LENOX — Attorney Paula Almgren, founder of Berkshire Law Group, is the author of a new book, Eldercare the Rules — Navigating the Legal, Financial, Medical, Housing and Care Maze, published by Laurel Ridge Press.

More than 37 million Americans are providing unpaid eldercare for someone, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Almgren has not only seen it firsthand with her own clients as an estate planning, elder law and life care attorney, but lived it with own late mother, who died of Alzheimer’s disease. The experience so transformed her life and law practice she was inspired to write the rulebook on eldercare.

“There is so much misinformation out there when it comes to what families really need to know regarding legal, financial, medical, housing, and care issues, which in my book are all a part of the eldercare maze,” Almgren said. “On top of that, it can be an emotional, scary, and very confusing time for everyone involved.”

LENOX — Paula Almgren, founder of Berkshire Law Group in Lenox, has been named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list, an honor given to fewer than 5% of attorneys in the Commonwealth. This marks the fifth consecutive year she has earned this recognition.

Almgren has been in practice for more than 20 years, counseling clients in elder law and estate, trust, and tax planning and administration, as well as life care. An accredited attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs and a graduate of Williams College and Albany Law School of Union University, she is recognized as a state expert on Medicaid as well as leveraging community resources to help older people stay in their homes.

Berkshire Law Group covers the gamut of issues related to aging that impact seniors, their spouses, and families, including protecting assets like a home, making sense of the elder-care maze, stretching care dollars, and ensuring the right legal documents are in place in the event of incapacity or death. Indeed, it’s one of the few law firms in the country that includes an RN/care coordinator working alongside top attorneys, veteran and Medicaid benefits coordinators, probate, trust and estate administrators, and more.

In 2020, Almgren served as president of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys during a pivotal time. She and her chapter peers were behind the successful advocacy effort to stop then-Gov. Baker from moving COVID patients into nursing homes. As a board member for two decades, she and her peers have also been instrumental in changing laws to benefit seniors, the disabled, and veterans.

Almgren serves on the Fairview Hospital ethics committee and the Pittsfield Council on Aging. She is a member of the Alzheimer’s Partnership, the Life Care Planning Law Firms Assoc., the Berkshire County Estate Planning Council, the Massachusetts Bar Assoc., and the Berkshire Bar Assoc. She is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.

Bryan Murphy

LENOX — Bryan Murphy, an attorney in estate, trust, and tax planning and administration, has joined Berkshire Law Group of Lenox as a senior associate attorney.

Prior to returning to the Berkshires, Murphy worked for nearly a decade as an attorney for two Greater Boston law firms — most recently, DesRosiers & Tierney, LLC in Beverly, and, previous to that, Cushing and Dolan, P.C. in Waltham — specializing in elder law as well as estate, trust, and tax planning and administration.

Murphy earned his juris doctorate as well as his master of law degree in taxation from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He also has a bachelor’s degree in history from Western New England University, where he graduated magna cum laude.