RATH YOUNG PIGNATELLI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Litigation Partner
Adam is a shareholder who focuses on business litigation and medical-legal matters in state and Federal courts and before State Professional boards, Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Psychologists, Mental Health, Chiropractic, Podiatry, and Dentistry. Adam has litigated a diverse range of cases and appeals involving professional negligence, business torts, contractual and employment matters, as well as partnership and limited liability company disputes.
Job Titles:
- President
- Shareholder
- President of RYP
Adam is a shareholder and currently serves as President of the firm. Adam also serves on the firm's Management Committee. He is a member of the Business and Finance, Financial Institutions, and Health Care Practice Groups. He focuses his practice on insurance, banking, health care, corporate, and business law.
Adam assists insurance companies, trust companies (both private and public), other banking institutions, health care providers, and a wide range of other businesses with regulatory, licensing, transactional, and compliance issues. He regularly represents clients before the New Hampshire Insurance and Banking Departments on a variety of matters. Adam also advises clients on a range of issues with respect to health insurance, employee benefit plans, and compensation issues. On corporate matters, Adam represents companies in connection with formations, private securities offerings, transactions, employment issues, and contracting matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Adam practiced law in the Health Care Group at the Albany office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP where he represented managed care companies and other insurers on a wide range of regulatory issues.
Alex works with companies regarding employment matters including drafting or reviewing offer letters, employment agreements, or termination letters, drafting or reviewing employee handbooks, and other employment policies, as well as advising on compliance with New Hampshire and federal employment laws. Alex advises health care clients on transactional, regulatory, corporate, and employment issues.
Alex joined the Firm in 2014 and was advanced to a Senior Associate of the Firm in 2018. She graduated from the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Alex earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, summa cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics (now the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics) with concentrations in both International Business and Economics and Management.
Cassy joined the firm in 2022 as an Associate assisting attorneys in the Litigation Practice Group.
Prior to joining Rath, Young and Pignatelli as an Associate, Cassy worked with the firm as a Summer Associate and Legal Extern. As a law student, Cassy also worked with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Cassy received her J.D. from the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. Cassy was a member of the Daniel Webster Scholar Program, where she got practical and clinical experience in litigation, client counseling, alternative dispute resolution, and real estate matters. She also served as a teaching assistant for Legal Writing and Pretrial Advocacy and served as Managing Editor of the U.N.H.
Cassy graduated summa cum laude from Saint Anselm College, where she received her B.A. in International Relations.
Cate Simms is a paralegal supporting the litigation practice at Rath, Young and Pignatelli. In her more than 20 years as a paralegal, she has worked on a diverse range of civil litigation matters in areas including commercial and professional liability, environmental, products liability, construction, and employment. In addition, she assists in the representation of professionals in front of their licensing bodies. She has extensive experience in the defense of medical and dental matters and more recently has begun to assist on criminal defense, unemployment, and probate matters.
Cate has a degree in Politics from Princeton University. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, she also completed a year of master's level studies in Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Cate Simms is a paralegal supporting the litigation practice at Rath, Young and Pignatelli. In her more than 20 years as a paralegal, she has worked on a diverse range of civil litigation matters in areas including commercial and professional liability, environmental, products liability, construction, and employment. In addition, she assists in the representation of professionals in front of their licensing bodies. She has extensive experience in the defense of medical and dental matters and more recently has begun to assist on criminal defense, unemployment, and probate matters.
Cate has a degree in Politics from Princeton University. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, she also completed a year of master's level studies in Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Craig is an Associate and assists attorneys in the Energy, Tax, and Litigation Practice Groups. Prior to joining Rath, Young and Pignatelli as an Associate, Craig completed a year-long externship with the firm as a law student. In addition to his externship with the firm, Craig also completed externships with the National Education Association-NH and the Belknap County Superior Court. Prior to law school, Craig gained valuable experience working in the financial services and insurance industry.
Craig is a graduate of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. As a Webster Scholar, he gained hands-on exposure to many practice areas through simulated and clinical settings and compiled a portfolio of practical legal work. Craig also served as a graduate teaching assistant in contract and commercial law.
Craig earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Boston University, where he was also a varsity member of the track and field and cross-country teams. In his free time, he remains a dedicated if somewhat less competitive long distance runner.
M. Curtis Whittaker has been a shareholder of the firm since 1991. Curt is a lead member of the firm's Energy Practice Group, representing developers, owners, operators, investors, and lenders in the alternative energy area, including biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, cogeneration, and alternative fuels.
While at Harvard Law School, Curt took aim at a career in the alternative energy sector by authoring a law review article on the history of hydropower regulation in the United States. From there he moved on to the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was the first associate hired by their newly-formed Energy Department.
After helping set up Skadden's West Coast energy practice in Los Angeles, Curt was lured to Rath, Young and Pignatelli by a combination of personal imperatives and the fact that the firm had been retained by Northeast Utilities in its effort to acquire Public Service Company of New Hampshire. On the heels of that successful transaction, Curt led the firm's effort to carve out a niche in serving the sophisticated needs of the alternative energy sector.
The firm's clients have developed large percentages of the nation's biomass and landfill gas-fueled power plants, and the firm has an outsized presence in the hydropower and commercial solar sectors. Each of these sectors is very different, with their own sets of business risks and regulatory features. Curt brings decades of real world experience with these sectors in advising clients and designing practical transactions and diligence plans.
Job Titles:
- Senior Counsel
- Co - Chair of the Boston Bar Association ( BBA ) State & Local Tax Committee
- Deputy Commissioner at DOR
- Senior Counsel With the Firm and Maintains Offices at the Firm 's Boston
David S. Davenport is Senior Counsel with the firm and maintains offices at the Firm's Boston and Concord, New Hampshire locations. Dave provides advice on state, federal, and international tax matters, and also assists clients with respect to business acquisitions, reorganizations, and other transactions. Dave is admitted to practice in the State of Massachusetts.
Dave is the current co-chair of the Boston Bar Association (BBA) State & Local Tax Committee. He is a former of the BBA's full Tax Section and also of its State Tax and International Tax committees, and of the American Bar Association Tax Section's Committee on Affiliated and RelatedCorporations, which focuses on inter-company transactions and relationships. He is an elected fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel, has served as a Trustee of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and is a member of the Boston Tax Forum.
Dave is a graduate of Amherst College and of the Harvard Law School, where he served as Note Editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Mr. Miller has been practicing law for over thirty years. While attending law school in Chicago he worked for law firms and interned with the United States Attorney's Office for The Northern District of Illinois. Before entering private practice in 1986, he represented the United States as a federal prosecutor in Chicago and New Hampshire conducting federal grand jury investigations, prosecuting federal felony jury trials, and briefing and arguing appeals before the First and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Mr. Miller has focused his practice on:
Representing individuals and estates victimized by negligence, injurious automobile accidents, pedestrian accidents, slip and fall accidents, work related accidents, intentional sexual abuse, assaults, skiing accidents, negligent premises maintenance and supervision, negligent highway design and maintenance actions, and other torts.
Defending and advising individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, municipalities, schools, and estates in relating to tort and statutory claims and actions involving motor vehicle, aircraft, and propane gas explosion accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning, food poisoning, premises liability, product liability, asbestos and environmental contamination and exposure, and work-related accidents.
Representing insureds and insurers in insurance coverage litigation construing automobile, homeowners, commercial and general liability, health insurance, long term care, and credit life insurance policies.
Representing individuals and businesses before regulatory, professional licensing, and disciplinary boards.
Representing individuals and businesses in employment and commercial litigation, including wrongful termination and wage claims, FINRA arbitration, Uniform Trade Secret Act, and Consumer Protection Act litigation.
Representing individuals in estates and trusts litigation.
Representing the criminally accused and their impacted associates in state and federal courts on felony and misdemeanor charges, investigations, and federal forfeiture actions, including complex fraud, theft, federal tax evasion, conspiracy, money laundering, and drug distribution matters, DWI / DUI charges, and representing those subpoenaed before grand juries.
Briefing and arguing appeals to the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the Renewable / Alternative Energy
Eric is a member of the Renewable/Alternative Energy and Utility Practice Group and the Business and Finance Practice Group. His work primarily focuses on support of the firm's renewable energy practice. As part of that practice, he assists national and local companies in performing due diligence and closing transactions involving the acquisition, sale, and financing of renewable energy projects throughout the country. The energy group also represents project owners in obtaining necessary federal and state regulatory approvals.
Prior to joining the firm, Eric practiced for 12+ years at a number of prestigious law firms in Boston, including Todd & Weld, Wilson Elser, and Freeman, Mathis & Gary. During his tenure at those firms Eric was primarily a litigator with a focus on commercial, employment, and complex multi-party tort litigation. Eric was consistently ranked a "Super Lawyer" by his peers.
Eric has a business degree from Fairfield University and a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law.
He was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to be a director of the Legal Services Corporation. Tom served as the Chairman of the election campaigns of New Hampshire's former U.S. Senators, Warren Rudman and Judd Gregg and he actively assisted in the U.S. Senate process that confirmed David Souter as Supreme Court Justice. Tom has served as a senior national advisor to the presidential campaigns of Howard Baker, Robert Dole, Lamar Alexander, Mitt Romney, and George W. Bush. He has been a delegate to the 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Republican National Conventions and he was the Republican Party National Committeeman for New Hampshire from 1996-2000 and 2002-2007. Tom is widely respected as a political analyst at both the state and national level and he appears regularly on national, regional, and state television newsmaker programs.
Job Titles:
- President of Granite Strategies
- President of RYP Granite Strategies
Gina is the President of RYP Granite Strategies and also serves as the Director of the firm's Government Relations Practice Group. Since joining Rath, Young and Pignatelli in 2006, Gina has provided strategic government and public affairs guidance to a number of clients with matters before the New Hampshire Legislative and Executive Branches. She has amassed a wide breadth of knowledge on procedural and policy issues during her time under the dome that allows her to effectively navigate the law making process. Highly regarded and respected by legislators, staff, and agency members alike, Gina has become a trusted asset to both clients and the firm alike.
When not in Concord, Gina has spent her time on the Boards of Moore Center Services, the Mary Gale Foundation, Friends of Áine, and as a volunteer with Merrimack Home Health and Hospice. Gina graduated cum laude from St. Anselm College with a B.A. in History.
Grayson's practice includes business and commercial litigation, personal injury, professional malpractice, insurance law, and labor and employment. He has litigated numerous cases before state and federal courts in a broad range of civil matters including both bench and jury trials. He has also practiced before administrative bodies. Grayson's experience includes representing large and small businesses, individuals, and insurance companies in lawsuits in New England and in his former home - the Carolinas.
In addition to his varied litigation practice, Grayson regularly assists clients in the development, purchase and sale, and financing of all types of renewable energy projects including solar, wind, and hydroelectric. This practice includes advising companies across the country in performing due diligence involved in the acquisition, sale, and financing of renewable energy projects. The energy group also represents project owners in obtaining necessary federal and state regulatory approvals.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Counsel With Rath
Jim is Of Counsel with Rath, Young and Pignatelli, P.C. and member of the Environmental Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm, Jim served as Deputy General Counsel with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, representing the Commission for almost 20 years in a wide variety of matters, including environmental matters, NPDES permitting, wetlands matters, lead and copper rule compliance, real estate, litigation, and other administrative matters.
He currently advises public and private clients in the areas of environmental due diligence, compliance, waste water and storm water permitting, site remediation activities, shore land protection, and other related matters. He also represents water utility clients in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, including filings and administrative proceedings before the NH Public Utilities Commission. In his prior role, he also served as project manager for an extensive Storm Water Utility Feasibility study.
Jim earned his B.A. in Economics and History from Boston College and his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. He is a member of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bars. A member of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Bar Associations, Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association, American Water Works Association, New England Water Works Association, and serves as on the Massachusetts Bar Association's Public Law Council.
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Distinguished Member of the Legal Community
Jamie N. Hage has over forty years of business and civil litigation experience. He has successfully litigated a wide variety of cases in both federal and state courts, with a focus on complex business and commercial disputes, intellectual property matters, personal injury, professional negligence, and employment law. Mr. Hage also serves as general outside counsel for many of his corporate clients. He represents small and mid-size closely-held companies as well as individual and other private clients in a broad range of areas including contracts, corporate/shareholder disputes, intellectual property, trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition, labor and employment, personal injury and general negligence, insurance, banking, and real estate matters. Mr. Hage has also counseled companies on intellectual property evaluation, protection, licensing, contract negotiations, and franchise compliance and enforcement.
Mr. Hage is a distinguished member of the legal community who is well recognized by his colleagues. Based on a survey of his peers, Boston Magazine recognized Mr. Hage as a "New England Super Lawyer" in Business Litigation and has been recognized as a New England Super Lawyer every year since 2007. He has also been recognized in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for his achievements in the area of Business Litigation. Mr. Hage was selected as "Lawyer of the Year" in Intellectual Property by New Hampshire Magazine, and his peers have selected him for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America" in the following practice areas: Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, and Patent Litigation.
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Professionals
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Member of the Renewable / Alternative Energy
Katherine is a member of the Renewable/Alternative Energy and Utility Practice Group and the Business and Finance Practice Group. Her work primarily focuses on support of the firm's renewable energy practice. As part of that practice, she assists national and local companies in performing due diligence and closing transactions involving the acquisition, sale, and financing of renewable energy projects throughout the country. The energy group also represents project owners in obtaining necessary federal and state regulatory approvals.
Katherine also has a wide range of experience outside of the renewable energy practice, including representing clients in commercial and residential real estate matters, contract negotiation, mergers and acquisition, and real estate and business litigation. Katherine advises clients on a wide range of business matters, including entity formation, employment issues, contract drafting and negotiation, and dissolution of entities.
Prior to joining the firm, Katherine worked as an attorney at Hage Hodes Professional Association in Manchester, where her focus was corporate law and civil litigation. She completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in both in Environmental Analysis & Policy and International Relations. She obtained her juris doctorate from University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law.
Katherine is a New Hampshire native and is active in a number of state and local community organizations. Prior to attending law school, Katherine worked in business-to-business sales.
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Co - Authored "the State of the States
- Co - Presented "New Hampshire Entity Taxation Quirks and Conversations" at the NHBA 35th Annual Tax Forum in Concord, NH ( November 30, 2017 )
- Co - Presents "North of the Border
- Co - Presents "the Myth of 100% Apportionment" at the Paul J. Hartman State & Local Tax Forum in Nashville, TN ( October 27 - 29, 2015 )
- Co - Presents "Top Issues in New England SALT" at the 8th Annual New England State and Local Tax Forum, Newton, MA ( November 20, 2019 )
- Co - Presents at Service Credit Union's
- Expert
Kathryn is a shareholder of the firm and a member of the firm's Tax Practice Group, where she concentrates her practice in assisting clients with state and local tax matters. Kathryn also serves on the firm's Management Committee. Kathryn's practice focuses on matters before the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and the Vermont Department of Taxes.
Kathryn has two decades of experience in state and local tax. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, she was with the state and local tax practice of PwC in its Chicago office where she specialized in income/franchise tax consulting and audit defense for multi-state and multinational businesses. Prior to PwC, Kathryn served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Income Tax Litigation Unit of the Illinois Department of Revenue in Chicago. Since being at RYP, Kathryn has represented clients in various industries on state and local tax matters in the New England states, including but not limited to:
Planning business structures and transactions in a tax-efficient manner;
Kathryn Bibbo co-presents "New England State Tax Update" at the Fiscal and Tax Policy Breakfast for New Hampshire Business Leaders and Advisors, Concord, NH (September 28, 2016).
Kathryn Bibbo co-presents "Current Issues Regarding the Disproportionate Share Program ("DHS") and payment of the Medicaid Enhancement Tax ("MET"), Healthcare Law Update Panel, NH Bar Association, Concord, NH (April 8, 2016).
Kathryn Bibbo serves as a Vermont expert for Northern NE State Round Table Panel, First Annual Regional State and Local Tax Forum, (October 2009).
Kathryn Bibbo co-authored "The State of the States: State Tax Issues Impacting Businesses in NH"; published in the February 21, 2018 edition of the New Hampshire Bar News.
Kathryn Bibbo co-presented "Comparing the Combined Reporting Rules in New England-Key Features" at the 2017 COST North Atlantic Regional State Tax Seminar in Waltham, MA (June 22, 2017).
Kathryn Bibbo co-presents "Who Should Get a Piece of the Pizza? Apportionment Trends, Tactics and Tragedies" at COST's North Atlantic Regional State Tax Seminar in Hartford, Connecticut (December 10, 2015).
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Chairman of the Health Care Practice Group
Ken Bartholomew is Chair of the Health Care Practice Group, a shareholder of the firm and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. Ken advises health care clients on regulatory, licensing, transactional, insurance, and labor and employment issues, as well as defending health care providers in litigation.
Ken litigates cases for clients in the health care and other industries in both state and federal court. He also represents clients before several state regulatory agencies and provides them with regulatory advice.
Ken focuses his litigation practice on Medical Malpractice Defense and Complex Commercial Litigation. He uses his investigation, evaluation, negotiation, and trial skills to resolve his cases successfully and efficiently.
Ken has been with the Firm since 1997, after serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Paul J. Barbadoro, former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Before that, he served as a clinical prosecutor with the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia in trial and appellate levels and was a successful plaintiff in a voting rights case decided by the United States Supreme Court. Ken graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Prior to law school, Ken was an international consultant, working as a business strategist in the defense, consumer electronics, and energy industries.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Government Relations for RYP Granite Strategies
Kyle serves as the Senior Manager of Government Relations for RYP Granite Strategies. He has extensive knowledge in many different disciplines of public policy and the legislative process. Since joining the firm, he has represented clients in a wide range of industries including, financial services and technology corporations, energy and solid waste infrastructure as well as large and small non-profits. Kyle's practice focuses on monitoring legislative proposals and activity while engaging with policymakers, regulatory officials and staff to advocate for positive outcomes.
After earning a bachelor's degree in Politics from Saint Anselm College, Kyle began his political career working as a Legislative Aide in the New Hampshire Senate working with the Senate Majority Leader. During his time at the New Hampshire Senate, Kyle provided support for many large pieces of public policy for the healthcare and energy industries.
When not in the State House, Kyle is actively involved in the Greater Manchester Community serving as a board member on the Manchester Development Commission.
A Connecticut native, Kyle moved to New Hampshire for college and never left. He currently resides in Manchester.
Lauren is an Associate and a member of the Energy and Utilities, Business and Finance, and Real Estate Practice Groups. Her practice focuses on assisting clients to develop, purchase, and finance renewable energy projects throughout the United States, with an emphasis on real estate and environmental due diligence. She also assists small businesses and individuals with a wide variety of corporate and real estate matters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Prior to joining the firm, Lauren practiced corporate and real estate law with McLane Middleton, P.A. in Manchester, NH. She received her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law with a concentration in Business and Commercial Law. During law school she completed co-op internships with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Environmental Protection Division, Klavens Law Group, P.C., and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. She is admitted to practice in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Lauren received her B.A. from Saint Michael's College with a double major in Environmental Studies and Political Science and spent a semester abroad studying sustainable development and clean energy in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Job Titles:
- Medical Malpractice Nurse - Paralegal
- Nurse - Paralegal
Lindsey Dalton is a medical malpractice nurse-paralegal who is a valuable resource person for our attorneys concerning medical case issues. She organizes and compiles medical records, reviews and interprets medical records, drafts medical case analyses, assists in determining expert witnesses needed, and drafts summaries of expert witness opinions based on interviews, as well as researches medical case issues using both text and computer database searches.
Prior to joining Rath, Young and Pignatelli in 1989, Lindsey served as a staff nurse 1972-75 at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover; as a supervisor at Hanover Hill Nursing Home 1976-76 in Manchester; as a float nurse at Elliot Hospital 1976-77 in Manchester; and as head nurse of the J.D. French Wing of Elliot Hospital 1977-79.
Lindsey has been involved in paralegal education programs as a presenter and co-presenter. She wrote a bimonthly column entitled "Medical Matters" for the PANH newsletter, The Annotator, for several years.
Lindsey was active with the Paralegal Association of New Hampshire for many years, serving on the Board as president in 2005. She was recognized by the Association with its President's Award in 2004 and its Paralegal of the Year award in 2005.
Lindsey was published in the National Paralegal Reporter in the April/May 2004 edition, having been asked to contribute on the role of specialty paralegals in New Hampshire.
Job Titles:
- Office Administrator
- Senior Litigation Partner
A founding shareholder of the firm, Michael leads the Litigation Practice Group, specializing in business and commercial litigation matters, defense of medical malpractice and professional administrative actions, and in representing clients on both sides in personal injury and products liability matters. He is an accomplished trial lawyer in New Hampshire and the New England states, and brings extensive experience to the investigation, evaluation, settlement, or trial of major cases.
Michael is a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship is extended by invitation only after careful investigation to experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of trial advocacy and whose professional careers have met the highest standards. He has achieved Martindale Hubbell's highest peer review rating of A-V (pre-eminent legal ability and meeting highest ethical standards). He has been and is selected by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers of America in the areas of business litigation and medical litigation, in Super Lawyers Corporate Edition, and in Super Lawyers of New England.
In private practice, Michael has achieved an excellent record in trying numerous civil jury matters and negotiating substantial settlements in lawsuits involving environmental claims, business disputes, class action suits, medical malpractice, professional liability, personal injury, products liability, and professional liability litigation. Much of his work has been in complicated multi-party litigation. His education includes a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a law degree from Boston College Law School.
Prior to entering private practice, Michael served as an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire and Chief of the Criminal Justice Division. He is a former Nashua police commissioner, past member of the New Hampshire Judicial Council, and past member of the Nashua Board of Aldermen. Michael is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the New Hampshire Bar Association, and the Defense Research Institute.
Michael has a diverse corporate and real estate practice spanning more than 25 years. He has represented companies at all stages of growth from start-up to exit, and has been instrumental in helping his clients plan, grow, operate, and transition from start-up or acquisition to succession planning.
Michael's experience and expertise includes:
Mergers and Acquisitions
Corporate structuring including debt and equity financings
Contracts, including Licensing, Joint Venture, Supply and Distribution Agreements
Real Estate
Commercial Lending
Commercial Leasing
Michael O'Neil is a litigator with a broad and varied practice that includes all aspects of commercial, business, administrative, and appellate litigation in state and federal courts. His most recent matters include counseling clients through disputes involving bankruptcy and other insolvency-related issues, employment issues including wage and hour claims and restrictive covenant enforcement, contractual disputes, tax litigation, disputes related to fiduciary duties, and disputes related to insurance coverage concerning, among other things, COVID-19 business interruption and workers' compensation claims. Michael has argued cases before the state and federal trial courts and the New Hampshire Supreme Court and has extensive experience representing all interest-holders in bankruptcy courts, including debtors, creditors, trustees, and committees.
Michael received his J.D., cum laude, from Boston College Law School in 2012 where he was Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Social Justice, a research assistant to Professor Ingrid Hillinger, and a member of the National Transactional Law Meet team. Michael served as an intern for the United States Attorney's Office in Concord, NH during law school. Michael received a B.A. from Tufts University in Economics in 2008, where he captained the golf team.
Michael is admitted to practice before state, federal, and bankruptcy courts in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts and in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Job Titles:
- Senior Litigation Partner
Michael Lewis is a results-driven, experienced trial and appellate litigator and is a member of the firm's Litigation, Tax, and Financial Institutions Practice Groups.
He has served as lead trial counsel in matters before the nation's federal trial and appellate courts, and before its highest state trial and appellate courts. Michael's experiences before state and federal courts range from litigation against state and federal enforcement agencies to representing businesses in constitutional law, employment, contract, tort, insurance coverage, and intellectual property disputes, to representing litigants in high-end probate and trust litigation before New Hampshire's probate courts. He has handled matters on the plaintiff and defense side of civil litigation and has been a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney.
Michael has substantial experience litigating a range of matters involving state and federal constitutional rights, including in the area of free speech, social media, and freedom of religion. He is one of the state's most successful media-rights and first amendment attorneys.
Michael is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New Hampshire and the Vermont Law School, where he teaches Sales, Commercial Law and Evidence. His writing has been published widely in popular press and in legal publications. Interest in his academic writing on public and private law matters has caused him to be rated among the top 10% of academic authors on SSRN, the international clearing house for academic writing in these areas.
Prior to joining the firm in February 2013, Michael was an Assistant Attorney General at the New Hampshire Department of Justice from 2007 through 2013, serving in the Department's Homicide Unit from 2011 through 2013. For his work at the Attorney General's Office, Michael received the Robert E. Kirby Award from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation in 2012 recognizing excellent advocacy, civility, courtesy, and perspective as a practicing attorney under the age of 35.
Prior to his public service, Michael was a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter, an international law firm based in Washington, D.C. There he represented corporations, officer and directors of corporations, and individuals. From 2004-2005, Michael served as a law clerk to Hon. Paul Barbadoro, Federal District of New Hampshire, where he handled matters arising out of federal securities law, federal patent and trademark law, and state common law.
Paul is a shareholder in Rath, Young and Pignatelli's Tax Practice Group and serves as the firm's Treasurer. His practice focuses on federal and state tax matters, including business transactions, business formation, tax compliance, tax legislation, and tax audits. Paul represents all forms of business entities (C and S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures, and sole proprietorships) in every aspect of federal and state tax law. Paul also represents non-profit corporations in formation and tax compliance matters, and advises political campaigns and action committees on compliance with state and federal campaign finance laws.
Working closely with the firm's Energy Group, Paul structures alternative energy project developers and investors in maximizing the value they can realize from tax credits, accelerated depreciation, and other tax attributes of biomass, landfill gas, wind, solar, cogeneration, and other alternative and renewable energy projects. Such credits include the Section 45 and Section 48 energy tax credits.
After his graduation from the United States Naval Academy, Paul served the country as a nuclear submarine officer, completing five strategic deterrent patrols on board the U.S.S. Will Rogers. Paul was twice awarded the Navy Achievement Medal.
Job Titles:
- Director of Government Relations - RYP Granite Strategies
Rich serves as Director of Government Relations with RYP Granite Strategies. He brings a diverse set of public and private experience ranging from health care to public utilities experience. After earning a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Saint Anselm College, he began his political career as a Legislative Aide for the New Hampshire Senate, where he served the Commerce and the Energy and Natural Resources Committees. He provided valuable assistance in rewriting New Hampshire's telecommunications laws and the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard. Rich also gained valuable experience working for a successful lobbying firm in Columbia, South Carolina where he represented a wide range of clients at the Statehouse and helped clients secure procurement opportunities.
Job Titles:
- Government Relations Coordinator for RYP Granite Strategies
Bobby Collins serves as a Government Relations Coordinator for RYP Granite Strategies. Bobby comes to RYP Granite Strategies with a wealth of knowledge in public policy and grassroots communication.
After earning a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Maine, Bobby worked for higher education and tax policy non-profits in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. Following that, he worked on political campaigns in New Hampshire and Virginia focusing on voter outreach and advocacy.
Most recently, Bobby was employed with the New Hampshire Senate as a Caucus Director working with Senators on a range of issues from healthcare to the state operating budget and helped craft messaging on priority legislation. He has valuable government experience working with the Legislature, Executive Branch, and State Agencies.
A native of New Jersey, Bobby currently resides in Stratham, New Hampshire.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Office Administrator
Sue serves as the Executive Director for the firm, overseeing finance, human resources, benefits administration, operations, information and computer technology, communications, and marketing. Sue previously worked at the firm from 1991 to 1995 as an administrative assistant, and then went on to serve in a variety of senior management roles.
Thomas D. Rath - Chairman, Founder, Shareholder
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Founder
- Shareholder
Tom, the founder of the firm and former Attorney General of New Hampshire, has been actively involved in government relations since entering private practice in 1980. Tom has represented insurance and banking clients before the respective New Hampshire regulatory commissions. Among others, Tom has represented such clients as Fidelity Investments, Dartmouth College, Anthem, and Gilbane on legislative, administrative, and government relations issues in New Hampshire, New England, and nationally. Tom also directed the public and government relations efforts for our client, Northeast Utilities, in its successful acquisition of Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH).
Tom has served as chairman and a member of the Board of Trustees of Daniel Webster College, he was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, a member of the Dartmouth Medical School Board of Overseers, and a member of the Dartmouth College Committee on Trustees. He has been a director of the Concord Chamber of Commerce and the N.H. Business and Industry Association. Tom is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College. Tom served on the Board of Directors for Associated Grocers of New England. He currently serves on the Board of Lincoln Financial Variable Investment Products Trust. He also serves on the New England Council Board of Directors.
In 2004, Tom along with Judi Rhines founded The Rath Group, which provides specialized strategic consulting services to New England and national business and not-for-profit entities.
Bill Ardinger is appointed by Governor John Lynch to serve on the Board of Trustees for the University System of New Hampshire.
William's focuses his practice on a variety of federal and state tax matters, which includes helping clients with tax planning, tax compliance, business transactions, and tax audits. William has assisted with C Corporations, S Corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and individuals with tax planning, and structuring tax efficient transactions. He has negotiated tax settlements before the IRS, as well as state taxing authorities.
Prior to joining the firm, William worked practiced corporate and real estate taxation at two mid-sized law firms in New York, with a focus on tax efficient real estate transactions and private wealth planning structures. He also served as a legal fellow to Judge Christopher McFadden at the Georgia Court of Appeals.