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Yaw Law Practice Merges With Local Firm

Attorneys of the Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo law firm congratulate Gregory Yaw on his retirement. Yaw recently retired and sold his practice to Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo. From left are Yaw; Charles DeAngelo; Mary Schiller; Galena Duba-Weaver; and Daniel Gullotti. Submitted photo

Clients of the Gregory R. Yaw law firm were recently given an opportunity to take their legal needs to another reputable and long-running Jamestown law firm.

Yaw, who had maintained an established practice in several areas of expertise in Jamestown for 40 years, decided last year that it was time to retire; and it was the attorneys and associates of Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo who would give Yaw’s clients a place to go, if they so chose.

“Greg Yaw has left the practice and sold us his business,” said Chuck DeAngelo, partner in Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo. “When it came time for him to transition out, we made a business arrangement by which we’ve taken over the Yaw practice. When he said he wanted to retire, our two cents was that it would be a positive thing to offer his clients a place to go if they wished to do so. We don’t tell the clients where to go, we offer them an opportunity to come to another firm if they wish.”

DeAngelo said part of the reasoning behind his firm’s decision to buy out Yaw’s practice came from the respect the former held for the latter.

“Greg had a very successful, long-term practice, and an extremely well-respected core practice among the bar association. We thought of him as being one of the best in the business, in terms of his expertise, and we wanted to make this transition as seamless as it could possibly be,” he said. “We’re happy to report that a large number of his clients have indicated that they are coming over to our firm, and we appreciate the opportunity because, frankly, it continues on our path of growth as a firm.”

Yaw described his practice as a “transactional practice” that required little court work. His area of expertise included transactions in real estate, personal estates, corporations, municipal law and large land transactions; and it was noted that his client base spanned a voluminous geographical region.

“Because I was representing large landowners, mainly with respect to forestry work, I would have clients located throughout the country, and internationally, as well,” said Yaw, who was co-chairman of the bar association and an active member of the real estate committee for a period of 25-30 years.

He said his practice experienced much change during the course of 40 years, mainly with regard to technological advancement and its subsequent impact on the attorney-client relationship — adding that the practice had much more of a “smalltown” feel when it began than it had in recent years. When asked what he would miss most about the practice, Yaw replied that he would place his interactions with his clients near the top of the list.

“My practice was such that, where most people in consumer transactions see a lawyer a handful of times in their lives, many of my clients were long-term, recurring clients; and those relationships were very important to me. Plus, there was the intellectual challenge and interest in finding legal and practical solutions to people’s problems,” he said.

“But the most important thing in the transaction is I’d built up a clientele over 40 years and developed close realationships with them. So my feeling was that I had a duty to make sure they were well-served moving forward. My knowledge of the integrity of (DeAngelo) and his firm, and their competence, led me to the conclusion that Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo was the place where my clients would be best served.”

The notice of Yaw’s impending retirement and client file transfers was issued on Sept. 2, and the clients were given a 90-day window during which they could either come to collect their files and take them to a new firm of their choice or allow them to be transfered directly to the offices of Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo, located at 81 Forest Ave. The physical file transfer occurred on Dec. 22.

“We are now in command of the files that did come to us, and we’re ready to serve his clients in the same manner as Greg did,” DeAngelo said.

For more information about Fessenden, Laumer and DeAngelo, call 484-1010 or visit fldlaw.com.

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