WBJ File Photo
Louis Ciavarra of Bowditch & Dewey
July 25, 2024
Michael Angelini leading exodus of Bowditch & Dewey attorneys to start Worcester office for Boston-based firm
Photo | Nathan Fiske
Mike Angelini, senior counsel at Bowditch & Dewey
Longtime Bowditch & Dewey lawyers Michael Angelini and Lou Ciavarra, along with a significant number of other attorneys are leaving the 110-year-old Worcester law firm to join Boston-based firm Prince Lobel Tye, as that firm seeks to establish a presence in New England’s second largest city.
Attorneys involved in the move and Craig Tateronis, managing partner at Prince Lobel Tye, didn’t provide a list or exact number of attorneys who are leaving for the firm, but all said it was a significant number of Bowditch’s 91 attorneys. Douglas Radigan, George Tetler, AiVi Nguyen and Mark Borenstein are among those headed to Prince Lobel Tye, along with Angelini and Ciavarra, who have a combined 97 years working at Bowditch between the two of them.
“When people are running a business they have different philosophies, it is common for people to move jobs and firms,” John Shoro, managing partner at Bowditch, said in a statement emailed to WBJ. “ We hope they find what they are looking for.”
The firm’s new office will be located in downtown Worcester and is expected to start with a staff of somewhere between 25 and 30 people, said Tateronis, who was born in Worcester.
“It’s a growing population. We view it as an exciting market and a compelling alternative to the Boston market,” Tateronis said. “We understood to get it off the ground successfully, we need an office that was founded by important Worcester lawyers who are well known in the community.”
Bowditch has been focusing more of its efforts outside of Worcester, which was one of the factors that played into exodus of a number of the firm’s high-profile attorneys, said Angelini, who didn’t offer too many more details on the reason for the exit.
“We’re all Worcester people,” he said. “We probably felt diffused a little bit by the fact that [Bowditch’s] interests were heading to the east, but it’s a great firm. This is not critical of Bowditch & Dewey in any way.”
Bowditch’s expansion into non-business-related cases and clients was another cause of respectful disagreement over the direction of the firm, said Ciavarra.
“Business strategies and goals change as leadership changes,” Ciavarra said. “Certainly, Mike [Angelini], George [Tetler], Doug [Radigan], and I are committed to the Worcester market. Bowditch & Dewey has added lawyers in practice areas that are different from ours. We're business lawyers.”
It was a tough decision to leave the law firm, said Angelini and Ciavarra. Angelini joined Bowditch & Dewey in 1967 as a summer clerk, while Ciavarra joined in 1985.
“I’ve been there a long time. I’ve managed the firm. I’ve been in charge of the firm off and on over a number of periods of time,” Angelini said. “So there’s some misgivings about putting things in the rearview mirror, but opportunity is alway ahead, not behind.”
Ciavarra said he’s excited for this next chapter of his career, assisting an outside firm in breaking into a market dominated for the past century by Bowditch & Dewey and a small handful of other firms like Mirick O’Connell and Fletcher Tilton.
“Some people may wonder ‘How much energy do guys who have been doing this for 40 or 50 years have?’ We have plenty,” Ciavarra said. “This is a shot of adrenaline. We can’t wait.”
Angelini has been a Worcester institution for most of his career, having served on the boards of the Hanover Insurance Group, Worcester Redevelopment Authority, and Massport, among many other civic ventures. He was inducted into the WBJ Hall of Fame with the inaugural class in 2017.
Eric Casey is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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