People On the Move

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. of Springfield and Northampton announced that eight of the firm’s attorneys have been selected as 2011 Massachusetts Super Lawyers. In choosing Super Lawyers, ballots are sent by Law & Politics to more than 31,000 Massachusetts attorneys who have been in practice for five or more years. These attorneys then nominate their peers based on professional achievement and a high level of peer recognition. Independent research is then conducted on each of the nominees, followed by a blue-ribbon panel-review process, and the top 5% in each state are named Super Lawyers. The objective of the Super Lawyers selection process is to create a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource to assist attorneys and sophisticated consumers in the search for legal counsel. The following Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C. attorneys have been named 2011 Super Lawyers:

• Stephen A. Shatz, who specializes in real-estate development, real-estate finance, and commercial leasing;
• Steven J. Schwartz, family-business planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and estate planning;
• Gary S. Fentin, commercial and tax-exempt finance, real estate, reorganization and workout, and representation of not-for-profit organizations;
• Timothy P. Mulhern, taxation law, business organizations, exit planning for business owners, estate planning, and probate;
• Steven Weiss, business bankruptcy, workout, and reorganization;
• Michele J. Feinstein, estate planning and taxation, estate administration, probate, and elder law;
• Carol Cioe Klyman, estate planning, estate settlement, elder law, guardianships, and probate litigation; and
• Ann I. Weber, estate planning, elder law, and probate.

The firm also announced that L. Alexandra Hogan has been selected as a 2011 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star. In 1998, Super Lawyers launched Rising Stars in Minnesota to recognize the top up-and-coming attorneys in the state — those who are 40 years old or younger or who have been practicing for 10 years or fewer. Today, Rising Stars honors attorneys in more than 35 states. Hogan focuses her practice on business litigation, bankruptcy, and creditor and debtor rights.
•••••
David W. Eidle has joined Berkshire Bank as Senior Vice President of Corporate Initiatives. He will lead the project-management office and provide leadership, design, direction, and strategic oversight for all corporate-wide initiatives, including mergers-and-acquisition integration, primary systems conversions, major business initiatives, and program implementation.
•••••
Stephen H. Bryant, President of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts in Springfield, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the New England Council, a nonpartisan alliance of businesses and academic and health institutions.
•••••
Claire Kenna has joined Park Square Realty’s Westfield office as a Sales Associate.
•••••
Seth N. Stratton has joined Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law in East Longmeadow. Stratton is a litigator with experience at Boston and Hartford firms.
•••••
Structural Engineer Matthew Dodge has joined Tighe & Bond of Westfield, specializing in the assessment and mitigation of vibrations on building structures to ensure occupant comfort and satisfactory operation of sensitive equipment. He also specializes in designing massive jointless concrete structures that resist cracking from temperature fluctuations and long-term shrinkage.
•••••
Attorney Keith A. Minoff has been named to the list of Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2011 and is featured in New England Super Lawyers Magazine, a supplement to the November issue of Boston magazine. The selections for the list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, a service of the Thomson Reuters legal division, which undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, and a peer review of candidates by practice area. Each year, more than 37,000 ballots are sent to lawyers statewide. The Super Lawyers list represents the top 5% of attorneys in Massachusetts. Attorney Minoff specializes in business litigation and employment law. He has a law office in Springfield and lives in Northampton.
•••••
Arley Ewald has been promoted to Financial Reporting Officer for Chicopee Savings Bank and Chicopee Bancorp Inc.
•••••
Matthew C. Wisdom has been named Manager of TD Bank at 460 Newton St., South Hadley. An assistant vice president, he is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at the branch bank.
•••••
Attorney Aaron W. Wilson has been reappointed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick to the Holyoke Housing Authority. He will serve a five-term term through May 2016. He is the current Vice Chair, and served as Chair of the board the last three years.
•••••
Top Women of Law, the fourth annual event sponsored by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, recently celebrated legal educators, trailblazers, and role models who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in social justice, advocacy, and business. Attorney Ellen W. Freyman of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., of Springfield and Northampton, was among the women honored for accomplishments in the legal community.