ASTORIA – Lawyer Maria Markou spoke about legal issues concerning the community and especially Greek and Cypriot expatriates living in the United States on June 13 at the Archdiocesan Hellenic Cultural Center in Astoria.

Markou’s staff handed out a rose to each attendee at the event. The room was filled to capacity and besides the discussion of legal issues, a slideshow featuring photos from Markou’s childhood to the present day was also screened.

Presenter and co-ordinator of the evening was the journalist Andreas Hadjioannou, who spoke about Markou from the beginning of her career until now. He mentioned her character and that the interest shown to her clients is above all human. “Maria is first and foremost a human being and then a lawyer,” Hadjiioannou said.

Immediately thereafter Markou appeared taking to the stage where she sat on a velvet red sofa holding a white rose. Her speech focused on issues related to inheritance and property, military matters, marriages and divorces. A lot of weight has been given to the famous land registry issue that has lately caused a stir among many in the community since they have not been fully informed about how to proceed.

Another controversial issue she discussed was immigration. Markou spoke about what to look out for, especially when it comes with ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, as well as information on visa and green card applications.

The talk lasted 45 minutes, and in the end Maria Markou took questions from the audience about more inheritance issues and immigration.

Markou was awarded for her contribution to the Greek community not only as a lawyer but also for her community service participation by the HELLAS FM radio station. The honorary plaque was presented by the director of the station Dimitris Filippidis.

A reception followed at the cultural center, where people also had the opportunity to speak more in depth with the lawyer.