Hartford's Shipman & Goodwin opened a new office this week, affixing its nameplate to the former offices of Kitchings & Potter in Old Lyme. The move includes the addition of attorneys Suzanne D. Kitchings and Edward B. Potter to Shipman's trusts and estates practice.

Between trips to the shoreline community, department chairman Stephen K. Gellman said he was happy to be adding two "very accomplished and very knowledgeable" attorneys to the Shipman team who are already "known regionally for [their] professionalism, dedication and compassion." Two paralegals will also remain on board.

Gellman said the idea to join forces has been about a year in the making, beginning with informal discussions among colleagues who have already known each other for many years. Having led the trusts and estates practice at Shipman for nearly 30 years, Gellman said he met Potter "early on," and the familiarity allowed the firms to organize their union fairly efficiently.

"Last December I went down there for the first time and had a one-on-one with Ted," Gellman said. "From December to today a lot of the basics were hammered out. It seems simple but it's almost a year between the initial conversation and opening day."

Stephen K. Gellman, a partner with Shipman & Goodwin. Courtesy photo

Gellman said Shipman was looking to expand the reach of its trust and estates practice, which already had satellite offices in the village of Lakeville and the Gold Coast town of Greenwich, as well as offices in the downtown Hartford headquarters.

Shipman managing partner Alan Lieberman expressed enthusiasm about the new location. "Having an office in Old Lyme gives Shipman & Goodwin a greater ability to serve clients on the coast," he said. "We look forward to working with Suzanne and Ted and welcoming their estate planning clients to the firm."

Kitchings and Potter have specialized in tax planning, wills and trusts, charitable gifts, probate law and estate administration, and will continue to do so under the Shipman name. They will be joined by Shipman partners Bryon W. Harmon and Danielle P. Ferrucci. Additional members of the trusts and estates team will invariably spend time working out of the office.

"Having gotten to know Danielle and Bryon as well as other members of the Shipman & Goodwin trusts and estates team over the years, Suzanne and I are excited to introduce our clients to them and we look forward to building on those relationships," Potter said. Gellman, who covers the full range of planning for intergenerational and charitable transfers, advises clients on documents, including estate tax returns, and represents estates before state and federal tax agencies, regularly servicing clients in the satellite offices. The trusts and estates practice now has 12 attorneys in four offices.

If there's anything that has changed over the years, Gellman said, it is the influence of technology on the business. "It is so much more highly automated work," he said. "On the legal side, we've had various changes at the federal and state levels, but I think the broader confines of estate planning are not that different. The basics underlying it are all still there. It's a very personal practice area, dealing with individuals, families and relationships, and what's going on in people's lives. You're often with people at a sad time and hopefully you're a positive part of that sad time and providing advice and help that is comforting."

Gellman added that shared resources should benefit everyone involved. "I hope that Ted and Suzanne will enjoy having more colleagues within the T&E department to bounce things off of," Gellman said, adding that general practice attorneys will be available to assist when needed. "They will have lawyer resources that they previously would have had to go outside their small firm to hire."

Shipman & Goodwin has more than 170 attorneys in Connecticut, New York and Washington, D.C. The newest office is located at 5-1 Davis Rd. East, Old Lyme, and reachable at 860-434-5333.