Neuse Duprey & Putnam  

Anthony grew up in Ferrisburgh, VT and graduated from the Vergennes Union High School Class of 1989. With great anticipation, he returned to Vermont’s beautiful Champlain Valley after college and law school in the Midwest. After his return to Vermont, he settled back in the Vergennes area. Upon graduating law school in May and being admitted to the Vermont Bar in October, 1996, he “hung his shingle out” opening his own law office in Vergennes, VT. The support of friends, family and neighbors in the community quickly led to busy law practice. In October of 2004, Anthony joined the firm and is now a managing shareholder at Neuse, Duprey & Putnam.

Anthony lives with his wife and five children in Waltham, VT. He is an active member of the community; serving on the Bixby Memorial Library Board of Trustees and the Town of Waltham Planning Commission. When not at the office, he enjoys coaching Little League and being involved in the many activities of his church, Victory Baptist Church.

Education

Juris Doctor, Case Western Reserve University
Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum Laude, Albion College

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Admitted:
Vermont Bar
United States Tax Court
United States District Court, District of Vermont
United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Memberships & Associations:
Vermont Bar Association
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
Alliance Defending Freedom Allied Attorney

Benj joined the firm in 2005 and has built an extensive practice representing landowners, municipalities, business owners, and individuals in the greater Addison County community. He enjoys the diversity of a rural law practice, which offers the opportunity to solve a wide variety of legal challenges both large and small. Benj has successfully closed countless residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate transactions; he has represented clients at all levels of the Vermont court system; and he works hard to provide thoughtful representation to individuals in need of wills and estate planning, trust and estate administration, and land use and real estate advice.

After attending local Addison County schools, Benj attended college and law school in California and Texas, participated in a international moot arbitration competition in Vienna, Austria, and completed an internship at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Following these far-flung adventures, Benj came back to his senses and returned to Vermont, where he served as law clerk to the Hon. William K. Sessions, III, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. After his clerkship, Benj was excited to have the opportunity to devote his skills and energy to serving clients here in the greater Addison County community.

Benj lives with his family in New Haven, Vermont, where he serves on the Town Planning Commission, participates in other local boards and activities, and enjoys getting outdoors and enjoying all that Vermont has to offer.

Education

J.D. with highest honors, The University of Texas School of Law, 2004
Articles Editor, Texas Law Review
B.A., cum laude, Pomona College, 1998

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Admitted: Vermont Bar
United States District Court, District of Vermont
Vermont Bar Association

Amy has practiced law for over 22 years in both Vermont and in Alaska. Her clients range from individuals to large and small companies, as well as educational institutions, health care providers, and municipal bodies. Amy is a courtroom lawyer admitted to practice before all courts in Vermont and Alaska who has represented parties on every side and at all phases of civil litigation.

In addition to litigation matters, Amy provides advice and counsel to larger clients (both public and private), on issues relating to health, safety, environmental and human resource/workplace issues. She conducts independent investigations (both confidential internal evaluations as well external) into Whistleblower and other employment-related claims. She has experience in providing root-cause analysis evaluations following incidents where significant liability is anticipated.

For individual Vermont clients, a large part of Amy’s work is assisting clients with estate planning, including creation of Wills, trusts, and other mechanisms to allow for thoughtful inheritance of assets, and for the potential that Medicaid Long-Term Care benefits may be a future consideration. Amy advises trustees on trust administration matters, creates Special Needs Trusts for individuals with disabilities and their families, and creates custom Prenuptial and Domestic Partnership Agreements. Amy practices in the probate courts of Vermont providing representation in Will disputes, trust litigation matters, and guardianship proceedings for minors and incompetent adults.

Amy is a Vice Chair of the Board of the Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region (CHCRR) and she volunteers in a number of civic causes. She resides in Brandon.

Education

Juris Doctor, Northeastern University School of Law,
Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum Laude, University of Vermont

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Admitted: Vermont Bar and Alaska Bar
United States Tax Court
United States District Court, District of Vermont
United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States District Court, District of Alaska

Judson grew up in Shoreham, Vermont and is a 2014 graduate of the University of New Hampshire School of Law where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class. Also at UNH School of Law, Judson was a member of the Daniel Webster Honors Program which focuses on equipping students with practical legal knowhow in the area of general civil practice. Judson participated in mock depositions, client interviews, mediations and arbitrations, studied entity formation, and argued a mock summary judgment motion in front of a Federal Magistrate Judge.

During the winter of 2014, Judson began as a law clerk for Neuse, Duprey & Putnam, P.C. and then transitioned to a full time attorney in May of 2015. Currently, Judson’s practice at Neuse, Duprey & Putnam includes representing both buyers and sellers in all aspects of real estate transactions, he also helps clients with a variety of land use/zoning/permitting issues. He assists clients in the crafting of their estate plan, including wills, trusts, probate, Medicaid planning, and guardianship matters. Additionally, Judson provides counsel on business law issues, juvenile law, and general civil litigation.

Judson is active in the Addison County community, including volunteer work as a hockey coach for both adults and kids and as an active member of the Middlebury Rotary Club. Judson also serves on the board of directors for the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for Everybody Wins! Vermont, a statewide reading mentorship program. In his free time, Judson enjoys hiking, cross country running on back roads in Vermont, ice hockey, and spending time with his family. He lives with his wife, Chelsea in New Haven.

Education

Juris Doctor, Magna cum Laude, University of New Hampshire School of Law, 2014
Bachelor of Arts, Honors, Crandall University, 2011

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Admitted: Vermont Bar and New Hampshire Bar
Member Vermont Bar Association
Member New Hampshire Bar Association (inactive status)

Our lawyers apply their broad range of legal know-how and experience to land use and permitting advocacy on behalf of individual landowners, developers, and businesses. For our clients interested in developing or subdividing land, we provide counsel on how to navigate regulatory proceedings including local development review board and planning commission hearings, Act 250 compliance, zoning and land use appeals before the Environmental Division of the Vermont Superior Court. We work with other professionals such as surveyors and wastewater engineers to help our clients carry out their plans in conformance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

We also counsel landowners regarding special situations such as boundary adjustments, enrollment in the Vermont Current Use program, boundary line disputes, and zoning and permitting violations. When conflicts between neighbors arise regarding land use, we advocate on behalf of our clients in all phases of the litigation process, including settlement negotiations, mediation procedures, and trials before the Vermont Superior Court.

From simple Wills to complex estate plans, from document preparation to probate court litigation, our attorneys provide essential legal knowledge and skill to help ensure our clients manage and transfer their assets smoothly from one generation to the next. Proper estate planning occurs at many stages throughout life, and particularly in connection with major life events, such as marriage or remarriage, having children, separation or divorce, and retirement.

Our attorneys are experienced in developing estate planning approaches for all of these life stages including end-of-life care and medical decision-making. Although each estate plan is unique to each client, some of the common objectives sought during the estate planning process include: avoiding or minimizing federal or Vermont State estate taxes, facilitating the seamless transfer of assets at death without the need for the probate court process, mapping out the succession of family businesses, and giving appropriate loved ones decision-making power over finances and healthcare. In order to achieve these objectives, our attorneys often draw up revocable and irrevocable trusts, power of attorneys, Advance Directives for Healthcare (healthcare power of attorney), guardianships for minors and for disabled or incapacitated adults, and Wills.

We provide representation in a full range of cases in the Probate Division of the Vermont Superior court, including adoptions, guardianships, and estate proceedings. We help administrators and executors of estates in handling every aspect of the probate process, as well as individuals who may be heirs, beneficiaries, or creditors of estates. Opening estates in probate court, proving Wills, identifying and handling estate creditors, providing advice on the management of estate assets, and distributing assets are all areas we routinely handle. We also provide advice and court representation to trustees of trusts, as well as trust beneficiaries.

Over 16% of Vermont residents are 65 years of age or older. For individuals approaching or currently enjoying their retirement years, our firm provides a range of legal services to help ensure that the later years in life are well-planned, financially secure, and lived with peace of mind. Central to these goals is anticipating the potential need to qualify for long-term nursing care. The rules associated with qualifying for Medicaid long-term care benefits have become increasingly complex. To help navigate these complexities, we assist our clients during the planning and application process for Medicaid long-term care benefits in either the home setting and in a nursing care facility. Our lawyers who practice in elder law take a global approach to addressing the legal needs of elders, including qualifying for benefits, re-titling of assets, facilitating the succession of family business assets, obtaining legal guardianships for incapacitated elders, and handling denials or disqualifications from Medicaid long-term care benefits.

We represent individuals and businesses in all areas of general civil litigation in the Vermont Court System and U.S. District Court for Vermont. From filing Complaints or defending claims, we handle litigation from the outset through discovery, hearings, trials, and appeals in front of the Vermont Supreme Court. We handle a wide range of civil cases and represent both plaintiffs and defendants. Some of the common civil litigation matters we handle include breach of contract, breach of warranties, real estate disputes, land use conflicts, and disputes concerning wills and trusts. Our litigation attorneys focus on meeting each client’s objectives using a variety of litigation tools including pretrial negotiation, mediation, and formal judge and jury trials. Our attorneys have successfully litigated civil cases before the Vermont Superior Court, and Vermont Supreme Court. We know that civil litigation can often be a stressful experience and expensive. In order to support our clients during this process, our attorneys are committed to providing our client’s with a clear overview of the litigation process and the strengths and weaknesses of their cases in order to help our clients make the best choices to achieve their goals and objectives through the litigation process.

Starting and successfully operating a small business can be a complex endeavor that requires a hard work and commitment. Our lawyers are committed to helping small business owners form effective and beneficial business structures, be it a corporation, LLC, nonprofit, partnership, or another appropriate structure. After business entities are formed, we work with small business clients to manage conflicts that might arise among partners, we assist businesses in the process of adding investors, we help businesses amend by-laws and operating agreements, and we provide representation during the purchase and sale of business interests. We also help business entities stay current with all filing requirements with the Vermont Secretary of State.

We advise nonprofit organizations on all aspects of their operations, including formation, compliance with legal requirements, mergers, and day-to-day activities. Our attorneys have provided many hours of volunteer service on boards of nonprofit organizations that serve our community.

Like most Vermonters, we love the rural character of our state and the quality of life it delivers. We recognize and support the many individuals and businesses who rely on Vermont’s natural resources to earn a livelihood and grow the Vermont economy. Our attorneys are experienced in helping large and small farming operations, timber companies, and maple sugaring operations chart a course through the legal system in order to utilize our state’s natural resources effectively and responsibly. We assist dairy and other value-added farmers in qualifying for Vermont’s current use program, complying with accepted agricultural practice regulations, developing farm business succession plans for family-operated farms, purchasing and selling real estate, and many other issues. . In the timber and maple sugaring industries, we advise clients in the areas of timber contracts, timber harvesting, forest and sugarbush land leases, purchase and sale of forest land, and Current Use issues.

Land conservation has become an increasingly important issue in Vermont, enabling owners of farms and forest land to protect their land and ensure its sustainable use by future generations. Our lawyers represent both conservation organizations and landowners in the negotiation and drafting of conservation easements and other documents to benefit our clients and the environment.

Our attorneys represent plaintiffs in a wide array of personal injury cases including auto accident claims, premises liability, and injuries to pedestrians. Our personal injury lawyers handle every aspect of the claim including the initial consultation, writing a demand letter, filing legal action, and resolving the case through negotiation, mediation or litigation if necessary.

Neuse, Duprey & Putnam provides counsel to Vermont municipalities on a wide array of legal issues ranging from daily operations to complex litigation matters. Our municipal attorneys have many years of experience in areas of the law that affect local government bodies, including elections, town meetings, highway discontinuance and alteration proceedings, public records requests, development of town ordinances and bylaws, public utility issues, municipal land use and development, and compliance with Vermont’s open meetings law. Our attorneys represent municipalities in the purchase and sale of real estate, including drafting of easements and other land use covenants. We also provide the necessary insight and direction on the structuring of contracts between towns and third-party contractors.

For issues that require resolution outside of town governance, we represent municipalities in all aspects of litigation. We advocate on behalf of towns in zoning and land use appeals and general civil litigation matters before the Civil and Environmental Divisions of the Vermont Superior Court, and we handle appeals to the Vermont Supreme Court. Our attorneys also have experience conducting tax sales and navigating the tax appeal process.

Our attorneys also assist individuals and private businesses in their interactions with municipalities. For example, we advise clients with questions about property taxes, compliance with local ordinances, zoning/permitting issues, and negotiation of easements and other property transactions.