Growing to Meet Clients’ Legal Needs
Our firm has grown from a three-person boutique firm in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1982 to more than 40 attorneys in six offices in New England and Washington, D.C. today. The firm’s steady growth is a testimony to the caliber of our people and the long-term relationships that we have forged with our clients. We are proud of our ability to attract and retain exceptional attorneys, paralegals, other professionals, and support staff. Many of our attorneys are leaders in their state bar associations, sought-after speakers, fellows in invitation-only professional organizations, and/or have been recognized by regional and national awards.
1980s
Our firm was founded in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1982 as a boutique corporate/ regulatory law firm by John Primmer, Bill Piper, and Denise Deschenes. Their goal was to provide specialized, high-quality legal services to, and build long term relationships with, local, regional and national clients. We primarily provided corporate, securities and regulatory legal services to insurance companies, financial institutions and public utilities. The firm also provided sophisticated legal services for mergers and acquisitions, as well as other corporate and commercial work.
1990s
The firm grew in response to its clients’ legal needs, adding lobbying, litigation and other practice areas. The firm moved to larger offices in St. Johnsbury and opened its Montpelier, Vermont office in 1992. This growth was led primarily by the expansion of John Primmer’s captive insurance practice with the hiring of former Vermont Banking and Insurance Commissioner, Jeff Johnson.
2000s
We opened our Burlington office in 2002, in response to the need to have a presence in Vermont’s commercial center and to better serve its increasing number of clients. On January 1, 2006, Primmer and Piper merged with Eggleston & Cramer Ltd., a long established Burlington, Vermont firm. Marty Miller, Jon Eggleston, Anne Cramer and Doug Wolinsky, among others, had grown a state-wide corporate, tax, estate planning, bankruptcy, commercial, regulatory and health care practice over several decades. As a result of the merger, we became one of the largest law firms in Vermont able to provide complementary services to its clients utilizing the talents of both firms. During this time period, the firm expanded into New Hampshire with an office in Littleton and significantly increased its litigation and mediation services.
2010s
We continued our expansion into New Hampshire, opening Manchester and Portsmouth offices with the addition of Jon Ross, Gary Burt, Tom Pappas, Doreen Connor and the rest of the “Manchester/Portsmouth team.” All were previous leaders in the Wiggin & Nourie law firm, which had roots extending back to the 1860s. The firm has also recently increased its regional presence with the opening an office in Washington, D.C.
2020s
The early 2020s were a challenge world-wide with the advent of the world’s first modern pandemic, Covid-19. But that didn’t really slow us down. We continued to build out our Washington DC practice, and make new connections in the nation’s capital through our Captive Insurance practice, as well as Healthcare and Corporate practices.
We also added an office in Southern Vermont: Woodstock, adding a team well-versed in Insurance Defense, Employment law and Construction law.
Our long–term partnerships with our clients over the past four decades has driven its growth, and client needs will guide the firm’s future.