40 Under 40 Class of 2008

Jeffrey Fialky

Age 38: Attorney (Associate), Bacon Wilson, P.C.

Jeff Fialky had several options when he was job-hunting a few years ago, near the end of his stint with Adelphia Communications in Andover.

A few of them were with Boston-based law firms, and they were certainly attractive, he told BusinessWest. But another was with Springfield-based Bacon Wilson, where his father happened to be a partner. He eventually chose the latter, in part because it meant returning to an area he grew up in and loved. But there was more; he really wanted to get involved in the community and “make a difference,” and knew that the opportunities to do so — and the need to do so — were here in the Pioneer Valley.

“In Boston, they don’t really need people to raise their hand and volunteer,” he explained. “Here, they do; here, you can make an impact.”

And since joining Bacon Wilson nearly two years ago, Fialky has committed himself to “walking the walk.” Indeed, while building a law practice focused on business and commercial real estate, he has been active in the community on several levels.

He’s a board member with a number of organizations, including the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the American Red Cross of the Pioneer Valley, and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, or YPS. He’s also on the Advisory Committee at the Springfield Enterprise Center at STCC.

Fialky said his involvement with the Chamber, YPS, and enterprise center helps satisfy his desire to foster economic development in the region. He told BusinessWest that the Valley provides an attractive quality of life, but to attract and keep more young people it must also offer career opportunities.

Fialky is devoting considerable energy to YPS, a group formed in 2007. He is one of many shaping a mission for the growing fellowship of young leaders, and helping it make a significant impact — there’s that word again — in the Pioneer Valley.

Perhaps his biggest challenge at the moment is finding time to grow his practice and serve those nonprofit groups, and that test will become even sterner this summer, when Fialky and his wife, Emily, are expecting their first child, a boy.

“This is something I’ve looked forward to for a long time,” he said of fatherhood, adding that it will soon be the most important line on his resume — and still another opportunity to make a difference.

George O’Brien