Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC

Full-Service Law Firm Based in Greenwich, CT

October 2020 LOCAL STRENGTH | GLOBAL INSIGHT

October 2020

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Whitman Breed Partners and Associates have been named “Connecticut Super Lawyers®” for 2020. Connecticut selection information at http://www.superlawyers.com/connecticut/selection_details.html

Charles Pieterse (Trusts & Estates Litigation), Jim Riley (Business Litigation), George Smith (Estate Planning & Probate), Rod Saggese (General Litigation), Thomas O’Connor (Rising Star – Civil Litigation), Luke Tashjian (Rising Star – Estate Planning & Probate), Kathryn O’Neill (Rising Star – Business/Corporate), and Wyatt Jansen (Rising Star – Business Litigation and Trusts & Estates Litigation) were named Connecticut Super Lawyers.

September 2020

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Following a three-day bench trial in late 2019 and early 2020, the Firm obtained a permanent injunction on behalf of a client owning waterfront property in Greenwich, prohibiting the adjoining property owners from developing or building any structure within an area on their property in proximity to the seawall that was the subject of a reciprocal easement agreement.  The Superior Court determined that the proposed project violated the terms of a 2002 agreement between the client and defendants’ predecessors-in-title, and rejected defendants’ statute of limitations and other defenses.  Jim Riley acted as lead trial counsel, and was assisted by Michael Battema.  Ladd v. Foley, 2020 WL 5607778 (Conn. Super. Aug. 24, 2020).

The Firm represented the Greenwich Land Trust in its purchase from the Aquarion Water Company of 72 acres of unimproved real property in the Lake Avenue area of Greenwich.  The acquisition was first approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and then closed between the parties.  For the transaction, the Land Trust entered a public/private partnership with the Town of Greenwich, with the Land Trust holding title to the property and the Town having a conservation easement over the property.  The Land Trust will now be able to conserve these 72 acres, protect critical habitat, enhance water quality, and preserve the community’s character.  Margaret Conboy and Tony Macleod worked on the transaction for the Firm.

The Firm is proud to announce that Michael Thomason has joined the Firm as an associate in the Litigation Department.  Michael represents clients in all aspects of litigation matters in state and federal court.  Prior to joining Whitman Breed, Michael was a judicial law clerk for United States Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish.  Before his clerkship, Michael was an associate attorney at a boutique litigation firm in Greenwich.

Drew Nelson represented a non-U.S. company in the negotiation of a strategic investment in a startup manufacturing cell towers and other structures using carbon fiber and other composite materials.

Luke Tashjian presented at the Connecticut Legal Conference on tax provisions in the CARES Act.

The Firm is proud to announce that Trevor Larrubia have joined the Firm as an associate in the Litigation Department.  Trevor represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial and business litigation matters as well as general civil litigation matters. Prior to joining Whitman Breed, Trevor served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lubbie Harper Jr., the Honorable Thomas A. Bishop, and the Honorable Stuart D. Bear of the Connecticut Appellate Court.

Smith & Grant LLP Joins the Whitman Breed Team

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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.

The union of Whitman Breed with Smith & Grant is a natural one as both firms are based in Greenwich, CT and often referred clients to each other.  Libby and several Whitman Breed attorneys have roots in town as residents, and George and Libby’s legal careers started at the same firm they’re now joining. “Libby and I and our team are delighted to join Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan. We are coming full circle as we both started our Connecticut legal careers at Whitman & Ransom, the firm’s predecessor, and over the years have maintained close personal and professional relationships with many Whitman lawyers,” stated George. “We look forward to augmenting the firm’s highly regarded probate litigation practice as well as its general trusts and estates practice. Our clients will also benefit from the wide-range of legal services we will now be able to offer them.”

Kevin Walsh, Whitman Breed’s other Co-Managing Partner added:  “Having known George and Libby for years, their joining Whitman Breed represents a natural outgrowth of the two firms’ respective commitments to providing the highest quality legal services to their clients.  While the combined firm brings together highly talented lawyers – indeed the new firm will have four Fellows of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel – it also allows for lawyers who very much like and respect each other to practice together in a stimulating and collegial manner.”

June 2020

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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.

May 2020

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A trial team led by Lynn Neuner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Charles Pieterse from the Firm prevailed on behalf of two trustees in a litigation challenging a significant gift to a charitable trust.  The decision was a complete victory for the trustees and a consortium of other interested parties supporting the gift, which is believed to be among the largest in Connecticut history, on what the Court considered an issue of first impression.  The case was tried before the Complex Litigation Docket in the Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury in January.  The trial team representing the trustees also included Sara Ricciardi and Joshua Polster of Simpson Thacher and Wyatt Jansen from the Firm.  Helen Z. Benjamin et al. v. Ralph P. Corasaniti et al., 2020 WL 3058149 (Conn. Super. May 1, 2020)

Luke Tashjian presented at the National Business Institute on The Probate Process from Start to Finish.

Drew Nelson represented a Connecticut manufacturer of portable supplemental oxygen cannisters in the negotiation of an investment from a prominent serial investor in startups.

April 2020

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Richard Mancuso represented a medical equipment distributor in a cross border transaction for the acquisition of millions of pieces of PPE, including N95 respirators, sourced out of China for shipment to a consortium of Boston-area hospitals to assist in the national response to the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.  The transaction involved negotiating the terms of purchase and sale, addressing export restrictions, evaluating product certification standards, advising on product source arrangements, determining import requirements and structuring product acquisition funding.  The transaction is intended to be the first of many to be established regionally as the need for PPE increases across the nation.  Richard regularly represents clients in the purchase and sale of goods and equipment in a wide range of businesses, both on the purchasing and the selling sides of the transactions.