Firm Overview

Facing a serious legal matter can be at once frightening and debilitating. Sharing that problem with the right attorney can help you return to a place of peace and clarity so that you can move to deal with the problem effectively. In the best of all worlds, you may learn that what you perceived to be a serious problem is one that can be dealt with and resolved. There is no problem for which there is not an insightful answer which will eventually yield an appropriate outcome. Often times legal problems can have a far reaching affect on one's personal life. Certainly the affects of divorce are far reaching and transcendent on all family members.

People who are injured as a result of another person's negligence may face the prospect of permanent injury which will dramatically affect that person's day-to-day life and the loss and enjoyment of it.

Our firm utilizes the services of 2 paralegals in all aspects of our practice. Both are certified and each has at least 20 years experience. Each paralegal has a specialized area of interest where their services are utilized to the fullest extent. This allows us to turn over a large portion of the administrative aspect of a file to a designated paralegal whose services are billed at a substantially lower rate. The client realizes that direct savings.

Family Law

Each family law matter, especially divorce, is different in some respect from others. It is extremely important at the onset to be able to discover and isolate the individual characteristic of each divorce or family law matter and neither treat the client, nor the case as if it were commonplace. Careful attention has to be paid to not only the parties to a divorce, but to other family members who are affected thereby. During the pendency of a divorce action, for the benefit of the children, the status quo must be maintained as much as possible since children often find themselves more involved in the process than they ought to be. They take on, in many cases, the mantel of responsibility believing that they are somehow at fault for their parents' breakup. It is also important to strive for a custody arrangement that optimizes the amount of time that the children spend with each parent provided the optimization of parent-child contact does not destabilize or interfere with the child's daily routine. The first order of business is obviously the children. After that, fair and equitable distribution of marital assets, child support and spousal maintenance all have to be dealt with, leaving neither party feeling bitter and resentful, which feelings eventually reflect themselves in a poor relationship between the divorcing parties and ultimately affect the children. It may sound like a hopeless ideal, but it is a reality and has worked in many cases.

Personal Injury

The public at large views personal injury claims with great skepticism; skepticism because people who are not seriously injured were able, for an extended period of time, to obtain large judgments against insurance carriers. Over the years the public has gotten quite cynical of personal injury claims and juries have been able to sort out real injuries resulting in real pain, suffering and disability from those that appear to be simply opportunities to obtain sums of money from an insurance company. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any particular warm feeling for insurance companies since I believe that by and large insurance companies do not deal in good faith. However, a meritorious case is always worth pursuing even though the process may be lengthy and exhausting. A person suffering from a serious personal injury that has permanent consequences can never really get their life back to where it was before they sustained the injury. However imperfect money is to make an injured person whole, it is the only way that our society can attempt to compensate someone for their loss. Over the years, I have litigated and settled hundreds of personal injury cases.

Real Estate

It is said that the largest single monetary investment that the ordinary person is likely to make during a lifetime is the purchase of a home. Our office represents parties to real estate transactions and offers a wide range of services for the homeowner, as well as the client interested in purchasing or leasing commercial property. We also represent both sellers and buyers of businesses and have experience ranging from the purchase or sale of a simple "mom and pop" country store to the purchase or sale of a going waste hauling commercial business, including the sale of its rolling stock, its real estate and the transfer of all of its environmental permits.

Our real estate department is complemented by 2 paralegals who have a great depth and breadth of experience. Although they tend to the administrative details of which there can be many in a real estate practice, I nonetheless am actively involved with each file. Referring administrative details of a file to a paralegal can result in a considerable savings to the client in fees.

Wills and Estates

I am the former Judge of Probate for the District of Fair Haven, having served in that position for 20 years. Accordingly, I have a comprehensive wills and estate practice, not only in this probate district, but in other probate courts in the State of Vermont. In the estate field, we also handle guardianships, elder law planning, trust administration and fiduciary representation in the settlement of estates.

General Business

Commercial transactions that do not involve real estate generally have to do with the formation of a business, a negotiation for the terms of a contract, the disposition of business assets or other similar business matters. The decisions a business owner makes should serve to move the enterprise along toward greater success. When wrong decisions are made, frequently the costs to undo them can be enormous. The role of an attorney for a business is to ensure that the business does not inadvertently take a wrong turn and miss its intended destination. Sometimes what seems like a great idea is full of pitfalls. It is only with the assistance of an experienced attorney who can stand back and give you an unbiased opinion that a decision that is truly in the best interest of your business can be made.

We maintain a small, but efficient staff. Our phone calls are returned immediately and all of the work is done in a timely and professional manner.