Jevera and Bill Hennessey Named the 2023 City of Stamford Citizens of the Year LOCAL STRENGTH | GLOBAL INSIGHT

Whitman Breed Partner, Jevera Hennessey, along with her husband Bill Hennessey, were recently named the 2023 City of Stamford Citizens of the Year.  Jevera grew up in Greenwich, but, along with Bill, she has called Stamford home since the 1980s. Besides both of their professional work as attorneys, the two have dedicated countless hours to volunteering for an eclectic selection of organizations and agencies over the decades.

Jevera has served on the board of directors for SilverSource, which provides services for at-need seniors, the Stamford Public Education Foundation and the Hill House. She is currently on the Professional Advisors Council for the Greenwich Historical Society and previously served on the Professional Advisors Council for the Fairfield County Community Foundation. Jevera was a governor appointee to the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Currently, she is a member of Stamford’s Community Emergency Response Team and serves on the board of the Stamford Hospital Foundation.

Richard Mancuso, Drew Nelson, Nick Douglas and Eleni Choephel acted as deal counsel to Zollner Elektronic AG, a German electronics manufacturing services company, in connection with the negotiation and sale by Zollner of Sourceability, a global electronics component distributor, in a management-led buyout supported by CrowdOut Capital LLC, an investment firm based in Austin, TX. The transaction involved the sale of the six Sourcability subsidiaries owned by Zollner located in the US, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Germany, India and Singapore.

On December 15, 2022, Margaret Conboy, on behalf of the Greenwich Land Trust, closed on a new 11.5 acre conservation easement located on King St., Greenwich, CT. The beautiful property will be conserved in perpetuity.  The Greenwich Land Trust now has a total of 869 acres of permanently conserved land. This easement area is a type of meadow habitat has become increasingly rare and conserving it will ensure that the flora and fauna found there will have a place to thrive.  The parcel is adjacent to more than 250 acres of existing protected open space.  Conserving this land ensures that the greenway is further expanded and protected for future generations.

Drew Nelson and Nick Douglas represented White Mountain, a New Hampshire-based footwear brand with operations in the US, Hong Kong and China, and its shareholders in connection with the negotiation and sale of the company to American Exchange Group, an accessories design, manufacturing and wholesale business based in New York City.

Richard Mancuso, Drew Nelson, Nick Douglas and Eleni Choephel represented Athletic Brewing Company LLC, an industry-leading craft brewer of non-alcoholic malt-based beverages, in connection with a capital raise in excess of $75,000,000, which included a $50,000,000 strategic investment by Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (NASDAQ: KDP), in addition to approximately $25,000,000 raised from other new and existing investors.

Following three years of litigation, the Firm obtained a favorable decision in an assessment appeal involving a 125,000 square foot office building in Windsor, CT.  The property was assessed at a full value of $8.8 million as a result of the Town-wide revaluation in 2018.  The property owner then challenged the assessment through an appeal to the Superior Court.  A two-day bench trial was conducted in August 2022 before the Tax Session of the Superior Court in New Britain.  The Court issued its decision in October, expressly crediting the testimony of the property owner’s appraiser and its listing agent at CBRE, and concluding that the actual full value of the property as of October 1, 2018 was $5.85 million, i.e., almost $3 million less than the value ascribed by the Town.  See COF Real Estate Investments, LLC, Series C  v. Town of  Windsor, 2022 WL 14439463 (Conn. Super. Oct. 19, 2022).  The decision will result in substantial tax savings for the Firm’s client.  Jim Riley acted as lead trial counsel for the property owner, assisted by Trevor Larrubia.

Richard Mancuso, Drew Nelson, Nick Douglas and Eleni Choephel represented a Connecticut-based company engaged in the business of distribution and testing of electronic components that services the commercial, defense and aerospace industries in connection with the negotiation and sale of the company to an international electronic components distributor based in the United Kingdom.

Whitman Breed is pleased to announce that 11 of our attorneys have been named to the 2022 Connecticut Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Please join us in congratulating:

Charles W. Pieterse, Trusts & Estates Litigation; James C. Riley, Commercial Litigation; George Smith, Estate Planning & Probate; Gerard N. Saggese III, General Litigation; Luke Tashjian, Estate Planning & Probate; Katie O’Neill, Rising Star – Business/Corporate; Wyatt Jansen, Rising Star – Business Litigation and Trusts & Estates Litigation; Nicholas Douglas, Rising Star – Business/Corporate; Eva Kliegman, Rising Star – Estate Planning & Probate; Michael Thomason, Rising Star – Civil Litigation; and Trevor Larrubia, Rising Star – Business Litigation.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. Each year, no more than 5% of the lawyers in the state are selected as Super Lawyers. For the Rising Stars, it is no more than 2.5%. For more information on the selection process, see https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html

Whitman Breed congratulates and applauds our attorneys on their hard work and inclusion on the 2022 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Whitman Breed is pleased to announce that Co-Managing Partner, Charlie Pieterse, received “Lawyer of the Year” in the 29th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.

This is an additional recognition to the Best Lawyers award determined by the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region in a Best Lawyers edition. Only one lawyer is recognized as the “Lawyer of the Year” for each specialty and location.

Five of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 29th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Please join us in also congratulating: