BULKLEY RICHARDSON AND GELINAS - Key Persons
Christa Calabretta practices in the Business Department where she focuses on general corporate and business matters, including mergers and acquisitions, and other transactional work. She is also a member of the firm's Health Care practice where she assists with contracts, agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and other matters affecting health care organizations.
Dan Finnegan focuses his practice in the areas of litigation, property tax, construction law, administrative law and land use. Dan handles all aspects of civil litigation, arbitration and mediation, and has represented banks, financial institutions, businesses, and governmental and individual clients at the trial and appellate court levels in both state and federal courts. Dan has experience defending banks over alleging predatory lending, mortgage fraud and violation of consumer protection statutes. He represents owners, design professionals and contractors in litigation and alternative dispute resolution forums and in the negotiation and drafting of contracts. Dan represents taxpayers in proceedings before local boards of assessors, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board and appellate courts. He also handles a wide range of zoning and land use matters, as well, as litigation matters and has substantial experience representing clients before municipal boards and administrative agencies. He also has experience in property tax abatement and exemption cases.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager of Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Member of the Trusts & Estates Department
Elizabeth Dougal is a member of the Trusts & Estates Department. Her practice incudes preparation and administration of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, personal effects memorandum, durable powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, real estate deeds, homestead exemptions and small business succession plans.
For the past 19 years, Elizabeth ran a boutique legal practice providing clients with estate planning and related transactional work. She was also a consultant to estate, trusts and eldercare clients in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, California and Washington, D.C. through the Attorney Resource Center.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance and Accounting
Prior to joining the firm, Sandy served as a law clerk for Justice Francis J. Quirico of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Since then, he has concentrated his practice in resolving problems and disputes for individuals and for-profit and non-profit enterprises through advice, negotiation, litigation, arbitration and mediation involving a wide range of matters including health care, antitrust, trade regulation, shareholder rights, employment discrimination, personal injury and other issues. As a Massachusetts Superior Court Judge wrote in one opinion: "Mr. Dibble is one of the premier attorneys in Western Massachusetts." He has tried to conclusion and won more than 100 substantial cases by jury verdict or judicial decision in the federal and state courts. He has argued more than 30 appeals before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals. Many of his trials and appeals have involved high-stakes and high-profile matters drawing media attention. In addition, he has taught and written extensively on matters related to his legal practice. Within the firm, Sandy served for many years as Managing Partner and Chair of the firm's Executive Committee as well as Chair of its Litigation Department.
While with the firm, Sandy has served as outside General Counsel to several clients, including Taylor Rental Corporation and Baystate Health, Inc., the largest health care system in western Massachusetts, advising on matters of regulatory compliance, governance, best practices, governmental investigations, conflicts of interest and other matters. He has also served as Adjunct Professor of Evidence at Western New England Law School and as a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars. At the request of various state and federal courts, Sandy has served as special counsel and as commissioner and committee member or chair in matters of public interest.
Jim is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School. He has a master's degree in engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles and is a registered professional engineer in civil engineering. He is a member of numerous bars, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He currently teaches as an adjunct professor at the Isenberg School of Management within the University of Massachusetts and regularly speaks on data protection, technology, intellectual property and environmental issues.
Jenelle's practice focuses on general corporate, business and finance matters, including mergers and acquisitions and other commercial transactions. Among the various transactions in which she has represented both businesses and business owners, Jenelle has overseen stock and asset transactions and financing transactions with commercial lenders and private investors. Her experience includes drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, including leases, covenants not to compete, employment agreements, purchase and sale agreements, and financing documents. Jenelle also handles corporate and governance issues for both small and large not-for-profit organizations and entities.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing and Business Development
As Counsel, Justice Greaney contributes his extensive experience as a lawyer and a judge in a range of areas, including trial and appellate practice and professional responsibility. He has led independent investigations regarding staff misconduct and student misconduct in private schools and colleges and is available, with other lawyers at the firm, to investigate misconduct in businesses and corporations.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Honored As "Emerging Woman Leader in the Law
Practice Areas
Family Law
Bio
Julie Dick leads Bulkley Richardson's Family Law practice. She counsels individuals, couples and families on all matters relating to domestic relationships. While a fierce advocate for her clients, Julie demonstrates compassion and discretion during what is often an emotionally charged time.
Julie's experience includes litigating and negotiating a variety of family law and safety matters including divorce, custody, parenting time, child support, 209A Abuse Prevention Orders, 258E Harassment Prevention Orders, Petitions to Partition and guardianship matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Julie was an attorney at Community Legal Aid where she represented clients in Probate and Family Courts and District Courts as a part of the Family Law Unit.
As Counsel, Justice Greaney contributes his extensive experience as a lawyer and a judge in a range of areas, including trial and appellate practice and professional responsibility. He has led independent investigations regarding staff misconduct and student misconduct in private schools and colleges and is available, with other lawyers at the firm, to investigate misconduct in businesses and corporations.
Justice Greaney began his work as a lawyer in the Springfield firm of Ely and King before his first appointment, in 1974, to the Hampden County Housing Court. In 1976, he was appointed to the Superior Court, followed by an appointment to the Appeals Court in 1978, where he became Chief Justice in 1984. Justice Greaney was appointed to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1989 and served until 2008.
Justice Greaney participated in several landmark cases while serving on the Supreme Judicial Court, among them Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, where he wrote the concurring opinion establishing Massachusetts as the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Other important opinions include a 1993 decision upholding the adoption of a child by same-sex cohabitants, a 1997 decision in the Benefit v. City of Cambridge case, affirming the unconstitutionality of a statute prohibiting panhandling, a 2003 decision in the First Justice case addressing, on separation of powers principles, the constitutionality of statutes governing court clerks and probation officers, and a 2007 decision in the Murphy v Boston Herald case, affirming a judgment based on the Boston Herald's defamation of a judge.
After the Supreme Judicial Court, Justice Greaney joined the faculty of Suffolk University Law School, served as director of the Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy and taught Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Appellate Advocacy.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Ludlow Zoning Board of Appeals
- Partner / Real Estate / Health Care
Kathy Bernardo leads the Real Estate practice group.
Her practice focuses on commercial real estate matters such as conveyancing, financing, leasing, title matters and all aspects of complex property transfers, including purchase agreements, easements, liquor license transfers, special permits, regulatory compliance, zoning and variance issues, 1031 Exchange transfers, boundary disputes, public and private conservation restrictions, including agricultural preservation restrictions (APR), petitions to partition and other land court matters.
Her probate practice includes the preparation of wills and trusts, estate and trust administration, equity petitions, guardianships and conservatorships.
Kathy is a member of the Ludlow Zoning Board of Appeals, a Land Court commissioner for land partition cases and a member of the Realtor Association of the Pioneer Valley.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Lawyer of the Year" for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Member of the Firm 's Executive Committee
Mark Cress is a member of the firm's Executive Committee, leads the Banking, Finance and Bankruptcy practice group, and co-leads the Health Care practice group.
Mark has significant experience and possesses a broad range of knowledge and skills in representing banks and other financial institutions, for profit and not-for-profit entities and individual clients in connection with all forms of financing and business transactions. He also represents parties in creditor-debtor relationships and appears on behalf of creditor parties in proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court.
His experience includes representing lenders, including banks and other credit facility providers, and borrowers, including health care and educational institutions and other not-for-profit entities in connection with publicly offered and privately placed tax-exempt bonds issued through the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. He also has substantial experience in representing lenders and borrowers in connection with real estate and asset based secured financing transactions, and financing transactions involving the federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs. In addition, Mark represents banks and other financial institutions and debtor parties in connection with loan workouts, mortgage and other business asset foreclosures, bankruptcy and other insolvency proceedings. He also regularly represents private closely held businesses, including health care and other professional service practices, in providing advice and assistance in the areas of business organization, choice of entity, legal structure, governance, financing and other commercial transactions involving real estate, stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, and commercial leasing transactions.
Mary R. Bonzagni, a Partner at the firm, has been involved in drafting, prosecuting, defending, licensing patents for a wide variety of inventions worldwide. Mary's in-depth experience as a chemist allows her a unique perspective and allows her to provide her clients with both a legal and scientific strategy. Mary has also been involved in obtaining, defending and licensing trademarks worldwide.
Her clients include Baystate Health, Inc. and Kanzaki Specialty Papers.
Matt is an associate in the Litigation Department. Previously, he worked as a private investigator, where he handled a variety of civil and criminal investigations. While in law school, Matt clerked for a prominent area criminal defense law firm.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Firm 's Executive Committee
Mike Burke is a longtime member of the firm's Executive Committee and leads the Professional Malpractice practice group. His practice consists of primarily defending providers in malpractice suits and before regulatory boards, agencies and committees.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Chairman of Bulkley Richardson 's Schools
- Joins Arrha Credit Union As New Board Member
Ryan Barry is Chair of Bulkley Richardson's Schools, Colleges and Universities practice group and Co-Chair of the firm's Health Care practice group. He also has significant experience in design and construction law, as well as business law.
Ryan advises schools, colleges and universities on contracts, grants, policies, tax issues, permitting, and regulatory compliance.
In his health care practice, Ryan drafts and negotiates affiliation agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and contracts for professional services, software, and medical equipment. He advises health care clients on compliance with HIPAA, fraud and abuse laws, and a variety of other laws affecting health care organizations. He also assists clients who have experienced breaches under HIPAA and other data privacy laws.
In his construction practice, Ryan drafts and negotiates design and construction contracts for large and sophisticated projects, including academic buildings, hospitals, museums, nursing homes, manufacturing facilities, and high-end residences. He also advises clients on construction disputes and compliance with laws governing prevailing wages, retainage, and liens.
Ryan has served on the board of directors of several local nonprofit organizations, including Helix Human Services and Leadership Pioneer Valley. Currently, Ryan provides pro bono legal services to local farmers and food entrepreneurs through the Conservation Law Foundation's Legal Services Food Hub. In his spare time, Ryan is an avid fly fisherman and backcountry skier.
Sandy Dibble is a member of the Litigation, Health Care and Employment practice groups.
Scott Foster's practice focuses on the growth aspects of private ventures. He has represented startups, angel investors and venture capital groups, as well as publicly-held and private corporations in industries ranging from precision manufacturing to high-growth technology to commercial food production to multi-family residential housing. Many of the companies seeking counsel from Scott are ventures in transitions, i.e. seeking early stage funding, looking to lease equipment or real estate, and obtaining commercial financing for expansion, or transitioning ownership to an investor group or even the next generation of a family business.
Sean Buxton is an attorney in the firm's Litigation Department. He spent the last year as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Ariane D. Vuono of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and previously was an intern at the Hampden County District Attorney's Office and at the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Seunghee Cha is Chair of both the firm's Trusts and Estates department and Special Needs Planning practice.
Stephen Holstrom is a litigator with a focus on medical malpractice defense.
Steve has litigated tort actions, unfair and deceptive trade actions against insurance companies, no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) benefit collection actions, complex class actions and managed care fraud cases.
Previously, Steve was also a judicial law clerk to the Judges of the Connecticut Superior Court in Hartford, where he assisted with complex matters at every stage of litigation.
Our esteemed colleague, Bill Hart, retired on March 31, 2019. Bill practiced law since graduating from the University of Denver College of Law in 1972, thereafter practicing in his home town of Rochester, NY and his college town, Amherst, MA. He joined Bulkley Richardson in 1986, left briefly to start his own firm, and then returned to Bulkley Richardson in 2007.
Bill has been a critical part of our Trusts and Estates practice, playing a significant role in its organization and expansion to its current size, especially in Hampshire and Franklin Counties. His practice focused on estate planning work for people of all walks of life, including professionals, owners of closely-held businesses, people with artistic and literary property, and those with real estate holdings in other states and countries.
Bill has notified his clients of his retirement and recommends that inquiries from new and existing clients be directed to Seunghee Cha, Chair of the Trusts and Estates department.