As the face and founder of Burner Law Group, P.C., Nancy Burner is a pretty busy legal eagle. With four offices between Westhampton Beach, Setauket, East Hampton and Manhattan (the latter run by her chip-off-the-old-block attorney daughter, Britt), her life tends to be scheduled down to the minute—all the more motivation for settling down, both personally and professionally, in Westhampton Beach.
But Burner well knows the benefit of surrounding herself with good vibes. Her firm, which specializes in elder care, trusts and estate work, is nearly all-female. And while that wasn’t necessarily a purposeful choice, it was one that grew from Burner’s smart, intuitive sense of with whom to surround herself.
“It’s not by design; it kind of happened organically. I came from a family of mostly women. We were five sisters and I have four daughters.” says Burner. “I didn’t set out to build a firm this way, but women just know how to get things done! It’s great. I actually feel like when you work with other women, we’re of like minds.”
It also harkens back to Burner’s initial years as an attorney. When she first started practicing in ’88, she was surrounded by mostly male colleagues. “They didn’t get that my daughter was having her first day of kindergarten and I wanted to be there. I get it when my employees have something like that,” she says. Recently, when her granddaughter was visiting, that it-takes-a-village sentiment kicked in around the office. “Someone on my staff took my granddaughter to the library for story time when I couldn’t get away; another took her to the park. We were all playing tag team watching her.”
That sense of community is also what draws her to Westhampton Beach. It’s here Burner has found her happy place. Although she’s owned the building since 2005, it underwent a full on rebuild and renovation in 2019 by Westhampton Beach builders, Elderco, and architect Grant Card, with interior design by Southampton-based Laura Sanatore. “My beautiful conference room and the balcony off my office are my favorite places!” says Burner.
With a bird’s-eye-view of Westhampton Beach’s bustling Main Street and a house by the beach, Burner is now happily a permanent Hamptonite—and she’s definitely got some opinions and advice on where to go and what to do.
These are some of Nancy Burner’s favorite South Fork things:
Favorite coffee/tea
I am a coffee drinker! I honestly go to Hampton Coffee Co. and order a cappuccino with oat milk every day. I love using their app! It’s on my phone and it’s so simple. Just order, go in the back door and pick it up on the way to work. It’s easy and close – it’s right on Main Street in Westhampton Beach on the circle just across from the town’s Village Hall.
Favorite place to relax and get away for a minute
I mean, my absolute favorite is the beach. I live on the water and I have a little 28-foot bowrider and I just get on that. I often go out alone on it and I can go any time of day or night—in the morning, when I’m home from work, on the weekends. I live so close to the office, I can go at lunch time!
Favorite splurge dinner
It’s not so much about the splurge, but what I’ll tell you is the Patio in Westhampton Beach is great. They’re open year-round. In the summer it’s packed but in the winter it’s all the locals–it’s one of the few places we can go to anytime of year. I like the pan-roasted Faroe Island salmon and an Old-Fashioned with Bulleit!
Favorite power lunch
For a work lunch out, I go to Flora. Oh my god, that flower pot dessert! It’s amazing. I like that I can sit outside and people watch, and it’s just so very pleasant. That’s one of my favorite things to do there. And oh, their crispy chicken sandwich— it’s sinful, but that’s what I eat there!
Favorite place to grab a gift
Hands down, Hampton + Dunes. There are such beautiful things there. [Owner Michelle Mancuso] has such a great eye. Everything she selects is lovely. She helped me design all the artwork in my offices in the city and out here. It’s a beautiful store. She has everything from lotions to jewelry to soft, cashmere blankets and crisp white sheets–it’s all just beautiful. She was my tenant in my Setauket building, and when I built the building here in Westhampton Beach she saw what I was doing with the offices upstairs, and said, “I need the whole downstairs!” So that’s where she is. It’s so much better than looking at office furniture! People love her.
Favorite bookstore?
I have to say the one we have in Westhampton Beach, Red Jacket Books. [Owner Ben Vengroff] is very accommodating! If he doesn’t have a book I’m looking for, he orders it right away. And I’m a big giver of books. If I love a book, I give to the people in my life.
Favorite beach?
My favorite beach is Rogers Beach because I can walk to it from my house. I take my dogs down there in the mornings. That’s why I gave up my apartment in the city—I wanted to wake up and be at the beach in the morning. Even if I make the trip into the city, I don’t mind driving home at night so I can wake up to the beach in the morning.
Favorite Town
I grew up in West Islip on the south shore. When I was married, we moved to Port Jefferson and that’s where I raised my girls. In 2005, I started a satellite office in Westhampton Beach and absolutely fell in love with the town. The first real estate I owned for my firm was the property on Main Street. I moved out here in 2018 to Beach Lane—never looked back!
Favorite spot for a cocktail?
Sunday afternoon at Dockers! With the sunshine!
