People on the Move

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., an employment-law firm serving the Greater Springfield area, announced that four of the firm’s partners — Ralph Abbott Jr., John Glenn, Timothy Murphy, and Jay Presser — were listed in 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Murphy was named the Best Lawyers 2015 litigation, labor and employment Lawyer of the Year in Springfield. Those honored as Lawyer of the Year have received particularly high ratings in surveys by earning a superior level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. More than 52,000 leading attorneys cast more than 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
• Abbott has been listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of arbitration; employment law, management; labor law, management; and mediation. He has been a partner at the firm since 1975 and is known throughout the legal community for his work representing management in labor relations and employment-related matters, providing employment-related advice to employers, assisting clients in remaining union-free, and representing employers before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Abbott also has numerous credits as an author, editor, and teacher and a record of civic and community involvement. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers every year since 1989.
• Glenn has been listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of arbitration; employment law, management; and labor law, management. He has been a partner of the firm since 1979 and has spent his career representing management in labor relations and employment-related matters. In addition to providing employment-related advice to employers, he assists clients in remaining union-free and represents employers before the NLRB. He has extensive experience negotiating collective-bargaining agreements and representing employers at arbitration hearings and before state and federal agencies. Prior to joining Skoler, Abbott & Presser, Glenn was employed by the NLRB in Cincinnati. He has served as an adjunct professor of Labor Law at Western New England University School of Law and is a member of the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers every year since 1995.
• Murphy has been listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of employment law, management; labor law, management; and litigation, labor and employment. He joined Skoler Abbott after serving as general counsel to an area labor union and as an assistant district attorney for the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. His practice includes labor relations and employment litigation, as well as employment counseling. A native of the Springfield area, Murphy is a graduate of the Western New England University School of Law. He has also taught courses in employment law at WNEU. He is a frequent contributor to business and human-resource publications and a contributing author to the Massachusetts Employment Law Letter. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers every year since 2013.
• Presser has been listed in Best Lawyers in the categories of employment law, management; labor law, management; and litigation, labor and employment. He has more than 35 years of experience litigating employment cases and has successfully defended employers in civil actions and jury trials and handled cases in all areas of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, wage hour, FMLA, ERISA, and defamation. He has won appeals before the Supreme Judicial Court and the First and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals, and represented employers in hundreds of arbitration cases arising under collective-bargaining agreements. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers every year since 1991.
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Tighe & Bond, a civil and environmental engineering consultant, has appointed Robert Belitz its Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he will direct Tighe & Bond’s financial operations and priorities, as well as contribute to growth strategies consistent with the firm’s continued expansion in the marketplace. Belitz, who will provide financial management from the firm’s Westfield office, is a certified public accountant and executive with more than 25 years of corporate finance and accounting experience in professional services. He previously has served as the chief financial officer, corporate controller, and vice president of Finance for firms such as Malcolm Pirnie, Arcadis U.S., and the Hunter Roberts Construction Group. He also provided senior management for the public accounting firms of Ernst and Young LLP and KPMG LLP in New York. His prior responsibilities have included oversight and management of all financial functions, as well as developing and implementing financial plans and processes to achieve strategic and operational objectives. “Bob’s wealth of experience in our industry, and his proven ability to successfully direct financial operations, is instrumental to Tighe & Bond’s accelerating growth,” said David Pinsky, president and CEO of Tighe & Bond. “We’re thrilled that he has joined us as Tighe & Bond’s first chief financial officer.” Belitz, who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Muhlenberg College, is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and the Construction Financial Management Assoc. He also has participated in various finance forums with the Environmental Financial Consulting Group, Ernst and Young, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the Design Finance Officers Group. Founded in 1911, Tighe & Bond is one of the most experienced engineering firms in New England, with offices in Pocasset, Westfield, and Worcester, Mass.; Middletown and Shelton, Conn.; and Portsmouth, N.H. With a team of more than 250 employees, Tighe & Bond provides engineering and environmental services for clients in government, industry, healthcare, education, real-estate, energy, and water/wastewater markets.
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Radius Financial Group Inc., a leading private mortgage lender in New England, has announced the addition of Kate Crogan as a Loan Officer in its West Springfield branch. Crogan brings three years of experience in mortgage lending. Most recently, she was a customer-service representative before being promoted to financial-services representative at TD Bank in Chicopee, where she was responsible for first and second mortgages, insurance, and annuities. She is currently studying business at Western New England University.
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Keith Minoff was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America 2015 in the fields of commercial litigation and corporate law. Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey. More than 52,000 leading attorneys cast more than 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Minoff specializes in business litigation and employment law. His law office is located in downtown Springfield.
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Northeast IT Systems Inc. announced the addition of Paul Fortin to its team. Fortin will be joining Joel Mollison and Brian Sullivan as a Desktop Support Specialist. In that role, Fortin is able to implement cloud-based backup systems, reduce downtime of equipment, and increase speed of repairs for clients. With this new addition, Northeast IT Systems will be able to continue its pattern of steady growth and provide solutions to a broad range of clients.
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Brattleboro Retreat President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Robert Simpson Jr., has been named by Behavioral Healthcare magazine as a 2014 Behavioral Healthcare Champion along with four other leaders in the field of mental health from across the nation. The 2014 champions were selected from outstanding nominees across the country who, according to the magazine, are making a difference in the development, delivery, and effectiveness of mental healthcare services. “True leaders create lasting impact, and our 2014 Behavioral Healthcare Champions all have an eye on the future,” said Julie Miller, editor in chief of Behavioral Healthcare magazine. “Their drive to find new and more effective ways to serve their clients is reflected not just in their own organizations’ success, but also in the progress they’ve witnessed in their communities.” The 2014 Behavioral Healthcare Champions are profiled in the July/August 2014 issue of Behavioral Healthcare magazine and were recognized at a special ceremony during the National Conference on Addiction Disorders (NCAD) and the co-located Behavioral Healthcare Leadership Summit, which was held in St. Louis on Aug. 22-26.  Simpson’s many achievements since becoming the Retreat’s CEO in November 2006 are discussed in-depth in the above-mentioned profile. Among those achievements are a complete revamp of the hospital’s admissions process that replaced a multi-channel system of patient access with a streamlined, single-access point that makes access to the Retreat’s numerous programs easier and more dignified for patients. Under Simpson’s watch, the retreat has successfully launched four specialty clinical services designed to better meet the psychiatric and addiction treatment needs of distinct populations that are typically underserved. They are the Adult Inpatient Program for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; the Emerging Adult Inpatient Program for young adults ages 18 to 26; the Uniformed Service Program, a partial-hospital program designed to meet the unique needs of law enforcement, firefighters, corrections officers, military personnel, and first responders suffering from PTSD and other duty-related issues including addiction to alcohol and other drugs, major depression, and domestic violence; and the Mind Body Pain Management Clinic, a treatment alternative for people experiencing chronic pain that utilizes biofeedback, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness, and mindful movement in place of typical treatments such as medication and surgery.
During Simpson’s tenure, the Retreat has experienced tremendous growth, having increased its number of staffed beds from an average of 50 in 2006 to an average of 122 in 2014. During the same time, the Brattleboro Retreat has doubled its number of employees from approximately 400 to more than 800.