WCN - Key Persons
As part of the Private Client Services group, Christine M. Morgan concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate of decedents' estates, administration of trusts, long-term care, elder law, Medicaid (MassHealth) and disability planning, and tax law. She makes presentations on estate planning and elder law topics at the invitation of hospitals, universities, senior citizens' centers and support organizations such as the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA). Attorney Morgan is an active member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), an organization whose members practice special needs and elder law.
Christine is a cum laude graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where she published case comments as a member of its Transnational Law Journal. She earned a Master of Laws degree in Taxation from Boston University School of Law and earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University. She began practicing law in 1989 with the Boston law firm of Masterman, Culbert & Tully, started her own private estate planning practice in Chelmsford, Massachusetts in 1991, and was one of the original founders of Eckel, Hoag, Morgan & O'Connor in Acton, Massachusetts.
She is available to meet with clients from throughout Massachusetts in her Chelmsford office, and at the firm's locations in Wellesley and Boston.
David Burgess is an experienced family law attorney and trial lawyer. Having spent more than 30 years representing businesses and individuals in the courts of Massachusetts, he focuses his practice on divorce litigation and family law, business and employment disputes and litigation, and criminal defense.
David began his practice at Foley Hoag, LLP, one of Boston's largest firms, followed by six years at a premier boutique law firm and 16 years in solo practice.
In his family law practice, David litigates contested divorce and family law matters and serves as a divorce mediator. He also regularly assists clients in their negotiation of prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements. There is a large overlap between prenup and postnup agreements and estate planning, and David has found this firm's estate planning expertise and resources to have been invaluable as he advises clients on these agreements.
David is well versed in the issues surrounding high-net-worth divorce. He has helped many couples in the Wellesley and metro west area of Boston negotiate marital settlement agreements. He has dealt with a wide range of complex divorce cases that include litigation over restraining orders, alimony, child support and child custody issues. David has found that his background in business litigation prepared him well for representing clients in complex high-net-worth divorces. His criminal practice gave him a great deal of trial advocacy experience.
Throughout his career, David has represented business clients in a diverse array of litigation matters, including commercial litigation, real estate disputes, insurance coverage litigation, and shareholder and fiduciary duty claims. His employment practice consists mostly of executive advocacy, representing clients in severance negotiations and in employment litigation, as well as advising clients who are being asked to sign employment agreements, non-compete agreements and non-solicitation agreements. He has tried business and employment law cases in state and federal court.
In his criminal law practice as a defense lawyer, David has defended hundreds of clients, many charged with serious felonies, in the Massachusetts superior and district courts. He has successfully tried dozens of jury cases involving charges of manslaughter, armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery, armed robbery, rape and other sex offenses, drunk driving and drug offenses.
Graduating from Suffolk University Law School in 1989, David had the distinction of being first out of a class of 213 students.
Before moving to Massachusetts, Marjory Selig worked at a law firm in White Plains, New York, for 19 years concentrating in estate planning, estate administration, guardianship and elder law. Before that she was a volunteer attorney at St. Louis County Older Residents Legal Aid Program in St. Louis, Missouri, assisting lower income senior citizens with wills and advance directives. Before and after law school she worked as a paralegal or attorney in several personal injury plaintiff and defense law firms, and during law school she worked summers and part-time during the school year at the criminal and civil clinics sponsored by the law school.
Meredith Havard concentrates her practice in the areas of guardianships, conservatorships, estate administration and estate planning. Meredith has considerable experience in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, civil litigation matters, administrative appeals, motion hearings, and probate trials. She also has significant experience in matters before the Probate and Family Court across the state. Meredith received her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School with a concentration in Health and Biomedical Law in 2014. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Gettysburg College. She is a Board Member of the Massachusetts Guardianship Association.
Michael Cosentino's practice is concentrated in litigation, focusing on civil and business litigation. His experience also includes litigating matters in the areas of financial services litigation, securities law, estate and probate litigation and professional malpractice.
He represents corporations, small businesses, wealth management firms, broker-dealers, Registered Investment Advisors and individuals both nationally and throughout Massachusetts and New England. Michael has extensive experience with securities litigation in the financial services area, which includes representing both securities firms and financial advisors in individual and institutional customer disputes, and enforcement actions before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), American Arbitration Association and other regulatory bodies including the SEC and state securities agencies.
Michael is highly respected for his results-orientation. His clients rely upon his legal acumen and winning determination when facing litigation and issues related to breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, business torts, unfair and deceptive trade practices, legal and medical malpractice, business agreements, real estate and construction disputes, insurance coverage and securities lawsuits.
Routinely litigating and arbitrating the most difficult financial services litigation cases, Michael is known for working collaboratively with his clients until the job is done. He represents clients on both sides of customer-initiated complaints, and he is equally committed to recovering financial losses suffered by customers and to defending claims against financial advisors. He has obtained numerous orders on behalf of registered representatives, requiring the expungement of information on Form U-5.
Michael Cosentino was going to be a doctor, at least until he realized he couldn't stand the sight of blood. And he didn't like exams either, which he'd need to go to med school. There was no arguing, no quibbling, no creativity with multiple choice and he was never...
Job Titles:
- Senior Counsel
- Senior Counsel With Wilchins Cosentino & Novins LLP
Michael P. Friedman is a Senior Counsel with Wilchins Cosentino & Novins LLP. As an attorney, legal advisor and trial lawyer, Michael has over 40 years of practical real-world experience helping people through personal and business conflicts. He has successfully represented clients in avoiding litigation - as well as clients in the midst of litigation. He has successfully tried cases as lead counsel before the District, Superior and Probate and Family Courts throughout Massachusetts. He has also had success arguing appellate matters before the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
Additionally, Michael is a trained conciliator and a skilled negotiator who strives to resolve conflicts directly and in ways that address the personal and economic needs of his clients. Clients look to him to help provide guidance through some of life's most difficult challenges.
Michael is a graduate of New England Law and has been a trial lawyer throughout most of his career. He has handled matters of all types and is known for his ability to work with his clients to navigate the challenging and sometimes troubled times and circumstances that bring them to him for help.
Family Law is a principal focus of Michael's current practice, where he handles a broad spectrum of Domestic Relations matters from relatively simple and straightforward divorce cases to high-conflict matters involving custody and parenting disputes, inter-state removal matters, and matters that include complex financial circumstances for high-net-worth clients. As part of this area of his practice, Michael also represents people in conflicts involving child support and alimony issues, as well as efforts to modify, defend or enforce existing orders and court judgments. This also includes the defense or prosecution of civil or criminal contempt cases.
Additionally, Michael practices in the area of Probate Law and Litigation that involves estates, trusts and the partition of real estate. He represents people in the prosecution or defense of will contests, complaints alleging undue influence and/or lack of testamentary capacity, claims of breach of fiduciary duties, and objections to accounts filed by trustees or personal representatives of estates. He also represents individuals in actions for the partition of real estate - where co-owners wish to separate their individual interests in property from the interests of their co-owner(s).
Michael has acted in the capacity of an independent third party personal representative of estates by both Court appointment and personal engagement and appointment. He has also been appointed as Commissioner for the sale of property in real estate partition matters.
To each of his clients, Michael brings the benefit of his life experience, education, training and a healthy capacity for empathy - all with an intention and goal of achieving results that suit the unique dynamics and needs of each situation and client.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Member of the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts
Scott's practice concentrates in real estate, business law and trust and estate planning. He possesses extensive experience representing buyers, sellers, developers and lenders in both commercial and residential real estate transactions, as well as landlord-tenant and corporate matters. Scott was a partner of the Law Office of Joseph & Joseph in Newton, Massachusetts for sixteen years before joining Wilchins Cosentino & Novins.
He has been featured as a lecturer on various topics sponsored by the American Bar Association, including advising small businesses, commercial real estate development and identity theft.
Scott is a member of the Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts (REBA) and served on its Residential Conveyancing Committee. Scott is an approved closing attorney for many of the largest mortgage lenders in the country.