment, but he couldn’t. I wanted to be the voice for those who were voiceless.”
The conviction, to stand up for people who can’t always stand up for themselves, has guided Jessica’s journey ever since.
Once in law school, Jessica continued to build on her foundation of compassion and her resilience. Jessica was determined to accelerate her career by taking the bar exam during her last semester of law school instead of over the summer like her peers. Jessica was one of four students chosen to be part of the Pro Bono Scholars program, which permitted her to take the bar exam early and complete over five hundred pro bono hours in her last semester of school.
Taking the bar exam is a daunting challenge under any circumstances, but unfortunately, just one week before the exam, she endured a personal loss. Despite the emotional toll, she passed on her first attempt.
At Touro Law, the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, she joined the Elder Law Clinic, where she worked with elderly clients, many of whom had no family support and often struggled financially. She helped people navigate Medicaid, resolved landlord-tenant issues, and investigated for the court as a court evaluator in guardianship proceedings.
She quickly realized how many older adults live in the shadows of abuse, fear, and neglect. Shortly after graduating from law school, she found herself back in guardianship proceedings, where she found herself advocating in spaces where people often felt invisible or powerless.
“A lot of people take advantage of the elderly. I don’t know what it is, but as people get older, the ability to take advantage of them increases. A lot of them either don’t realize what’s going on, or they do, but they’re scared because the person that’s abusing them is a family member or a child, and they don’t want to get them in trouble.”
Jessica has seen how easily powers of attorney are misused, leading to guardianship cases, where the intent is to protect the elderly individual, but giving too much power to a guardian can have the same effect, where the individual loses all control of their assets. That fear of retaliation and of abandonment is something she sees constantly in her work. When an individual’s memory starts to decline, family members sometimes petition for guardianship. Unfortunately, it’s not always out of care.
“Although it’s supposed to be used to mostly help the elderly, there are some cases where the person with power is abusing that power, either by stealing money, or emotionally or physically harming the person they’re supposed to be helping,” she explained.
“Despite what people may think, APS can’t do anything unless the elderly individual specifically says, ‘I’m being abused.’ So, unless those words come out of the elderly person’s mouth, they can’t do anything, which is crazy.”
Often, Adult Protective Services (APS) has its hands tied unless they are specifically told that the person is being abused. Unlike Child Protective Services (CPS), APS has no authority to intervene unless the elder explicitly reports the abuse, which is a nearly impossible ask for someone who depends on their abuser for their daily needs.
It’s a tragic flaw in the system: many victims depend on their abusers for food, transportation, and daily care. “If you were to interview a child in front of their abuser, they’re not going to say they’re being abused. It’s the same thing here,” she says.
“The elderly are relying on these people to take care of them—to drive them to appointments, to help them eat, to give them their phone. They think, ‘If I tell them, who’s going to help me now?’ It becomes a very horrible situation for them.”
Most red flags for elder abuse never make it into any of the official police or APS reports. “For example, they may be constantly looking over towards the abuser to answer questions,” she says. “Or there are sudden changes in legal documents that shift assets from being equally split between all the children (i.e., between five children all to one family member), there’s a general reluctance from the family to cooperate during legal proceedings, or the stories are either inconsistent or outlandish and do not make sense. “Jessica has learned to spot the subtle signs of abuse: hesitation, nervous glances toward the caregiver, sudden changes in legal documents, or families refusing to cooperate.
According to her, there are many different signs to determine when someone is being abused or is an abuser. If a family member is abusing the elderly individual, he or she may not want to hand over financial paperwork because it looks like, “Oh shit, they’re going to realize I’ve been stealing from Dad all this time or Mom all this time.”
She has also had firsthand experiences where the opposing attorney appeared to be part of the financial schemes of the abusive child. “You can’t always rely on attorneys; not every attorney actually cares about their clients, unfortunately,” she says, which is why she advises people to trust their instincts.
“When you’re choosing an attorney, choose someone who aligns with your values. You should get a good feeling from them. You should feel that this person is going to be the right person for you and your specific situation.”
Some of the most fulfilling moments in Jessica’s legal career came from helping clients who felt voiceless and unheard after fighting so hard for themselves or a family member.
She recalls one case that exemplifies exactly why she does what she does. “A lot of the time, when I talk about showing people the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m thinking about cases like this guardianship case,” she says.
“This woman has gone through hell trying to get her father out of an abusive situation, and unfortunately, he passed away before we were able to get the chance to get him away from the abuser.”
In this case, the father lived with several of his children, one son who was disabled and his youngest daughter. Unfortunately, his youngest daughter was financially exploiting him for years, stealing his money, mentally and physically abusing him with her boyfriend and isolating him from all those living outside the home.
“My client had tried everything: APS (Adult Protective Services). The Office of Aging. Her local representation, including assemblymen and a senator, even asked the governor to bring a letter to the president of the United States. This woman had tried everything.”
She had even approached the police, district attorney’s office, and numerous federal agencies, but no one was able or willing to take real action. Eventually, a family member recommended that the client seek out an elder law attorney and referred her to Jessica.
Together, they filed a guardianship action. “She kept every little piece of evidence, which is amazing because most people don’t,” Jessica says.
“Big piece of advice? Never lie to your attorney. You can lie to your doctor, you can lie to your freaking accountant, but don’t lie to your attorney. Because your attorney is going to be the only one who can get you out of trouble.”
“If a family member sees that another family member is abusing their parent or their aunt or uncle, whoever it may be in their family who is an elderly individual, they should keep as much documentation as possible: police reports, videos, whatever they can.”
For her client, the turnaround was astonishing. “She said to me, ‘I’ve been trying for the last five years to try and get this taken care of, and you’ve done more in the last three months than anyone has done in the last five years.'”
For every client like her, there are countless others still trapped in the system or ignored by it entirely. The laws meant to protect vulnerable elders are often inadequate, especially when the abuser is a close relative.
“I’m not 100% sure what the perfect solution is, but I do believe that if an adult is being abused by their child, and a legal action is brought, they shouldn’t have to testify directly against that abuser.”
She draws a parallel to domestic violence cases, where victims rarely come forward on their own. “In the cases that the abuser is getting arrested, they’re getting arrested because there have been people fighting for those laws to be changed,” she says.
“There aren’t that many people fighting for these laws to be revised, or rectified, or anything like that. And there’s only so much that somebody in my position or another position could do.”
Today, she sees elder law and disability planning not as separate lanes, but as deeply intertwined. “They are similar in the fact that these individuals get abused a lot,” she says. Beyond the courtroom, Jessica is passionate about fighting the stigma around differently abled individuals and the damaging misconceptions society still holds.
“It’s not true that just because they’re disabled, they don’t understand what’s going on. They do. They feel when people are nasty to them. They have feelings just like you and me, and it bothers them just as much.”
Disabled people have to contend with obstacles in their daily lives that others may not even think about, such as the lack of wheelchair ramps in public spaces. Meanwhile, having an invisible disability can lead to judgment and misunderstanding.
“I have what’s called Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Some days, I’m fine. Other days, say I dislocate my hip or knee, I need to use a wheelchair or crutches or some other adaptive device,” she explains.
“Just because someone needs an adaptive device one day and not the next day does not mean the disability they have isn’t there. There are invisible illnesses that you can’t physically see. Some conditions necessitate the use of handicap stickers. They might look perfectly capable of walking and doing everything, but you don’t know what’s going on inside that person’s body.”
She also has a heart condition that can cause her to faint if she stands for too long, especially in extreme heat. “I have a handicap pass because I have what’s called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). If I walk through a parking lot when it’s 95 degrees out, that can be dangerous for me,” she says.
“There are sometimes when I don’t need the handicap pass, and I won’t use the pass. I could walk from my car to the store, but just because you look at me and I look fine doesn’t mean that I’m fine or doesn’t mean that someone else is fine.”
These personal experiences give Jessica a unique perspective on the vulnerabilities her clients and their family members face and the gaps in understanding that exist in both society and the legal system. It’s why her approach to elder law and disability planning isn’t just about documents and court filings; it’s about meeting people where they are and helping them navigate a world that is so against them.
In her day-to-day work, Jessica takes a practical yet empathetic approach. She begins by educating her clients about the laws, helping them assess their situation, and crafting a plan to move forward, if one exists. “If there’s nothing I can do, I tell them that,” she stresses.
“I’m not here to waste anyone’s money. I’m here to guide clients through some of the most difficult times of their lives, whether that be the loss of a parent, the abuse of a parent by another sibling, planning for their own future, planning for their children’s future, or planning for a disabled child. There are so many different things that happen in different phases of our lives.”
Estate planning isn’t just for the wealthy or the elderly; it’s for everyone.
“From the time you turn 18, you should have some sort of plan. It will change as you get older because you just never know what life is going to throw at you.”
And when there is no plan? The fallout can be brutal. For instance, if a family member has been on Medicaid for nursing home care, the state comes in and takes their money first, Jessica explains.
“If there’s a family member with special needs, their inheritance may not be protected. They could lose their benefits. If a minor inherits, someone must go to court to obtain guardianship over their property. There are so many different factors that people don’t know about if that person were to receive an inheritance.”
Despite the emotional toll of her work, she stays grounded by remembering what’s at stake and how much it means when things go right. “Success, for me, is when the client is happy. If they’re happy, then I’m happy.”
This work often sits at the intersection of grief, family conflict, and the law. Some cases are straightforward. Others turn into battles that test not just the legal system but families themselves.
One case in particular stands out for Jessica, not because it was legally complex, but because it showed how fiercely people will fight even when the law is crystal clear.
After her husband’s death, a widow found herself in a bitter dispute with his sons, one of whom also happened to be an attorney. The son accused her of stealing money and hiding assets, filing over 100 pages of claims to try to cut her out of property her husband and her revocable trusts owned jointly for more than 25 years.
But the deeds told a different story: the properties belonged equally to the husband’s trust and the wife’s trust—a 50/50 split, confirmed by four title companies. “It wasn’t ambiguous,” Jessica says. “The law was clear.”
The son refused to believe it. “He turned around and said, ‘Title companies aren’t the experts on title.’ Oh my God, I was like, what?” Jessica recalls. “Who do you ask to determine who has the title of a property? … The title company.”
He filed an amended complaint, even longer than the first, with the same accusations dressed up in new language. Jessica filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to rule without a trial since there were no real facts in dispute. The judge sided with her completely, rejecting every argument the son had made. He even attempted to appeal, but eventually gave up.
For Jessica, it was never about winning for the sake of winning—it was about giving the widow peace of mind after an already devastating loss. Cases like this remind Jessica why estate planning matters and why clarity can save families from years of fighting. For her, the goal is always to protect people in moments of crisis, not just to win in court.
It’s one of the many stories Jessica could share, but it speaks volumes. Her work isn’t flashy. It’s precise. It’s deeply personal. And it’s grounded in an unwavering belief that people, especially the vulnerable, deserve legal protection, dignity, and peace of mind.
To extend her impact, Jessica is also writing a book designed to guide people through the aftermath of a loved one’s death.
“There aren’t many books out there on what needs to happen moving forward after somebody passes. A lot of people are overwhelmed when a family member dies, based on just grief, right? Then you add in, ‘Okay, I don’t know where to start. I don’t know where to go from here.’ The book is supposed to help individuals find or make it easier for them to know what to do, where to go.”
Given the intensity of her work, Jessica is intentional about prioritizing self-care. “Yes, it’s emotionally heavy,” she says, “but it’s also so rewarding, especially if I win a case for a client through guardianship or if I get their family member on Medicaid. It saves them a lot of money while protecting their assets at the same time.”
Her self-care toolbox includes everything from getting her nails or hair done to going to the movies or taking short vacations. “Sometimes I’ll just hang out with friends or have a night out,” she says.
Taking care of herself helps Jessica show up fully for the families who come to her in crisis. And when it comes to those families caring for loved ones with disabilities, her message is clear: don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed to make a plan.
“Make sure to plan. Plan ahead because you don’t know what the future holds, and you want to protect not only them but yourself. You want to protect everyone in that case scenario, and speaking with an elder law attorney or special needs attorney can help ease the process in the long run and make things a lot easier for you to navigate in the future.”
In addition to her casework, Jessica dedicates a significant portion of her time to education, delivering seminars, webinars, and presentations that demystify elder law, disability planning, and the many myths surrounding Medicaid eligibility.
“Despite the amount of assets, despite the amount of money you receive on a monthly basis, there’s a pretty good chance that in some way or another, we can move things around or change some things to make that person eligible. It’s just a matter of getting the right education and understanding the laws behind it and having the right guidance.”
Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools an attorney can offer a client, especially when it comes to planning for the future. “I’m not going to know what that person’s life looks like until I sit down and they share it with me. And sometimes they don’t share everything.”
“Big piece of advice? Never lie to your attorney. You can lie to your doctor, you can lie to your freaking accountant, but don’t lie to your attorney. Because your attorney is going to be the only one who can get you out of trouble.”
For those who are considering a career in elder law or disability advocacy, Jessica advises finding a mentor who’s a solo practitioner. “When you go to these big firms, you don’t learn as quickly,” she says. “When you work hand-in-hand with a solo practitioner, you’re able to really make a difference and really learn the ins and outs quickly.”
She adds that humility is part of the job: “You’re not going to know everything, and it’s okay not to know everything. Being able to admit that you don’t know everything and saying you need time to research it or to state your thoughts out is better than pretending to know and lying to clients, because it could actually hurt those clients in the long run.”
When asked what she’d say to her 17-year-old self—the girl who thought losing her hearing might mean giving up on her dream—she pauses for a moment.
“I would tell her that something you thought was going to be your biggest weakness wound up being your greatest strength and allowed you to connect with people on a whole other level.”
Moumita Basuroychowdhury is a Contributing Reporter at The National Digest. After earning an economics degree at Cornell University, she moved to NYC to pursue her MFA in creative writing. She enjoys reporting on science, business and culture news. You can reach her at moumita.b@thenationaldigest.com.
