I have been practicing law in Vermont since 1979 and am a founding partner of the firm. I take great satisfaction in fighting for injured workers or accident victims who are being treated unfairly by insurance companies.
Before starting my legal career, I worked in many different job settings. I was a schoolteacher, hospital aide, factory worker, construction laborer, and farm hand. I understand the difficulties that face workers in these different job sites, and the problems that arise when you are injured.
First and foremost, I want to understand the needs of my client. That requires careful listening to them as they relate their story and what brought them to me. After that, I consider their situation and offer them legal advice based on my experience and my understanding of the law. My role is to be a good counselor to them and to explain what remedies are legally available to them. Next, I become an advocate for them, and I fight for them to get what they are entitled to receive.
One important legal issue I helped clarify was the right to vocational rehabilitation for injured workers. When my client was denied any meaningful vocational rehabilitation to return her to work, through a limited and unfair interpretation of the law by the Department of Labor, I took her case to the Vermont Supreme Court.
I value education and family safety, and over the years I have advocated for improvements in our workers’ compensation system and personal injury laws. I am past president of the Vermont Association for Justice, and have worked closely with the Vermont legislature to make these improvements.
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