atLaw
John D. Hanify
617 226-3450
Shareholder
Areas of Concentration
Business Litigation
Business Separations
Office
The traveler in Robert Frost’s famous poem encounters two roads diverged and tells his listeners: “I…I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference.” The poem has been celebrated for its choice of the unconventional. However, that may not really be what Frost is saying. The roads “equally lay” and were “just as fair; and “worn really about the same.” In addition to the speaker’s stammer, “I…I took…”, his decision is made “with a sigh.” A better case can be made that Frost is considering anxiously and with indecision a life choice, something very far from a certainty and without a simple answer. And the look back “ages and ages hence” is an after-the- fact over-dramatization of that early decision that really had no right answer.
We have just celebrated twenty five years in this practice. I’d like to be able to say that the early choices about what we would be and how we would practice were discerning, visionary, and ground breaking. However, they were cautiously made with a great deal of uncertainty. We found a very welcoming legal community. Hard work and diligence were not at war with family obligations. Money, while important, was not the only object of our professional motivations.
Like the traveler, in hindsight, we claim all the right choices! We have chosen to stay on this path, to continue to build this practice, to preserve our professional culture, abstain from mergers, deepen our practice capacity, and stay focused on what we do well. We serve clients in many states and from several countries and while you might see us in New York or Washington, D.C., it won’t be somebody else borrowing our name.
Unsurprisingly, we are finding very gifted young lawyers who see this path “just as fair” and can find a balance in their professional lives that also supports commitments in the community and at home. Invariably, these professionals are beyond hardworking, extraordinarily committed to clients but in search of balance. We believe such balance in a professional’s personal life is the surest way of supporting his good judgment and best advice to clients. That young lawyers are attracted to this practice is no surprise.
Elsewhere in this newsletter, we introduce new shareholders, Karen Whitley (employment law), Dan Dwyer (fiduciary and commercial litigation), and Tom Harrison (commercial real estate). All are exceptional lawyers who have practiced as associates with the firm and played key roles in sup-porting and developing our practice.
This month we also welcomed two important professionals to this effort. Mike Marcucci joins us from Ropes& Gray. Mike has represented publicly held companies in connection with SEC and other governmental investigations. He will support our securities and class action defense work and continue his general commercial litigation practice.
Jim Marcellino also joins the firm as counsel. Jim had been a partner at McDermott, Will and Emery. Jim is widely respected as a very able trial lawyer. In addition to his support to our litigation group, he will continue to teach at Boston College Law School on a part-time basis. Jim is also a former President of the Boston Bar Association.
We have a large representation of “Best lawyers”, “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” designated by our professional peers, but the most gratifying endorsement comes from clients. Chambers USA surveyed business and corporate leaders who have worked with us in business litigation matters and noted our “exceptional legal talent and catered client services” and“ unbelievable efficiency and reasonable fees.”
In our business litigation and for successive years, we have been recognized for winning among the largest verdicts in Massachusetts. We continue to manage cases in many locations and prize our reputation as “one of the premier litigation boutiques in Boston.”(Chambers 2007)
Our business reorganization group has had singular success in complex reorganizations, described by Chambers as the “leading Boston boutique” in corporate bankruptcy and restructuring work.
Efficient and expedited service in corporate mergers and acquisitions are hallmarks of the firm’s corporate practice group, which also includes commercial real estate transactions.
We remain committed to these three practice areas, dedicated to personal and efficient service to clients, challenged and excited by the road ahead and hopeful that you will continue to travel with us during our next twenty-five years.
