DONOVAN & O’CONNOR  BIDS  FAREWELL  TO   BLACK

BENNINGTON, Vt. -- Donovan & O'Connor, LLP, one of the region’s oldest and largest law firms, announces the departure of Gordon P. Black, Esq., from the firm.  Black practiced in the firm's Bennington office, now at The Stone Mill, 169 North Street.

Established in 1912, Donovan & O’Connor is a general practice firm with 16 attorneys and offices in Bennington, Vermont, and North Adams, Massachusetts.   With attorneys licensed in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York, the firm provides legal services over a range of matters, including trials at all levels, personal injury cases, business and commercial transactions, real estate, estate planning and probate.

Black will be in-house corporate counsel for Applejack Art Partners and Applejack Real Estate in Sunderland, Vermont.  Donovan & O’Connor, with its recently expanded Bennington offices, is well-positioned to continue serving the legal needs of its clients there.

Client matters shall be handled by partners Donald W. Goodrich, Esq., and Danielle D. Fogarty, Esq.

ATTORNEY BRIGID HENNESSEY GRANTED FELLOWSHIP TO AMERICAN ACADEMY OF MATRIMONIAL LAWYERS
The law firm of Donovan & O’Connor, LLP, has announced that Attorney Brigid Hennessey has been admitted as a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, founded in 1962,  is made up of highly skilled negotiators and litigators who represent individuals in all facets of family law.  Only those attorneys recognized by their peers as competent and accomplished family law practitioners are admitted to the Academy.

Attorney Hennessey received her law degree from Albany Law School and her undergraduate degree in political science from Central Connecticut State University.  She has been practicing law as a member of the bars of Massachusetts and New York since 1992 and serves as vice president of the Berkshire Bar Association.

Hennessey focuses her practice on family law, including divorce, custody, child support, paternity and guardianship matters as well as Social Security Disability and criminal defense matters.

She resides in Williamstown with her husband and daughter.

BUFFY D. LORD JOINS DONOVAN & O’CONNOR, LLP
The law firm of Donovan & O’Connor, LLP, announces that Buffy D. Lord has joined the firm as an associate.

Lord was previously engaged in the practice of law with Preis, Kraft & Roy, P.C., of Lafayette and New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, where she focused primarily on litigation with an emphasis on insurance and maritime law.  She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Louisiana, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

A native of Lee, she received her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2003.  While in law school, Lord was a literary citation editor for Pepperdine’s Dispute Resolution Law Journal, a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society, and a recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence, the Margaret Martin Brock Scholarship and the Terry Giles Honor Scholarship.  In addition, while attending Pepperdine, she was a legal extern for Judge Dickran Tevrizian in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California..  Lord received a B.A. in history from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. 

She and her husband, Scott, recently purchased a home in North Adams.  Lord is also the current vice-president of the COTY Youth Project Board.

The 18-attorney firm, with offices now at Mass MoCA in North Adams and on South Street in Bennington, Vermont, is engaged in the general practice of law, including civil and criminal litigation, personal injury, worker's compensation, trust and estate planning and administration, probate, elder law, Medicaid planning, business, corporate, banking and labor law. Other partners in the firm are Philip H. Grandchamp, Donald W. Goodrich, John D. Lanoue, J. Norman O'Connor, Jr., Janice J. Cook, David B. Mongue, Chris S. Dodig, Gordon P. Black and Stephen N. Pagnotta.

Attorney Fogarty joined Donovan & O'Connor as an associate in 1998 and practices out of its North Adams and Bennington offices. Her practice includes estate planning and administration, probate, elder law, Medicaid planning, fiduciary law for financial institutions and real estate. She has been admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, Vermont and New York since 1997.

A native of New York, Fogarty received her bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Miami, her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and a Masters of Law from the University of Amsterdam.

Fogarty is the president of the Board of Directors of Family Life Support Center, Inc., the agency that operates the Louison House transitional shelter in Adams and provides intervention and counseling services to prevent homelessness. She is also a volunteer for Junior Achievement, a member of the Williamstown Rotary Club and past chair of the Board of Outreach at the First Congregational Church in Williamstown. Through Donovan & O'Connor, Fogarty provides pro bono legal services in connection with the Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity and often speaks at educational seminars held by local community organizations on topics related to her practice.

BRIGID HENNESSEY JOINS FIRM
In March, attorney Brigid M. Hennessey joined Donovan & O’Connor, LLP, as an associate, specializing in the area of family law, including divorce, custody, child support, paternity and guardianship matters.  She also serves as a guardian ad litem for the Berkshire (MA) Probate and Family Court in custody cases and handles Social Security Disability and criminal defense matters.

A native of Rochester, New York, Brigid received her undergraduate degree in political science from Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut, in 1989 and her law degree from Albany Law School of Union University in Albany, New York, in 1992.  She is licensed as an attorney in both Massachusetts and New York and has practiced in Berkshire County since 1992.

From 1993 to 2004, Brigid was a member of the Berkshire County Bar Advocate program, providing representation to indigent criminal defendants.   She is currently the northern Berkshire representative to the Executive Committee of the Berkshire Bar Association and a member of its Domestic Relations Committee.  She is also a member of the board of directors of the COTY Youth Center and a spinning instructor at the Northern Berkshire YMCA.  Her other civic activities have included serving on the board of directors of the Women’s Service Center, now known as the Elizabeth Freeman Center, and a five-year term on the Williamstown Conservation Commission.

STEPHEN PAGNOTTA RECEIVES M.B.A. COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
On January 24, 2004, Stephen N. Pagnotta was presented with the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Community Service Award at the Berkshire Bar Association’s annual dinner at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox.  His community activities, spanning nearly two decades, include service on the Boards of Helpline, the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern Berkshire, Northern Berkshire Health Systems, the Turner House Living Center for Veterans, the Williamstown House of Local History and the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation.

DONOVAN & O'CONNOR, LLP TO RELOCATE TO MASS MoCA
T he law firm of Donovan & O'Connor, LLP has finalized an agreement to relocate its primary office to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art complex in North Adams beginning on January 1, 2004. The long time Berkshire County law firm has maintained it's principal office in Adams, MA, since the late Walter Donovan started the practice in 1913. Since then Donovan & O'Connor has grown to become one of the regions largest firms and now has 35 employees including 16 full time attorneys.

Donovan & O'Connor will occupy the entire third floor, approximately 11,000 square feet, of Building 13 at the Mass MoCA complex. The first and second floors will also be renovated and offered for lease to other commercial tenants. "Donovan & O'Connor will be a wonderful compliment to our community of on campus businesses, and we look forward to welcoming this important law firm to our facility within the year," said Joseph Thompson, director of Mass MoCA. "The renovation is the first of three additional commercial buildings to be improved as part of our previously announced Phase II development, the next in line being the R&D building (slated for the State District Court) and building 12 which will commence after Building 13 ids fully leased."

Chris Dodig, a partner at Donovan & O'Connor, said that the firm is excited about the move. "We see this as an opportunity to be a part of the business and economic growth taking place in Northern Berkshire County. We approached MASS MoCA because we had heard about its upcoming Phase II commercial development plan. The timing and location worked well for us, and it looks like this will turn out to be a great fit. The move will provide us with attractive, centrally located, offices as well as some additional space to accommodate our internal expansion. The fact that the new offices are only 5 miles from our old location in Adams made the decision a bit easier. It will allow us to serve all of our existing clients without interruption."

STEPHEN NAREY JOINS DONOVAN & O'CONNOR, LLP
The law firm of Donovan & O'Connor, LLP, has announced that Attorney Stephen F. Narey has joined the firm as an associate.

Narey was most recently engaged in the practice of law with Hutchins, Wheeler & Ditmar, P.C., in Boston, Massachusetts, where he focused on commercial and banking transactions, business enterprise development, corporate organization and governance, and venture capital investments. Before that he was associated with the Boston law firm of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP. He was also an auditor and analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for 11 years.

A native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Narey received his law degree, summa cum laude, from the Suffolk University School of Law, Boston, in 1999. While in law school, he was named by the law school faculty as the outstanding student of the evening division and was the recipient of the Daniel J. Fern Award for graduating first in his class, the Judge Harry Kalus Award for outstanding achievement in Massachusetts practice and the Jurisprudence Award for Constitutional Law. He received his undergraduate education in finance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

While in the Boston area, Narey served as Vice-Chair of the Administration and Finance Committee of Tremont Temple Baptist Church and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Christian Counseling Center. He and his family are relocating to Northern Berkshire.

Speaking on behalf of the firm, partner Chris S. Dodig said, "Steve Narey is a welcome addition here at Donovan & O'Connor. He has a good deal of practical experience in representing large and small businesses. We certainly expect the business growth in North County to continue and, as we finalize our move to MASS MoCA in 2004, we want to be sure we are in position to provide high quality service to the existing and new businesses in the area."

STEPHEN PAGNOTTA NAMED PARTNER
The law firm of Donovan & O'Connor, LLP, has announced that Stephen N. Pagnotta, Esq., has been named a partner in the firm.

Pagnotta, who joined Donovan & O'Connor in 2000, has practiced law in the Berkshires for 20 years. A 1977 graduate of Williams College, he received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1981. He was first associated with the law firm of Cain Hibbard Myers & Cook in Pittsfield and, since 1983, with the North Adams firm of Driver & Ripps, which subsequently became Driver & Pagnotta. Two years ago he and partner Cecil Driver joined Donovan & O'Connor as counsel.

Donovan & O'Connor is engaged in the general practice of law, including civil and criminal litigation, personal injury, worker's compensation, trust and estate planning, business, corporate, banking and labor law, probate, Medicaid planning and real estate. Other partners in the firm are Philip H. Grandchamp, Donald W. Goodrich, John D. Lanoue, J. Norman O'Connor Jr., Janice J. Cook, David B. Mongue, Chris S. Dodig and Gordon P. Black.

Pagnotta concentrates his practice in real estate, bankruptcy, criminal defense, trust and estate planning and family law.

He is a member of the board of directors of Northern Berkshire Health Systems and the board of directors of the Turner House Living Center for Veterans in Williamstown. He also serves as a director of the Williamstown Rural Land Foundation and is a member of the the Faith Scarborough Civic Service Award Committee.

He and his wife, Vivian Patterson, reside in Williamstown.

MICHAEL PALMIERI JOINS FIRM
The law firm of Donovan & O'Connor, LLP, announces that Michael R. Palmieri has joined the firm as an associate.

Palmieri was previously associated with the Albany, NY, law firm of Couch White, LLP, where he practiced civil and commercial litigation. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York.

A native of Pittsfield, he received his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1999, graduating magna cum laude. While in law school, he was a law clerk for O'Connell & Aronowitz of Albany. In addition, he was a legal intern with the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office.

Prior to his law career, Palmieri was employed as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories. He received a B.S. in biology from Union College in Schenectady, NY, in 1985 and an M.B.A. in finance/marketing from the University of Rochester in 1992.

DODIG OBTAINS 1 MILLION DOLLAR JUDGEMENT
Chris S. Dodig of Donovan & O'Connor, LLP recently obtained a 1 million-dollar judgment on behalf of a client who was sexually abused by an older man over a period of nearly six years. On December 6, 1999, Vermont Superior Court Judge Alan Cheever awarded a Vermont man, now age 27, $750,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages against Michael Greenfield; a former owner of a popular Vermont restaurant who was once named Vermont's "Restauranteur of the Year." Greenfield previously plead no contest to criminal charges of sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct arising in large part out of his relationship with Dodig's client.

Dodig indicated that his client suffered longstanding harm from the mental and sexual abuse, which began when he was 14 years old and continued for nearly six years. "I was proud to represent this young man. He was very brave to come forward as he did. His story is a true tragedy. Apart from the abuse itself, he basically had his youth stolen, and there aren't many worse losses than that. I believe his courage saved many other boys from similar suffering."

Dodig, a partner at Donovan & O'Connor, concentrates his practice on handling serious injury cases on behalf of individuals and families. He practices out of the firm's offices in Bennington and North Adams, Massachusetts.