Our Practice
I describe my practice as a wheel, and the hub of the wheel is the trusts and estates practice. The spokes of the wheel are the practice areas that frequently intersect with that core practice – estate planning and estate taxation; probate and estate administration law; elder, health care and disability planning; real estate law; civil litigation; guardianship and mental health law; charitable gift planning; and, succession issues for family businesses. Employment law has also been an area of focus for me for my entire career. Anna works primarily on business, corporate, and commercial matters. It is always gratifying to me when lawyers, accountants, and financial professionals refer their parents or children to me — those are good days.
Thoughts About Law Practice
Above all, we practice “Relationship Law.” We have relatively few “One and Done” matters. Instead, our clients call us when legal issues enter their lives, regardless of whether those issues were the reason for our initial meeting. Real estate clients call us for estate planning. Business clients call us for real estate help. Employment law clients call us for personal injury consultations. Parents call us when their children need a lawyer, and adult children call when their parents need help with the legal issues related to aging. When the call involves something that our office does not do, such as criminal defense, immigration, or requires a lawyer in another state or country, we steer our clients to the right place, and make sure their interests are protected.
Thoughts About Community
The Berkshires have an exceptionally high rate of volunteerism, and the legal profession is particularly dedicated in this area. Nearly all of my friends and professional acquaintances contribute to community in some way – in my case, as past president of the Berkshire Atheneum Board of Trustees, the Berkshire Medical Center Ethics Committee, and many others over the years. In addition to involvement with several bar associations, my practice is greatly aided by my membership in the national and Massachusetts chapters of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org), which is important to so many of my clients. Like many of my colleagues, I regularly have pro bono work on my desk, and am a frequent speaker on legal issues. I am very fortunate to live and work in the Berkshires.
