- April 28, 2024
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Has the economy caused an ‘adjustment of alliances’? Some attorneys are now on their own; others have joined forces.
The game of musical chairs is continuing among the attorneys in Flagler County.
Among the changes in the past year are Raven Sword joining Jay Livingston and James Wolverton’s firm, Marc Dwyer joining the Chiumento firm, Philip Chanfrau and Paul Guntharp starting their own firms, Sid Nowell likely joining with Dennis Bayer, and Bill Bosch teaming up with Tim Conner.
According to Livingston, some of the changes are simply part of the natural progression in attorneys’ careers. Livingston, who like Wolverton and Sword is 33 years old, said he had been working his way up the ladder in the Chiumento firm and finally decided to embark on a new firm in February 2009. Sword joined the firm last year.
Guntharp, who also was formerly with the Chiumento firm, is now open at 50 Leanni Way, B-4. He said some of the changes have been the result of some attorneys wanting to become partners in a firm, rather than associates.
But, he speculated that the down economy has played a role, too.
“Now that the real estate business has dried up, everyone is going back and learning new tricks,” he said.
His specialty is litigation, and for many years, he worked on cases regarding construction liens and defects. But with so few houses being built, there are fewer lawsuits being filed in that arena.
“In a bad economy, one thing that won’t change is accidents,” Guntharp said. “People aren’t going to stop having accidents ... And that’s why a lot of firms are getting into that kind of work. It’s the economics of the whole thing … That’s another reason for the economy causing an adjustment of alliances.”
Guntharp’s firm does civil cases, trial work, injury, wrongful death, business cases and contracts.
Nowell said forming alliances can seem odd to outsiders, considering many of the attorneys in Flagler County have been adversaries in various cases in the past. “We’re a pretty small family,” he said.
But he said joining forces with other attorneys makes sense for many reasons.
“Solo practitioners are becoming a dying breed,” he said. “If you have a group, you can focus on one area, and your colleagues can focus on other areas.”
That way, each attorney can specialize, but the firm as a whole can be versatile and represent many viewpoints.
Nowell is leasing space at Bayer’s office, at 109 S. Sixth St., Flagler Beach, while the attorneys figure out the best way to officially join forces.
Livingston agreed the changes in firms seem to be happening more frequently than normal, but it doesn’t result in ill will.
“Pretty much everybody out there in the community I consider friends and colleagues,” he said. “Whatever they’re doing, as long as it’s going to help them survive this strange time we’re in, I hope they’re all making the right decisions.”
Contact Brian McMillan at [email protected].
