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We value our small size, personal attention to clients, and knowledge of the unique local environment of the East End, where we live and work.

Our close involvement in Town and Village affairs on a daily basis gives us the knowledge to serve our clients with competence and confidence. Our firm includes attorneys who have significant New York City experience, having worked for many years in real estate development and financing in one case, and criminal prosecution and family law in another. We may be small, but we have big ideas. We work hard and think creatively to solve our clients’ problems.

Richard E. Whalen, Partner

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Richard Whalen, the founder of the firm, is an attorney with more than 25 years' legal experience in zoning, land use, and real estate transactional work. His zoning and land use background includes serving as a Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of East Hampton for more than 14 years, from 1989 to 2003. In that capacity, he acted for many years as counsel to both the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board.

In private practice Rick has represented hundreds of clients in all types of zoning matters, from subdivisions to zone change requests, wetland and natural resources special permit applications to site plan and variance requests. He has served on a variety of East Hampton Town committees since his departure from Town employment, including the Nature Preserve Committee. He is also a board member of the East Hampton Business Alliance.

In addition to his professional experience, he has been a long-time student of East Hampton’s history and geography, interests that dovetail well with his legal work in local real estate and zoning.

An Amagansett resident and avid outdoorsman, Rick has led hundreds of hikes for the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society over the past thirty years. When not at work, he can usually be found running, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, or snow-shoeing on local trails.

David Filer, Partner

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David Filer is an East Hampton resident whose family has lived here for ten generations. He graduated with a BA in English Literature and History from Lynchburg College. After working in the insurance business on the East End for two years, he received a Master’s Degree in English Education while teaching high school students in Virginia. He co-founded and ran an East Hampton-based mail order bookstore for six years, leaving East Hampton again to attend Brooklyn Law School, where he obtained a JD in 2002.

David served as an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, hired by the legendary Robert M. Morgenthau in 2002. In his 16 years as a prosecutor, David prosecuted crime at all levels, including domestic violence, weapons possession, narcotics, assaults, larcenies, robberies, and shootings. His successful prosecution of felony domestic violence cases resulted in significant jail sentences for the perpetrators and some sense of justice for the victims. He became the Criminal Court Supervisor of a trial bureau where he supervised and trained new attorneys. In his later years at the DA’s Office, David joined the Office’s elite Sex Crimes Unit where he investigated violent sexual assaults.

In 2016, David became the Co-Director of the New York County District Attorney’s Office Prosecution Clinic where he oversaw law students who prosecuted their own cases in New York City Criminal Court, and served as an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School.

In addition, David is trained extensively in divorce mediation and negotiated divorce. He actively works to educate divorcing couples on the benefits of non-adversarial divorce, promoting peaceful resolution of family conflict through mediation and collaborative divorce.

David was elected East Hampton Town Justice in January 2024 and enjoys now serving in that role.

Thomas Crouch, Partner

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Thomas Crouch focuses his practice on real estate, zoning, and land use law. Thomas joined Whalen Filer from his own practice, Crouch McWilliams Law Group, representing clients in real estate closings and before each of the East Hampton town and village municipal boards. Thomas was also formerly an Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of East Hampton. He represented the Town’s Planning Board, was the Town’s closing attorney for its Community Preservation Fund purchases, and represented the Town in state and federal court on land use litigation matters.

Prior to representing the Town, Thomas was an associate attorney for Roy Greenberg, Esq. exclusively representing buyers and sellers in real estate transactions. He also has a background in civil litigation, completing a clerkship for the Honorable Perry M. Buckner, III, of the South Carolina Circuit Court, and he has been an associate for a litigation firm in the Carolinas.

Thomas lives in Amagansett with his wife Libby, an East Hampton native, their son Owen, and their chocolate lab rescue Bertie. Thomas enjoys playing golf and exploring the local beaches with Bertie.

Celia Josephson, Partner

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Celia Josephson has practiced law in East Hampton since 1993, incorporating her firm in 2006 as Celia M. Josephson Esq. PC, specializing in estate and health care planning, real estate and business law. She is now delighted to join Whalen Filer PLLC as a partner to be able to offer her clients a wider array of services and the advantages of a multi-attorney firm.

In November 2023, she was elected East Hampton Town Trustee for a two-year term beginning in January 2024. She is a member of the Aquaculture, Beaches, Education and Lazy Point/Napeague Harbor committees and a liaison to East Hampton Town’s Energy and Sustainability Committee. She plans to seek re-election for a four-year term beginning January 2026.

In her voting history and advocacy, Celia has promoted living shorelines, beach access, water quality monitoring and remediation, shellfish seeding, Lazy Point lease management, construction and dredging review, public education and community projects, served as judge of the Montauk science fair, and supported school environmental programs in East Hampton Middle and High Schools.

Celia is bi-lingual in Spanish and has taught ESL, High School Equivalency and Citizenship Preparation in the East Hampton Library for several years. She now teaches Spanish at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton.

Through her participation in the High Impact Community Outreach Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Fork, she has been one of four members awarding grants to East End non-profits. Since 2021, $100,000 has been awarded and a further $150,000 has just been authorized.

Celia enjoys singing in the Choral Society of the Hamptons, which presents three local concerts a year.

Last but not least, she is now a first time grandmother!

Jeff Freireich, Of Counsel

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Jeffrey Freireich is admitted to the Bar of the States of New York and New Jersey, holds an MBA in finance from the NYU Stern Graduate School of Business, and a JD degree from Hofstra University School of Law. He has over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry.

Jeff began his career practicing law in New York City before becoming an executive in the oil industry. He then helped found the New York/New Jersey based real estate firm of Kushner Companies. During his 21 year career at Kushner Companies, he was in charge of land development, zoning matters, acquisitions, and entitlements. He served as Vice Chairman and Director until 2007.

In 2008, Jeff formed JF Real Estate Group and has been actively involved in establishing various real estate ventures. A full-time resident of East Hampton, he serves as a consultant to private and public real estate clients, and is the former Executive Director of the East Hampton Business Alliance.

Madeleine Narvilas, Of Counsel

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Madeleine Narvilas received her MS from the Columbia University School of Social Work and her JD from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Madeleine brings a unique combination of skills and experience to the firm. Over the course of her career as an attorney and a clinician, Madeleine has served in such diverse roles as an expert witness/clinical consultant to London-based Integrated Care Management Ltd, a representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, a therapist through NYC Department of Mental Health to victims of the September 11 terrorist attack, and as an Assistant District Attorney for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Madeleine worked as an Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of East Hampton from 2007 to 2010. She also served as Counsel to the East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board.

Kim Ovando, Office Administrator and Paralegal

Kim Ovando grew up in Montauk, where her family runs a local business. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from St. Joseph’s College in 2013. Kim joined the Firm in 2016 as a Legal Assistant. Throughout her time at the firm, she’s been involved in all aspects of the firm’s real estate and land use practice, including residential and commercial sales transactions, coordinating the preparation of real estate conveyance documents, organizing and assisting with closings, and performing real property searches. In addition, Kim is instrumental in running the office. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and family in Montauk, as well as visits with her extended family in Guatemala.