John Tumilty Joins MBBP as Chair of Business Litigation Group

WALTHAM, MA — Noted trial attorney John Tumilty has joined the Waltham-based law firm of Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC as a member and will chair the firm’s newly-expanded Business Litigation Group. Formerly a partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, Tumilty has earned a reputation as a particularly skillful litigator in handling complex business and commercial disputes for companies, partnerships, and individuals.

Tumilty described his recent move, “as a rare opportunity to direct the development of a practice group in such a well-respected firm, while still concentrating on the day-to-day needs of my clients. I look forward to the challenges inherent in such a role.”


Morse, Barnes-Brown Pendleton, PC, focuses exclusively on the core legal services that businesses need to succeed. The law firm assists businesses of all sizes — from start-ups to Fortune 1000 companies — in the areas of corporate law, intellectual property, licensing and strategic alliances, employment and immigration, taxation and litigation.

How To Save Time and Money Filing a Patent Application

Massachusetts patent attorney Lisa Warren shares in a recent article: "How To Save Time and Money Filing a Patent Application," 10 important questions to answer in preparation for meeting with a patent lawyer. The first 5 are:

1. Can you describe the invention and its key features in no more than 3 sentences?
2. Can you describe the business model related to the invention? 
3. What is the closest thing to your invention already on the market? 
4. Is the invention in final form or will there be continuing updates?
5. Have you already publicized or sold the invention?

 For more detail and the full list of questions you need to be able to answer in depth, please see the full article here: Patent Application Tips.

MassHealth Challenge Successful: Court-ordered Alimony Directed into SNT Not Countable as Income

Neal A. Winston, a Boston-area special needs planning attorney, recently successfully challenged MassHealth in a Fair Hearing, regarding support paid directly into a special needs trust. Winston summarizes the case:

"A severely disabled woman in her late 30s, required a Personal Care Attendant through MassHealth to remain in her home. I created a special needs trust for her, and the Court ordered the alimony to be paid directly into it. To our surprise, MassHealth then rejected the procedure. The agency first claimed that the trust had to be a Medicaid “payback” trust, which is not required by the law or regulations."

After arguing on behalf of the client at a Fair Hearing, MassHealth changed its position and claimed...

"The Court does not have authority to order the alimony to be paid into a trust in order to be exempt as income for MassHealth eligibility. The Hearing Officer rejected all of the agency’s arguments, determined that Court-ordered alimony into a properly drafted SNT would not be countable as income, and reversed the benefit termination decision."

Read Attorney Winston's blog post on the topic at: MassHealth Challenge.

Barrie Shapiro Joins Lubin & Meyer PC

BOSTON — Attorney Barrie Shapiro has joined Lubin & Meyer PC as an associate. Shapiro has worked as a law clerk at Lubin & Meyer and has three years of experience at another Boston law firm concentrating in medical malpractice law. She is admitted to the Massachusetts and New Hampshire bar associations. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and Suffolk University Law School.

Lubin & Meyer is recognized nationally as one of the country’s leading medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury law firms. Located in Boston, Lubin & Meyer is a firm whose innovative style has won more than $550 million in verdicts and settlements in just the past ten years. Lubin & Meyer has achieved some of the largest personal injury verdicts in Massachusetts.

The trial lawyers at Lubin & Meyer are experienced in a wide variety of catastrophic personal injury cases, including defective products, flammable fabrics, medical malpractice and general liability claims. In an age of legal specialization, Lubin & Meyer has become the innovative leader in the personal injury field, and has earned the respect of the legal profession and the public, which it serves.

Attorneys are licensed to practice in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

NH Shoreland Protection Act Gets New Name and Some Needed Clarity

NH land use attorney Ari Pollack has written an article on the changes to NH Shoreland Protection Law that took effect June 30, 2011. He reports that overall the new laws seem to be more landowner friendly as they relax some requirements for property development along New Hampshire lakes, rivers and coastline, and clarify others. In addition, he reports that the permit application process has become more applicant-friendly, providing the potential for faster approvals.

To read the full list of updates to the new law, now called the NH Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act, please see his article here: Shoreland Protection Receives An Extreme Makeover – Take Two!

Jon Gworek To Chair MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge

Boston-area startup attorney Jonathan Gworek, has been elected chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge and will serve a two-year term.

Gworek has been an active member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge for many years including participation in the Forum's renowned MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition including serving as a judge. Prior to this appointment he served as vice chair of the Forum and as a member of its executive committee. In his law practice he regularly represents entrepreneurs, technology start-ups and emerging companies.

For a listing of events planned by the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, view its Calendar of Events.

In related news, he was also recently named chair of the Venture Capital Terms and Documentation Sub-Committee of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Committee of the Business Section of the American Bar Association.

Boston Special Needs Attorney Neal Winston Elected President of National Special Needs Alliance

Boston special needs attorney, Neal A. Winston, CELA, has been elected president of the Special Needs Alliance (SNA) for the 2011 term. As president, Winston will continue to advocate for the special needs community by advancing the public policy work of the SNA and by strengthening relationships with partner organizations like the Autism Society of America (ASA), ARC and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

"We have established a membership of some of the best, most well respected special needs attorneys in the country and believe that a great opportunity exists to impart that expertise to the public by collaborating with other special needs support organizations," said Winston.

Winston is a partner in the Massachusetts trust and estate planning law firm Moschella & Winston, LLP, which specializes in estate and disability planning, asset protection, and public benefits eligibility. His passion for advocacy dates back to the early 1970s when, as part of Volunteers in Service to America (now AmeriCorps), he was assigned to a Legal Aid office.

Having practiced public benefits law for over 30 years, Winston is a nationally recognized expert on special needs trusts and needs-based public benefit programs and is active in legislative issues affecting disabled and elder citizens on a state and federal level.

Bankruptcy Representation Now Offered by Quat Law Offices

Attorney Kenneth D. Quat and Quat Law Offices will now be providing bankruptcy counseling and legal services to consumers. The expansion of services allows Quat Law Offices, located in Cambridge, MA, to provide additional services to its client base, as well as to provide "seamless" representation to those clients who can benefit from bankruptcy and from bringing an adversary proceeding in Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court. To learn more about filing the two major forms of consumer, or personal bankruptcy — Chapter 7 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy — see Attorney Quat's web page dedicated to filing bankruptcy.

Buying Distressed Properties in New Hamsphire — NH Foreclosures

Real estate attorney Erik Newman writes:

"Opportunities for purchasing distressed and unfinished developments at deep discounts are abundant, but so are the associated risks."

In his article, What To Watch For When Buying Distressed Developments in New Hampshire, he presents that awareness of the risks combined with rigorous due diligence can minimize some of the otherwise unforeseen expenses and liabilities. The information yielded through this research can also be used to negotiate a lower purchase price. The article will help you to be an informed purchaser, and be less likely to be rejected for making a low ball offer, thereby helping create the best chance for capitalizing on a distressed development acquisition. Read it here.

IP Patent Lawyer Sean Detweiler Joins MBBP

IP Patent Lawyer Sean Detweiler Joins MBBP - Waltham, MA

Shared via AddThis

WALTHAM, MA — Business law firm Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton is pleased to announce that Sean D. Detweiler has joined the firm as a member.

Sean practices in all areas of intellectual property law including: utility and design patent preparation and prosecution, trademark registration, domain name dispute resolution, and the provision of patentability and non-infringement opinions. He routinely advises clients on matters regarding intellectual property portfolio development, strategy, and implementation.

His patent experience is primarily in the high-technology fields of cleantech and medical devices, as well as computer software, mechanical and electrical devices, and combination technologies.

See more information on Massachusetts patent lawyer - Sean Detweiler...

MBBP Launches “Good Company” Law Firm Blog

Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton has launched a law firm blog titled, Good Company, as a place to share news and information about its attorneys, its clients, and the things that connect them. Attorneys at the Waltham, MA law firm hope it will help to illustrate the type of work they do and in the process showcase some of the companies they with.

Attorney Pollack on Home Builders Legal Action Committee

CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire attorney Ari B. Pollack, of Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, has been appointed to the Legal Action Committee of the National Association of Home Builders for a one-year term. NHBA is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association whose mission is to enhance the climate for housing and the building industry.

GCG Represents Bow Mills Bank in Merger with Merrimack County Savings Bank

CONCORD, NH – Law Firm Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, is pleased to announce the merger of Bow Mills Bank and Trust with and into Merrimack County Savings Bank became effective on May 1, 2007. Attorneys W. John Funk, Susan B. Hollinger and Denis J. Maloney represented Bow Mills in the merger with a total transaction value of $22,707,945. The branches will continue to operate independently until the weeke nd of July 21. Read more on the bank merger.

Law Firm Marketing Spending Is Up

Among the many findings of the BTI Consulting Group's latest study is that budgets climbed in law firms of all sizes in 2006. The largest law firms are dedicating a steadily increasing percent of firm revenue to marketing activities. AmLaw 200 firms are seeing a sharp spike in their marketing budgets as a percent of revenue. Additional staff is driving the bigger budgets. Over 50 percent of the marketing budget at the largest law firms goes to salaries and business development. Top marketers are making critical changes to staffing including: Redefining or creating new, discrete roles, and hiring practice-specific specialists to boost the firm’s profile in targeted areas.