Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC.

Overview

The 55+ lawyers of Downs Rachlin apply creativity, connections and experience to solve your toughest legal problems. From five offices located around northern New England, we make goals achievable and get important things done.
We've got you covered.

We work with a diverse array of regional, national and international entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, technology businesses and Fortune 100 companies. On their behalf, the firm:

Advises businesses and their owners and managers on all aspects of the business life cycle, including governance, ownership structuring, executive compensation, succession planning, tax planning, equity and debt financing, sales, mergers and acquisitions.
Provides comprehensive legal services for the acquisition of power generation facilities in the United States and Latin America.
Coordinates collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance resolution nationwide for the elevator industry.
Manages patent applications for major corporations in the United States and Asia, and our trademark lawyers regularly secure trademark registrations worldwide.
Performs due diligence and database management for multiple site acquisitions (particularly involving wireless-communications infrastructure) and for storing, indexing and retrieving high-volume documentation.
Defends and prosecutes environmental and toxic tort claims and pursues insurance coverage for policyholders.
Provides in-state legal counsel for the establishment of single-parent and group captive insurance.
Represents individuals who have experienced life-altering consequence from serious personal injuries and wrongful death, including brain and spinal cord injuries.
Maintains one of the largest government and public affairs practices in the state of Vermont, headquartered in Montpelier.

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Community
Anything is possible when you have the right team on your side.

It's a simple concept that continues to serves us well: assemble a team of like-minded people striving for excellence and good things are bound to happen. That's how we approach our hiring strategy, and it's how we choose the partners we work with, in our industry and our communities.
Players in the legal community.

Downs Rachlin Martin is the exclusive member firm in Vermont for Lex Mundi ? the world's leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries worldwide.

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As part of the Lex Mundi global network, we can provide our clients with preferred access to more than 21,000 lawyers around the world ? all from a single point of contact.

Individually, each Lex Mundi member firm is a leader in its local market. Collectively, Lex Mundi firms provide global legal resources with unmatched depth and breadth. Working with other Lex Mundi firms, we are able to seamlessly handle our clients' most challenging cross-border transactions and disputes.
Participants in our local communities.

The founders of Downs Rachlin instilled in all of us the fundamental belief that it is important to be involved in and give back to the communities in which we live. As such, all Downs Rachlin's directors, attorneys and staff are encouraged to participate in both regional and local chambers and associations, and to support non-profits dedicated to service. Here are some of those organizations:

Access to Justice Campaign c/o The Vermont Bar Foundation
Associated Industries of Vermont (AIV)
Brain Injury Association of Vermont
Burlington Business Association (BBA)
Business & Industry Association of NH (BIA-NH)
Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce (HACC)
Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce (LCRCC)
Littleton Area Chamber of Commerce
New Hampshire Campaign for Legal Services
Newport City Renaissance Corp.
Renewable Energy Vermont
St. Johnsbury Chamber of Commerce
Vermont Banker's Association
Vermont Chamber of Commerce
Vermont Public Radio
Vermont Public Television
Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA)
Vermont Nursing Association (VNA)
Vermont Women's Fund

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History
The strength of our firm is the foundation upon which it is built.

"Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC started its life more than sixty years ago as a two-lawyer office in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Today, as the largest firm in Vermont, with five offices in Vermont and New Hampshire, Downs Rachlin represents clients nationally and internationally. Despite its growth, Downs Rachlin continues to be nourished by its rural roots and strives to project historic Vermont values: integrity, reliability, hard work."

-Robert D. Rachlin, Senior Director

The foundation for Downs Rachlin was established in 1950, when Sterry R. Waterman and John H. Downs founded Waterman and Downs, a St. Johnsbury, VT. law firm practicing business law and litigation with associated work in government affairs. Five years later, Waterman was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Waterman read law before being admitted to practice. He served as a circuit court judge for 15 years before assuming senior status in 1970.

Downs worked as a sole practitioner until 1960, when Robert D. Rachlin joined him after having graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. Allen Martin, who had served as a law clerk for Judge Waterman in 1965 - 1966 and spent three years practicing law in Boston, joined the firm in 1969. Like Downs, Martin earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. The number of employees at the St. Johnsbury office quickly expanded to 15. In 1976, Rachlin opened a second office in Burlington, and Martin followed in 1980.

Today, Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC has offices in Burlington, St. Johnsbury, Brattleboro, and Montpelier, Vt. and Lebanon, N.H. The firm has more than 140 employees, including approximately 60 attorneys and legal professionals. It is the largest law firm in Vermont and one of the largest firms in northern New England offering a broad range of services with deep experience within those specific areas.

Practice Areas	No. of Attorneys
Energy and Oil & Gas	1
Government and Government Relations	2
Labor & Employment	4
Trusts and Estates	2