John, thank you so much for all your effort and dedication for this matter.

Dear Mr. D.

Yia sas! I'm writing this letter is to inform your office of the recent experience I encountered as a client with a local (Glyfada) law firm and to pledge my recommendation for this law firm to the U.S. Embassy Consul Dept.

In October 2008, I had to make an emergency return to Greece due to the death of my mother. On top of my grief, I was mentally weighed down by knowing, as the only child, the decisions facing me concerning my mother's funeral arrangements and estate. Also, I knew my decisions would be much harder knowing my mother had no legal will...even after countless years of my encouragement for her to obtain one. Because of my lengthy absence from Greece (17 years) I was naive of the Greek estate laws and Greek laws in general. I knew my naivety would require legal counsel.

Prior to leaving the United States , my husband searched the U. S. Embassy (Athens) website to obtain a listing of attorneys or law firms that provide service to Americans living in Greece or for ex-pats living outside of Greece . My husband was able to locate the attorneys listing on your Special Consular Services website page. Please accept my grateful appreciation for providing this listing; it made my less than happy trip, more palatable. From your published list I was able to locate a law firm who bent over backwards to assist me during this difficult time - in particular, I'm referring to the Law Offices of John M. Tripidakis and Associates.

Without an appointment, my husband and I walked into the Law Offices of John M. Tripidakis and Associates. Mr. Tripidakis and Ms. Katerina Pezirkianidou immediately welcomed my husband and I and attended to our situation. Their professionalism and genuine care to ensure we received expert legal advice and guidance, coupled with their empathy, provided my husband and I with the reassurance that we had located the law firm we needed to handle my mother's estate matters. During our initial meeting, Mr. Tripidakis and Ms. Pezirkianidou meticulously explained, in a layman's fashion, the Greek estate laws pertaining to my situation and the timeframes related to resolving my mother's estate. Although I'm fluent in the Greek language, my husband is not, so Mr. Tripidakis and Ms. Pezirkianidou conducted all meetings and correspondence in English.

I cannot praise Ms. Pezirkianidou and this law firm enough. Because of our immediate situation [we were only going to be there for a week], she immediately began working our case to ensure she had the required documents before we returned home. Throughout the legal proceedings and process she kept us informed of the case status via email updates. These updates were very detailed; when I did have questions, she responded in a timely manner.

I can honestly say, this is the first time I put my complete trust with something into someone else's hands. I did not have any worries about the legitimacy or capabilities of this law firm. Their actions were that of consummate professionals, always focused on the clients needs. In my mind, this law firm scored a perfect 10 with how they handled my case and represented me. I am quite sure this same “perfect” service is received by every client of theirs.

Sincerely yours,

//signed//

D.G.

Texas / USA