Brody Wilkinson PC is proud to announce that six of the firm’s lawyers were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 26th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© 2020. These lawyers and their featured Best Lawyers® fields include:
DOUGLAS R. BROWN, Litigation – Trusts and Estates; Trusts and Estates
SETH L. COOPER, Real Estate Law
PETER T. MOTT, Trusts and Estates
RONALD B. NOREN, Trusts and Estates
JAMES E. RICE, Energy Law
THOMAS J. WALSH, JR., Real Estate Law
DOUGLAS R. BROWN practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement and probate, and trust and fiduciary litigation. He represents individual clients in all aspects of estate planning and estate settlement to maximize the transfer of wealth, minimize the effect of estate and gift taxes, plan for incapacity, and plan effectively for disabled family members through the use of special needs trusts. Mr. Brown has significant experience in guiding fiduciaries and beneficiaries through complicated estate settlement and trust administration matters. He is a member of the American, Connecticut, Fairfield County, and Greater Bridgeport Bar Associations. Mr. Brown is a member of the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Estates and Probate Section, and is past chair of the subcommittee on Probate and Trust Controversies. He also serves on the Connecticut Probate Court Rules Advisory Committee. Mr. Brown has been recognized multiple times since 2007 as a “Connecticut Super Lawyer” and “New England Super Lawyer” in the areas of Estate Planning and Probate as well as Estate and Trust Litigation. In addition, he has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the fields of Trusts and Estates as well as Litigation – Trusts and Estates since 2018. Mr. Brown is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
SETH L. COOPER practices in the transactional areas of commercial real estate, lending, loan workouts, leasing, hospitality service contracts, business entity organizational matters, business purchases and sales, art law, general contract law and debtor-creditor rights. He frequently plays an active role in assisting with the structure of the business relationship among an entity’s principals, in addition to negotiating and documenting the business relationship. Mr. Cooper’s early career focused on handling bankruptcy and insolvency matters. Consequently, he is able to bring an insightful asset protection perspective to a deal structure. In addition to regularly advising businesses and handling real estate matters, Mr. Cooper represents art dealers, artists, appraisers, auction houses, estates and trusts, foundations, galleries, museums and private collectors in a broad spectrum of legal matters. He is a member of the Connecticut, American and Greater Bridgeport Bar Associations. Mr. Cooper has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Real Estate Law since 2019. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
PETER T. MOTT practices in the areas of estate planning and trusts and estate administration. He assists individuals with tax and charitable gift planning, business owners with succession planning, and families planning for aging or incapacitated family members. Mr. Mott is a member of the American and Connecticut Bar Associations and is past-chair of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Estates and Probate Section. He is an active member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where he serves as state chair of Connecticut and is a member of the Board of Regents. He is past-chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee. Mr. Mott was named Best Lawyers® Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” for the Stamford metropolitan region in 2017 and 2013, and has been selected for inclusion inThe Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Trusts and Estates since 2005. He has also been recognized as a “Connecticut Super Lawyer” in the areas of Estate Planning and Probate; and Tax since 2006. In addition, Mr. Mott has been recognized by Chambers High Net Worth Guide since 2016 with a “Band 1” ranking in the category of Private Wealth Law. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
RONALD B. NOREN practices in the area of trusts and estates, including estate planning, transmission of wealth, estate settlement, and trust administration. He represents individual clients and family groups, often on a multi-generational basis, to preserve and transmit earned and inherited wealth incorporating personal and family goals with efficient tax planning. Mr. Noren often works with clients in structuring and implementing living trusts, charitable and non-charitable gift planning, life insurance trusts, various tax advantaged irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships and LLCs, and private foundations. He also has extensive experience working with individuals and corporate fiduciaries in the settlement of large estates and providing advice to trustees and beneficiaries on the administration of trusts. Mr. Noren is a member of the American and Connecticut Bar Associations and the Estates and Probate Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Trusts and Estates since 2013. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
JAMES E. RICE practices in the areas of utilities and energy, business and finance, and commercial real estate. He represents energy companies and other clients before the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Connecticut Siting Council. Mr. Rice has acted as Connecticut counsel in connection with the acquisition of major power plants and of regulated public service companies. He also serves as outside general counsel to several small- and medium-sized businesses in the Fairfield County area. Mr. Rice is a member of the American, Connecticut and Greater Bridgeport Bar Associations. He serves as a member of the Standards of Title Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Public Utility Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association, for which he also served as chairman. Mr. Rice has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Energy Law since 2006. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
THOMAS J. WALSH, JR. practices in the areas of general corporate matters, business transactions, financing and commercial real estate. Mr. Walsh counsels clients – from entrepreneurial start-up enterprises to larger privately held companies – through each phase of their growth serving as primary outside counsel. He advises on issues such as the ideal form of organization, ownership and buy-sell agreements, critical contracts with employees and third parties, debt and equity financing, dispute resolution and with business expansion opportunities, such as mergers and acquisitions, and marketing and licensing agreements. He also advises both lenders and borrowers in commercial financing transactions, including revolving credit, asset-based, private equity, real estate secured facilities, workouts and restructurings. When clients are acquiring, selling or leasing real estate assets, he will assist with the negotiations as well as structure the optimal form of organization to meet client objectives. Mr. Walsh is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He is actively involved in the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section and is a member of its Council. He is immediate past Chair of its Middle Market and Small Business Committee and is a member of its Commercial Financial Services Committee. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. Mr. Walsh’s inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 in the field of Real Estate Law represents his first Best Lawyers® nomination. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers® lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. For the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.8 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in almost 60,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers® “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.” For more information, visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/methodology. To view Brody Wilkinson’s Best Lawyers®
firm profile, visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/firms/brody-wilkinson-pc/1076/US.