December 31, 2014
To Our Clients and Friends:
Thank you for the opportunity to work with you during the past year. We offer this Annual Update to share some of the Firm's engagements and developments during 2014.
Cummings & Lockwood now totals approximately 200 employees, with over 100 lawyers and professionals. Our six Offices remain in Stamford, Greenwich and West Hartford, Connecticut, as well as in Naples, Bonita Springs and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Additional Firm highlights include:
Cummings & Lockwood was fortunate to have an especially busy and successful year throughout all practice groups. The Firm remains committed to achieving our clients' goals -- with the highest professional standards -- into 2015 and beyond.
We are grateful for your support. Our best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.
Sincerely,
Chairman & Managing Director
2014 Annual Update
PRIVATE CLIENTS
Our Private Clients Group continued to expand upon its past successes in working with high net‑worth individuals, families, charitable institutions and private businesses. Some of the matters on which the Private Clients Group advised in the last year include the following:
CORPORATE, BANKING AND LENDING
Cummings & Lockwood’s Corporate, Banking and Lending Group worked on numerous transactions in a wide range of matters, including those for individual investors and entrepreneurs, privately held businesses, large financial institutions and Fortune 100 companies. Among the significant transactions in 2014 were the following:
REAL ESTATE
Cummings & Lockwood's Real Estate Group served as counsel on numerous transactions during 2014, representing a range of individual clients, companies and developers. Some of our 2014 engagements included the following:
LITIGATION
Cummings & Lockwood’s Litigation Group successfully handled a variety of matters in our Connecticut and Florida markets, as well as on a national and regional basis. These engagements covered a wide spectrum of cases, both for individuals and businesses.
Some of our 2014 successes:
We prevailed as lead counsel for a national charitable organization in a major litigation with an international hedge fund.
INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Eighteen Cummings & Lockwood partners were selected for inclusion in the 2015 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Published bienially since 1983 by Woodward/White, Inc., a professional research company, it is the leading referral guide to the legal profession in the United States.
Stamford
John W. Cannavino (2013) - Commercial Litigation
Michael J. Hinton (2005) - Real Estate
Nancy P. Marx (2007) - Non-Profit/Charities Law
Jonathan B. Mills (1999) - Real Estate
John R. Musicaro, Jr. (1995) - Trusts and Estates
Conrad Teitell (1993) - Trusts and Estates, Non-Profit/Charities Law
Howard S. Tuthill III (1993) - Trusts and Estates
Gayle Brian Wilhelm (1983) - Litigation, Trusts and Estates
Greenwich
B. Cort Delany (2010) - Litigation , Trusts and Estates
Douglas H. Olin (2010) - Trusts and Estates
Edward F. Rodenbach (2007) - Trusts and Estates
Gina D. Silvestri (2003) - Trusts and Estates
West Hartford
Paul L. Bourdeau (1991) - Trusts and Estates
Heather J. Rhoades (2013) - Trusts and Estates
Naples
Todd L. Bradley (2008) - Trusts and Estates
Deborah L. Russell (2008) - Trusts and Estates
Bonita Springs
William N. Horowitz (2001) - Trusts and Estates
Howard M. Hujsa (2010) - Trusts and Estates
(Year) Indicates the first year the lawyer was listed.
Twenty-eight Cummings & Lockwood attorneys were selected as 2014/2015 Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is published as a special supplement in leading newspapers and city and regional magazines across the country featuring articles about attorneys named to the Super Lawyers list, and is distributed to all attorneys in the state or region, to the lead corporate counsel of Russell 3000 companies and to ABA-approved law school libraries. Polling, research and selection are performed by Law & Politics, a publication of Key Professional Media, Inc, which has been rating and publishing Super Lawyers since 1991.
Stamford
John W. Cannavino - Business Litigation, Closely Held Business
John F. Carberry - Bankruptcy, Creditor/Debtor Rights, Business Litigation
Michael J. Hinton - Real Estate, Environmental, Business/Corporate
Daniel G. Johnson - Estate Planning & Probate
Michael P. Kaelin - Estate & Trust Litigation, Employment & Labor, General Litigation
Jonathan B. Mills - Real Estate, Business/Corporate, Banking
John R. Musicaro, Jr. - Estate Planning & Probate
Rachel B. G. Sherman - Estate Planning & Probate
Howard S. Tuthill, III - Estate Planning & Probate, Tax
Gayle B. Wilhelm - Estate Planning & Probate
*Rachel Rhein Zarghami - Estate Planning & Probate
Greenwich
Laura Weintraub Beck - Estate Planning & Probate, Estate & Trust Litigation
B. Cort Delany - Estate Planning & Probate, Tax
*Daniel P. Fitzgerald - Estate Planning & Probate, Tax, Estate & Trust Litigation
Edward F. Rodenbach - Estate Planning & Probate
Gina D. Silvestri - Estate Planning & Probate
West Hartford
Paul L. Bourdeau - Estate Planning & Probate, Tax
*Caroline Demirs Calio - Estate Planning & Probate, Business/Corporate
Robert B. Fawber - Estate Planning & Probate, Real Estate
Heather J. Rhoades - Estate Planning & Probate
Naples
Todd L. Bradley - Estate Planning & Probate
Alison K. Douglas - Estate Planning & Probate
Kenneth D. Krier - Estate Planning & Probate
*Robert L. Lancaster - Estate Planning & Probate
Deborah L. Russell - Estate Planning & Probate
Bonita Springs
Marve Ann N. Alaimo - Estate Planning & Probate, Estate & Trust Litigation
William N. Horowitz - Estate Planning & Probate, Tax
Howard M. Hujsa - Estate Planning & Probate
*2014/2015 Rising Stars in designated practice areas.
PUBLIC SERVICE
The Cummings & Lockwood Foundation was established to promote charitable and public service initiatives in our communities. It is funded annually from Cummings & Lockwood’s partners, and provides grants and donations to a number of organizations in Connecticut and in Florida.
The Foundation also works in coordination with Cummings & Lockwood’s Pro Bono Program to advance various legal services and educational endeavors.
Since its inception, the Cummings & Lockwood Foundation has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to various charitable and civic causes. Among the organizations receiving our support in 2014 were Connecticut Legal Services, Fairfield County Community Foundation, The Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut, NCH Healthcare Foundation and The American Cancer Society.
The Firm’s Pro Bono Program included thousands of hours of our lawyers’ time donated to numerous engagements, including those involving probate, family law, bankruptcy, health care, housing, special needs, real estate and corporate matters.
A number of our partners and associates are also active in professional and civic affairs, which may include local, state and national bar association committees, as well as municipal councils and commissions.
Many Cummings & Lockwood attorneys also volunteer on boards and committees that are dedicated to nonprofit, educational or charitable purposes. Representative organizations include United Way, American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Waveny Care Center, Greenwich Library, and various foundations and associations affiliated with numerous institutions of higher learning, including the Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell and University of Virginia Law Schools, among others.
Cummings & Lockwood has a long-standing tradition of civic and community service. Our lawyers and staff are committed to furthering the public good with their time, their skills and their financial support. We believe these endeavors not only contribute to the communities in which we practice, but broaden the experience and judgment of our partners, associates and employees.