Best Lawyers® highlights one attorney in a particular location and practice area who received the highest votes from his or her peers in a given year.
LEGAL MALPRACTICE LAW - DEFENDANTS
LITIGATION - CONSTRUCTION
Daniel L. Burchard
Robert C. Dewhirst
Boston
George F. Burns
Robert C. Hatch
John P. Connelly
Sara Jane Shanahan
Antonino M. Leone
Courtney C. Stabnick
William N. Berkowitz
Frank P. Spinella, Jr.
John M. Tanski
LITIGATION - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Hartford
Christopher C. Whitney
Christine K. Bush
LITIGATION - BANKING AND FINANCE
LITIGATION - ENVIRONMENTAL
Jamie N. Hage
Manchester
Providence
Andrew D. Manitsky
Regina E. Roman LEVERAGED BUYOUTS AND PRIVATE EQUITY LAW
Jon M. Herzog Boston
LITIGATION - ANTITRUST Boston
Burlington
Portland-ME Boston
Hartford
Manchester Providence
Kevin M. Fitzgerald
Robert Clark Corrente
Robert G. Flanders, Jr.
Franca L. DeRosa
Richard M. Gelb
Seth D. Jaffe
Providence Boston
Hartford Boston
HEALTH CARE LAW
LABOR LAW - MANAGEMENT
Joseph V. Meaney, Jr.
Emily J. Joselson
Portland-ME
Boston
LITIGATION - BANKRUPTCY
Matthew D. Manahan
Boston
Stephen A. Reynes
Eric D. Altholz
Richard L. Alfred
Hartford
Debra Weiss Ford
Charles R. Bennett, Jr.
Timothy M. McCrystal
Robin B. Kallor
James Berman
Michael D. Seitzinger
Margaret Coughlin LePage
G. Eric Brunstad, Jr.
Rebecca A. Matthews New Haven Boston
Augusta-ME
Don E. Wineberg Providence
Manchester Hartford
Portland-ME
Timothy F. Murphy Springfield-MA
Andrew B. Prescott
Stamford Hartford
Burlington
Portland-ME
LITIGATION - INSURANCE Manchester
Portland-ME Boston
Hartford
Providence
Manchester Burlington
Margaret K. Minister Portland-ME
Francis H. Morrison III Hartford
Frank E. Scherkenbach Boston
Edward R. Scofield Stamford
Montpelier
LITIGATION - FIRST AMENDMENT
Howard A. Merten, Jr. Providence
Randy J. Creswell Portland-ME
Matthew J. McGowan Providence
Providence
Stephen M. Sedor Stamfor
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IMMIGRATION LAW
Phillip C. Curtis Boston
LABOR LAW - UNION
Brian A. Doyle Hartford
Justin F. Fappiano
David B. Rome
James J. O’Keefe
LAND USE AND ZONING LAW
New Haven
Portland-ME
Andrew L. Wizner Hartford
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW
Kathleen M. Porter Boston
INSURANCE LAW
Boston
Juliet T. Browne Portland-ME
Raymond P. D’Amante Concord
Robert A. Fishman Boston
Michael A. Hodgins Bangor
Doreen F. Connor
P. Scott McGee
Eric A. Johnson
Gregory Michael
Donald J. Pfundstein
Elizabeth McDonough Noonan
Manchester Burlington Concord
Christopher T. Roach Portland-ME
Theodore J. Tucci Hartford
Montpelier
Manchester
Providence
Robin Messier Pearson Hartford
Brian J. Sullivan Burlington
Laurie R. Bishop Education Law Boston, MA
H
IGHER EDUCATION IS A privilege, and Laurie Bishop’s work advising colleges and universities on their policies and procedures helps maintain the quality of the experience for all the students who reap the benefits. Perhaps nowhere in America is associated more closely with higher ed than Boston, and as the city’s “Lawyer of the Year” in Education Law, Bishop works to help sort out the panoply of issues schools routinely have to deal with. Her experience as general counsel at Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music and as a partner at Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP have helped her earn this recognition. “I see everything that goes on with the school,” Bishop says. “I spend a lot of time thinking about what maybe people haven’t thought about or what we should be worrying about that we aren’t.” The vast numbers of administrators, faculty, and students in Boston present Bishop with innumerable opportunities to work with clients, which she calls the most rewarding aspect of education law. “You get to have hundreds of different clients at any one institution,” she says. As such, she regularly deals with an enormous array of legal issues. Higher-
education law is multifaceted, she notes—and knowing what you don’t know is key: “[Colleges have] regular employment issues. They’ve got student financial-aid issues. They’ve got publicrelations media crises. So understanding what you know, what you can do, and who you can hire if it’s something you can’t do [is important].” Her advice to anyone looking to practice education law is the same one might give an incoming student. “Learn as much as you can,” Bishop says. “It’s off-putting to institutions when someone tries to walk the walk without actually having done it. If it’s [a field] you want to get into, you have to do the time and the homework and really learn about it. It’s not something you can fake your way into. You’ve got to understand all of the issues.” Good communication is crucial, too. “You need to understand that you’re going to have to talk to people,” she adds. “I don’t see people at other firms and other institutions’ general counsels as competitors in any way. We’re all looking at the same issues, and if you’re not collegial and friendly and reaching out for help with all these same people, you’re going to fail.” W W W.BESTL AW Y ERS.COM
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