Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC is proud to announce that Katie O’Neill and Wyatt Jansen have both been named as partners in the firm. Katie joined Whitman Breed in 2012 and is a partner in the Business Law Department and Wyatt, who joined Whitman Breed in 2014, is a partner in the Litigation Department.
Katie represents clients in a wide variety of corporate transactions, including venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, loan originations and other financing activities. She also frequently represents small to mid-size companies in general corporate matters, including negotiating commercial contracts with vendors, suppliers, employees, and other service providers. Katie received a J.D., with honors, from Villanova University School of Law in 2011, and a BSBA in Finance from Villanova University in 2008.
Wyatt represents clients in complex business and trust, estate, and fiduciary litigation throughout Connecticut and New York. He frequently handles cases involving foreign law and first-impression legal issues and has trial experience in some of the largest corporate and trust disputes in Connecticut. Wyatt regularly writes and presents on legal issues, most recently on offshore trust litigation in domestic courts. He received a J.D., with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2012, and a B.A. from New York University.
December 2020
Rod Saggese was elected President of the Greenwich Old Timers Athletic Association. The Old Timers raise money for college scholarships and youth sports programs in Greenwich. Rod has been on the Board of Directors of the Old Timers since March, 2012.
November 2020
Following more than four years of litigation, the Firm obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of a client it represented on a pro bono basis. In 2016, at the request of the United States District Court, the Firm agreed to represent a former employee of the East Haven Police Department (the “Town”), who had filed an age discrimination lawsuit in connection with events culminating in the termination of her employment two years earlier. In late 2017, following discovery and extensive briefing, the District Court entered summary judgment in favor of the Town, finding that plaintiff’s voluntary retirement shortly before a scheduled disciplinary hearing in December 2014 precluded any claim that plaintiff had been constructively discharged, notwithstanding the questionable nature of the charge and statements made to the plaintiff by an Internal Affairs Officer regarding the likely outcome of the hearing. Green v East Haven Police Dep’t, 2017 WL 6498144 (D. Conn. Dec. 19, 2017). The Firm appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and, working with appellate counsel at Paul Weiss, obtained a reversal of the District Court’s decision in March 2020. In a lengthy decision, the Court of Appeals concluded that questions of fact existed as to whether plaintiff had been constructively discharged, and that based on the record, a factfinder applying the correct legal standard could rationally find that an employee in plaintiff’s position would have felt compelled to submit her resignation stating that she was retiring, rather than face nearly certain termination. Green v. Town of East Haven, 952 F.3d 394 (2020). The case was thereupon remanded to the District Court and, following a mediation before Magistrate Judge Robert Spector, the Firm obtained a settlement resulting in a six figure payment to its client. Jim Riley acted as lead counsel, and was assisted by Michael Battema.
Drew Nelson and Nick Douglas represented a leading national seller and distributor of high-quality ornamental plant seed and related products in the negotiation and sale of its distribution business to one of the worldwide leading companies in ornamental plant production and distribution. The family-owned company has been in business for over 75 years and the acquisition was part of the acquirer’s strategy to expand its business.
Smith & Grant LLP Joins the Whitman Breed Team
August 31, 2020 – Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC is excited to welcome the attorneys and staff from the Greenwich-based firm of Smith & Grant LLP to our growing team. Smith & Grant LLP was founded by attorneys George L. Smith and Elizabeth M. Grant and has provided a comprehensive array of trusts and estates services for over 15 years.
“We at Whitman Breed are very excited at the prospect of adding George and Libby, two of the pre-eminent estate planning lawyers in Fairfield County, to our team. Their arrival will add significant depth and experience to our existing trusts and estates practice and enhance our trust and estates/fiduciary litigation capabilities,” expressed Whitman Breed Co-Managing Partner, Charlie Pieterse.
June 2020
Drew Nelson, Kevin Walsh, Margaret Conboy and Nick Douglas represented a Greenwich Connecticut-based investment firm in the negotiation, purchase and restructuring of a national business engaged in providing outsourced repair, maintenance, construction and remodeling services to restaurants, beauty salons and other retail service establishments. The Whitman Breed team addressed purchase and sale issues and real estate matters as part of the transaction.
June 2019
Charles W. Pieterse and Wyatt R. Jansen presented “When Offshore Trust Disputes Wash Up Onshore” at the American Law Institute’s annual Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries conference. Together with their co-presenter, Richard LeVine of Withers Bergman LLP, Charlie and Wyatt discussed all aspects of domestic litigation concerning offshore trusts, including who uses offshore trusts, how offshore trust disputes end up in US courts, and the unique complications that arise in domestic litigation of offshore trust disputes. Their presentation materials are available here.
On June 10, 2019, Charles W. Pieterse moderated a panel discussion at the Connecticut Bar Association’s 2019 Connecticut Legal Conference entitled “Conservatorship Litigation – A discussion of Strategic, Legal and Ethical Issues.” Together with fellow panelists the Honorable David W. Hopper, Day Pitney LLP Partner Keith Bradoc “Brad” Gallant and Brody Wilkerson PC partner Heather J. Lange, the panel discussed issues practitioners are typically confronted with in these challenging matters, including (i) advising a client on the risks and benefits of commencing a conservatorship application, (ii) what ethical obligations a lawyer has under Rule 1.14 to take protective measures when the client is impaired, (iii) how one addresses the “least restrictive means of intervention standard” in a contested proceeding and (iv) the import of recent court decisions. Michael Battema prepared the presentation materials for the panel, a copy of which is available here.
