September 6, 2006
Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C.
By Staff
Before ground was broken for Mechanics Hall, before the first student enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross, before Worcester even became a city, a legal institution was established here that reflected the honesty, industry and civic-mindedness of Worcester’s founders.That legal institution, now known as Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C., stands today as one of the premier law firms in Central Massachusetts. With a range of traditional and specialty practice areas, the firm has grown with and responded to the changing needs of its community and clients for nearly two centuries.The law firm’s roots reach back to 1822, when Ira Moore Barton, a cousin of Clara Barton, started his law practice in Oxford. He relocated to Worcester in 1834, and in 1845, Barton joined Peter Child Bacon to form Barton and Bacon, the first of many partnerships, mergers and name changes the firm underwent in its long evolution to Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C.Many of the firm’s attorneys have offered distinguished service to the community and the nation. Barton served as a judge, state representative, state senator and presidential elector; William Swinton Bennett Hopkins commanded a regiment which saw action in the Civil War; Dwight Foster was appointed to the state Supreme Judicial Court in 1866; Thomas Hovey Gage, Jr. served as counselor to Herbert Hoover in the National Food Administration and George Avery White became president of what is now First Allmerica Financial Insurance Co. in 1943.This tradition of community service has continued through the years. Firm attorneys have served as district attorneys, judges, legislators, mayors of Worcester, chairmen of the Chamber of Commerce and corporators, trustees and officers of a wide variety of civic groups, charities and commissions. “One of the true joys of a community-based practice such as ours is the unparalleled opportunity it affords us to have our clients and our friends be one and the same, much more as the rule than the exception,” says Warner S. Fletcher, a director of the firm and trustee of several local foundations.Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C., is well-known for its traditional practices, but the firm also has developed specialized practice areas and business approaches. It serves as corporate counsel for more than 1,000 businesses and non-profit organizations, administers the region’s largest estate and trust practice, and has full-service litigation, commercial lending and land use practices, as well as its own title company. Specialty practice areas include environmental, elder and health care, higher education, labor and employment, and immigration law. The firm has managed its growth to maintain a high level of personal attention and utilizes a large, expert paralegal staff to provide quality, cost-efficient legal services.
The practice of law and the city of Worcester have changed dramatically over the last 183 years and Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple, P.C., has remained at the forefront of both. “We’re more than just the oldest law firm in Worcester,” says Fletcher. “We’ve established a history of integrity, leadership and excellence, and we are carrying that tradition into the future.”
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