|   | | Law Firm in Springfield, Massachusetts | |
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| | Address | | Suite 1100, 1441 Main Street | | Springfield, Massachusetts 01103-1406 | | (Hampden Co.) | | | |
| | Contact Information | | Phone: 413-737-1131 | | Telecopier: 413-736-0375 | | Visit Our Website | | http://www.ssfpc.com | | | | Send Us Email |  |
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(Main Office)
| Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. practices in the following areas of law:
General Business Practice. Corporate, Commercial Finance, Creditors' Rights, Bankruptcy and Reorganization, Banking, Taxation, Estate Planning and Probate, Real Estate Development and Finance, Land Use Regulation, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Industrial Revenue Bonds. | | Year Established: 1969 | Firm Profile:
Corporate - General counsel to business entities of all types in diverse industries, including organization and reorganization of corporations, professional corporations, limited partnerships, LLCs, LLPs, general partnerships, nominee trusts and business trusts; counsel to businesses requiring specialized legal services nationally and internationally in such areas as tax planning, mergers, acquisitions, plant expansions and financial reorganizations. Estate Planning and Probate - Comprehensive estate planning for individuals and owners of closely held business enterprises. Expertise in the areas of wealth transfer, GRATS, QPRTS, Family Limited Partnerships, including insurance planning, retirement planning, and the use of charitable remainder trusts in the sales of businesses to reduce income and estate taxes. Probate of simple and complex estates. Long term care and benefits planning for the elderly and disabled. Commercial and Municipal Finance - Counsel to banks and insurance companies in secured and unsecured commercial loan transactions, including accounts receivable and asset-based lending, leveraged buy-outs, FHA and SBA loans, secondary market sales to GNMA and FHLMC, letters of credit and business loans of all types. Leading firm in the region in the area of tax-exempt finance. Real Estate - Counsel to real estate developers and owners regarding acquisition financing, permitting, leasing and tax deferred exchanges and compliance with zoning, environmental and other laws; counsel to developers of residential and commercial condominium properties; counsel to wireless telecommunications companies regarding site selection, permitting and acquisition. Mediation - Mediation of complex business, real estate and estate disputes. Litigation - Trial practice concentrating in commercial, real estate, business, environmental, probate and employment litigation; practice in all courts. Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights - Representation of secured and unsecured creditors, debtors, and asset purchasers in both business and consumer bankruptcy, reorganization and workout proceedings. Litigation in bankruptcy courts, including fraudulent transfer and preference claims. | | Firm Size: 13 | Representative Clients:
Bank of America, N.A.; TD Banknorth, N.A.; Hampden Bank; United Co-operative Bank; Westfield Bank; Monarch Life Insurance Company; Colebrook Realty Services, Inc.; Better Homes for Springfield, Inc.; Trident Realty Corporation; Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.; Bayer Corporation; Deerfield Urethane, Inc.; Verizon Wireless; Excel Dryer, Inc.; Pure Coatings, LLC; Dielectrics, Inc.; Pioneer Tool Supply Co., Inc.; Friendly Home Parties, Inc.; Valley Psychiatric Service, Inc.; Sisters of Providence, Inc.; National Yiddish Book Center, Inc.; Goodwill Industries of the Springfield/Hartford Area, Inc.; The Salvation Army; Quandt's Food Service; Poly-Plating, Inc.; National Graphics Supply Corp.; The Cadle Company; The Dennis Group; YMCA of Greater Springfield, Inc.; Cooperative Development Institute, Inc.; Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, Inc.; Jewish Family Service Center of Greater Springfield, Inc.; Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.; Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company; Edens & Avant, Inc.; Lunt Silversmiths, Inc.; Motherwear International, Inc. | | Steven J. Schwartz (Member) born Springfield, Massachusetts, December 5, 1941; admitted to bar, 1967, Massachusetts; 1984, New York. Education: Babson College (B.S.B.A., 1963); Boston University (LL.B., 1966). President, Springfield Tax Club, 1983-1984. President, Western New England Enterprise Forum, 1984-1986. Member, Family Firm Institute. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and New York State Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Law; Estate Planning. Email: Steven J. Schwartz | | Stephen A. Shatz (Member) born Springfield, Massachusetts, September 10, 1942; admitted to bar, 1967, Massachusetts. Education: Brandeis University (B.A., 1964); Boston College (LL.B., 1967). Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Real Estate Development; Real Estate Finance; Commercial Leasing. Email: Stephen A. Shatz | | Gary S. Fentin (Member) born Boston, Massachusetts, November 15, 1944; admitted to bar, 1969, Massachusetts; 1972, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; 1987, New York. Education: Duke University (A.B., 1966); Boston College (J.D., 1969); Boston University (LL.M., Taxation, 1983); Harvard Law School (Mediation Workshop, 2002). Member, Order of the Coif. Editor, Boston College Law Review, 1968-1969. Author, "Condominiums - Representing the Parties When the Party's Over-From a Lender's Perspective," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 1991. Co-Author, "Real Property Foreclosures," National Business Institute, 1991. Adjunct Professor of Law, Boston College Law School, 1973-1975. Staff Attorney, 1970-1971 and Director, 1971-1973, Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. of Springfield. Member: Hampden County and Massachusetts Bar Associations; National Association of Bond Lawyers. Practice Areas: Commercial Finance; Real Estate Finance; Industrial Revenue Bonds; Estate Planning; Mediation; Business Law. Email: Gary S. Fentin | | Timothy P. Mulhern (Member) born Cooperstown, New York, August 10, 1953; admitted to bar, 1979, Massachusetts; 1980, New York and U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; 1985, U.S. Tax Court. Education: Linfield College; University of New Hampshire (B.A., summa cum laude, 1975); Boston College (J.D., 1979). Phi Beta Kappa. Editor, Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 1978-1979. Author, "Transferring the Family Business to the Next Generation: Installment Sales, SCINS, GRATS & Annuities," with Ann I. Weber, Esq., Mass. Bar Association, 1995—. Committee Member, Western New England College Tax Institute, 1985—. Instructor, "How to Incorporate and Counsel a Business," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 1990, 1991. President, Springfield Tax Club, 1987-1988. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and New York State Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Taxation; Corporate Law; Estate Planning. Email: Timothy P. Mulhern | | James B. Sheils (Member) born New Rochelle, New York, May 18, 1950; admitted to bar, 1975, Massachusetts; 1977, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; 1983, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: College of the Holy Cross (A.B., with honors, 1972); Boston College (J.D., 1975). Co-Author: "Massachusetts Collection Law," Butterworth Press, 1983; "Counseling Low and Moderate Income Clients," MCLE, 1978; "Don't Get Left Picking Up The Check," UCC Articles 3 and 4, MCLE, 1984. Author, "What the General Practitioner Needs to Know About Consumer Protection in Massachusetts," MCLE, 1982. Member, 1983-1987 and Chairman, 1984-1987, East Longmeadow Zoning Board of Appeals. Director, Smaller Business Association of New England, 1983-1985. Former Member, Massachusetts Advisory Council, U.S. Small Business Administration. Chairman, Goodwill Industries of the Springfield/Hartford Area, Inc., 1988-1994. Member, Board of Directors, Massachusetts Moderators Association, 2005—. Town Moderator, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, 2004—. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations; Association of Commercial Finance Attorneys; Commercial Law League of America. Practice Areas: Commercial Finance; Creditors Rights; Banking Law; Telecommunications Law. Email: James B. Sheils | | Ann I. Weber (Member) born Nashville, Tennessee, January 3, 1948; admitted to bar, 1985, Massachusetts; 1986, Connecticut; 1987, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; 1988, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut. Education: Duke University (B.A., 1970); University of Connecticut (M.A., 1973; J.D., with honors, 1985); Southern Connecticut State College (M.S., 1975). Co-Author with Carol C. Klyman, Esquire: "Selected Tax Issues in Estate Planning For the Elderly," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, 2004-2007; "Oops! What to Do When the Gong Has Rung," MCLE, 2000; "Post Mortem Planning for Married Decedents: The Top Ten on Your Hit Parade," Western New England College Tax Institute; "Paying for Long Term Care," Hampden County Estate Planning Council, 2002; "Medicaid Planning with Tax Deferred Assets," National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2002; "Income Only Grantor Trust: Preserving the Home and Other Assets under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005," MCLE, 2006; "Marital Deduction Formulas: Fun for the Entire Family," National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2007; "Estate Planning for Unmarried Partners and Same Sex Couples in Massachusetts: Pitfalls and Opportunities," Western New England College, 2006; "Basics of the Transfer Tax System," Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, 2005; "Generation Skipping Tax Changes, Estate Planning and The Use of Trusts Under Tax Repeal," Western New England College Tax Institute, 2001. Board Member and Past President, Hampden County Estate Planning Council. Past Board Member and Current Member, Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. Fellow: American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Estate Administration; Probate; Elder Law. Email: Ann I. Weber | | Ellen Weiss Freyman (Member) born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1955; admitted to bar, 1988, Massachusetts. Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 1977); Western New England College (J.D., 1988). Recipient: American Jurisprudence Book Award in Secured Transactions. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations; ICSC; Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association. Practice Areas: Commercial Finance; Real Estate Development; Real Estate Finance. Email: Ellen Weiss Freyman | | Steven Weiss (Member) born Kingston, New York, May 30, 1958; admitted to bar, 1985, Massachusetts; 1986, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts and U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut; 1994, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit. Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Michigan State University (B.A., 1980); Boston University (J.D., 1984). Law Clerk for the Hon. Arthur J. Spector, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Eastern District of Michigan, Northern Division, 1984-1986. Author: "Post-Petition Tax Claims," Norton Bankruptcy Law Advisor, Issue 7, July 1985; "Bankruptcy Court Power to Enjoin the Internal Revenue Service from Collecting the Debtors' Taxes from its Officers: An Analysis of Recent Developments," Annual Survey of Bankruptcy Law, 1986; "Undoing the IRS Wrongful Levy," 106 Banking Law Journal 336 (July-August, 1989). Member, Standing Panel, Chapter 7 Trustees, District of Massachusetts, 1987—. Member: Hampden County and Massachusetts (Member, Business Law Section) Bar Associations; Commercial Law League of America; American Bankruptcy Institute; National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees; Turnaround Management Association. Reported Cases: Piccicuto v. Dwyer (In re Dwyer), 39 F.3d 37 (1st Cir. 1994); In re Three Partners, Inc., 199 B.R. 230 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1995); In re T.A.C Group, Inc., 294 B.R. 199 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2003); In re Chevalier, 330 B.R. 21 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2005; In re Lowenstein, 361 B.R. 326 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2007); In re Apollo Molded Products, Inc., 83 B.R. 189 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1988). Practice Areas: Bankruptcy; Creditors Rights; Commercial Litigation; Bankruptcy Reorganization. Email: Steven Weiss | | Mark H. Bluver (Member) born Brooklyn, New York, May 28, 1948; admitted to bar, 1988, New York, U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; 1989, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit; 1992, Massachusetts and U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Education: George Washington University (B.A., 1970); Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University (J.D., magna cum laude, 1987). Member, Cardozo Law Review, 1986-1987. Assistant Attorney General, 1991-1994. Supervising Attorney, Springfield Office. Associate, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, 1987-1991. Instructor/Faculty, Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, Benjamin A. Cordozo School of Law. Member: Massachusetts and American Bar Associations; Massachusetts Trial Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Employment Litigation; Environmental Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Administrative Law. Email: Mark H. Bluver | | Carol Cioe Klyman (Member) born Providence, Rhode Island, September 27, 1952; admitted to bar, 1996, Massachusetts. Education: University of Rhode Island (B.A., cum laude, Journalism, 1975); Western New England College (J.D., magna cum laude, 1996). Member, Western New England Law Review. Contributing Author: "Estate Planning for the Aging or Incapacitated Client in Massachusetts," MCLE, 1998, 2002, 2005. Author: "Taxing Issues Involving Life Estates," National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, March 2001; "Demystifying the Value of Life Estates and Remainder Interests," Suffolk University, Elder Law Institute XI, 2005. Member: Westhampton Arts Council, 1989-1992; Friends of the Westhampton Library, 2004—. Hampden County Estate Planning Council, 1996— and Director, 2003—; Adjunct Faculty, Western New England College School of Law, LLM Program, 2006—. Member: Hampshire County, Hampden County and Massachusetts Bar Associations; National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (Massachusetts Chapter, Director, 2005—; Vice President, 2003-2004). Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Elder Law; Estate Administration; Trust Planning; Probate Litigation; Guardianship. Email: Carol Cioe Klyman | | Michele J. Feinstein (Member) born Springfield, Massachusetts, December 31, 1958; admitted to bar, 1985, Massachusetts, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, U.S. Tax Court and U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Boston University (B.S., summa cum laude, 1981; LLM., 1990); Western New England College (J.D., cum laude, 1984). Scarlet Key. Member, Western New England College, Law Review, 1983-1984. Recipient: American Jurisprudence Book and Prize Creditors Rights Award; John F. Shaw Scholarship. Adjunct Faculty, Western New England College School of Law, LLM Program, 2005—. President, Hampden County Estate Planning Council, 1998-1999. Member: Hampden County, Massachusetts and American Bar Associations; American Health Lawyers Association; National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Practice Areas: Corporate Law; Estate Planning and Administration; Elder Law; Probate Litigation; Health Law. Email: Michele J. Feinstein | | Edward V. Sabella (Member) born Hackensack, New Jersey, July 25, 1950; admitted to bar, 1976, Massachusetts. Education: St. Michael's College (B.A., 1972); Western New England College Law School (J.D., 1976). Practice Areas: Business Law; Commercial Law; Bankruptcy; Real Estate Development; Business Litigation; Corporate Law; Licensing; Environmental Law. Email: Edward V. Sabella | | —————————— | | Thomas J. O'Connor, Jr. (Associate) born Springfield, Massachusetts, December 17, 1967; admitted to bar, 1998, Massachusetts; 1999, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts; 2002, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit. Education: Hampshire College (B.A., 1991); University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1998). Senior Editorial Board, Journal of Law and Politics, 1997-1998. Adjunct Professor of Law, Western New England College School of Law, 2007—. Assistant District Attorney, Northwestern District Attorney's Office, Massachusetts, 1999-2002. Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, 2002-2006. Member: Hampden County, Hampshire County and Massachusetts Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Litigation. Email: Thomas J. O'Connor, Jr. | | Erin F. Thron (Associate) born Neenah, Wisconsin, September 29, 1977; admitted to bar, 2006, Massachusetts. Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.S., 2001); Western New England College (J.D., 2006). Member: Hampden County and Massachusetts Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Litigation; Estate Planning. Email: Erin F. Thron |
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