Stamford, Conn., October 19, 2015 – Day Pitney is pleased to announce that it will expand its East Coast presence through a merger with Florida-based law firm Chapin, Ballerano & Cheslack.  Seven attorneys will join the firm’s Trusts and Estates and Corporate practices once the merger is completed on January 1, 2016. 

“The  merger is part of our overall strategy to serve our clients where they have needs,” said Day Pitney Managing Partner Stanley A. Twardy Jr. “Florida’s economy has been growing and we are seeing an increase in client demand to conduct business in the sunshine state due to its tax-friendly environment.”

The combined firm will retain both of the existing Florida offices in Delray Beach and Boca Raton and all personnel. The seven attorneys joining Day Pitney have experience in trust and estate planning, trust and estate administration, guardianship and litigation, elder law, as well as corporate and real estate and business transactions.

“Joining Day Pitney will give us a broader base of services for our clients,” said James A. Ballerano, Jr. “Being able to collaborate with the attorneys in Day Pitney’s various practices -- including real estate, corporate and family office-- will allow us to deliver our combined knowledge and experience more effectively to our clients.”

Day Pitney’s prestigious Trusts and Estates practice has over 50 attorneys, making it one of the largest and most sophisticated trusts and estates practices in the country. For over a decade, Day Pitney and Chapin, Ballerano & Cheslack have had an informal relationship to provide legal services to clients with interests in each firm’s existing geographies. On October 1, Chapin, Ballerano & Cheslack recently celebrated the forty-fifth anniversary of its founding as a boutique Trust and Estates firm. 

“We have been focused for many years on a possible expansion to Florida. This combination will not only help us better serve our existing clients,” said Trusts and Estates Chair Greg Hayes. “But also it will help us expand our clientele and capabilities in the Florida market.”

James A. Ballerano, Jr. will join Day Pitney as a partner in the Trusts and Estates practice group. His practice is focused on wealth preservation, estate planning, administration of estates and trusts, and real estate. He represents business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and families with regard to their estate planning,  wealth preservation and change of domicile needs. Ballerano has served as president and member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boca Raton Estate Planning Council and the Boca Raton Historical Society and Museum.  He is a founding member of the Palm Beach County Wealth & Estate Planning Seminar steering committee. He serves on many professional advisory committees for charitable organizations, including the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, the George Snow Scholarship Fund, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and the United States Holocaust Museum. He is also a Knight of the American Priory, Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller, Malta.

Brian Cheslack will join Day Pitney as a partner in the Trusts and Estates practice group. He concentrates his practice in tax law and the preservation, management and transfer of wealth. Cheslack serves on the Board of Directors of the Delray Beach Public Library, Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Delray Economic Leaders Political Action Committee. He is the past Chairman of the Board of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, past President and Board Member of the Delray Beach Center for the Arts, past Chairman of the Delray Beach Downtown Marketing Cooperative, Inc., past Board Member of the Bethesda Hospital Foundation, and served as a Commissioner of the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency. He is also a member of the Real Property and Probate Law and Tax Law Sections of the Florida Bar and American Bar Association.

Robert Chapin will join Day Pitney as of counsel in the Trusts and Estates and Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving practice groups. He concentrates his practice in the areas of tax and estate planning, charitable planning and estate and trust administration. Chapin is currently the President Emeritus of Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square and Chancellor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach.

Stanley Greene will join the firm as of counsel in the Trusts and Estates practice group. He has over 30 years of experience in wealth transfer planning, business succession planning and employee benefits. He is admitted to practice in Florida and is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Tax Court bars.

Jay L. Kauffman will join the firm as an associate in the Trusts and Estates and the Probate Litigation practice groups. He concentrates his practice in estate, trusts, and guardianship litigation in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Kauffman is currently a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Elder Law and Trial Law Sections of the Florida Bar.

Jay D. Mussman will join the firm as counsel in the Trusts and Estates, International Trusts and Estates and Real Estate practice groups. His practice focuses on estate planning, real property, corporate, taxation, insurance and risk management and litigation support. Mussman has been active with the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.

Brian E. Thompson will join the firm as an associate in the Trusts and Estates and Probate Litigation practice groups. He concentrates his practice in the areas of estate and trust planning, elder law and trust administration. Thompson serves as Vice Chairman of the Delray Business Executives Group and Vice President of the Delray Economic Leaders Political Action Committee. He is also a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Elder Law and Tax Law Sections of the Florida Bar Association.

About Day Pitney

Day Pitney LLP is a full-service law firm with close to 300 attorneys in Boston, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, DC. The firm offers clients strong corporate and litigation practices, with experience on behalf of large national and international corporations as well as emerging and middle-market companies. With one of the largest and most sophisticated individual clients practices in the country, the firm also has extensive experience advising individuals and their families, fiduciaries and tax-exempt entities in planning for the future.