LACONIA — Their website boasts "Sound Counsel since 1927." While this is something that the folks at Wescott, Dyer, Fitzgerald and Nichols, PA, are proud of, the length of the firm's name has been known to cause confusion.
"We found that our clients had difficulty remembering the four attorneys' names comprising the firm name. Since we would typically find ourselves simplifying the name to 'Wescott Law,' we decided to embrace it", stated Attorney Rod Dyer, one of the firm's five shareholders. Therefore, as of May 5, the full-service law firm comprised of 10 attorneys will be known as "Wescott Law."
At one time it was customary to name a law firm after its shareholders, especially when there was only one or two per practice. Due to the frequency of mergers and acquisitions, the number of surnames increased, making firm names sound more like roll call. In the past decade, this dated naming technique has started to go out of vogue with firms choosing simpler names for their business entities.
There is a lot of work that goes into rebranding, and the attorneys all agreed with the reasoning that the new name should be one that could carry them indefinitely, thus eliminating the need to go through the process again in the foreseeable future. Regardless of what happens years from now — who joins the firm, becomes a partner or retires — the new name will remain the same.
"In my opinion 'Wescott Law' does justice to both the firm and our clients — while it is concise and modern, it continues to honor the firm's history and values," stated shareholder Attorney Paul Fitzgerald.
"There few independently owned businesses that can claim nearly ninety years of success; so, in making decisions regarding our future, we believed it was crucial to acknowledge our past," stated Attorney Allison Ambrose who joined the firm in 2010 and worked closely on the project with the firm's marketing consultant, Debbie Bolduc of BizBuzz Marketing Partners, to update the firm's logo, ads and overall brand.
Harold E. Wescott founded the firm in 1927. In 1947, he was appointed to the bench and served as a New Hampshire Supreme Court Judge until his retirement in 1957. Judge Wescott was a man of character and integrity, traits that live on in the firm today. The firm's attorneys have continued in Judge Wescott's footsteps, and throughout the years have played important roles in the legal system and their local communities, including service on the Board of Governors of the New Hampshire Bar Association, as the Belknap County Attorney, Mayor of Laconia, School Board Representatives, New Hampshire State Senate, and as judges in the Family and District Courts of the State of New Hampshire.
Wescott Law, P.A. is dedicated to serving the legal needs of businesses and individuals in the Lakes and Seacoast Regions of New Hampshire. View their blog or practice areas at www.wescottlawnh.com and follow them on Facebook.
Attorneys Paul Fitzgerald, Robert Hemeon, Erik Simensen, John Giere, Rodney Dyer, Allison Ambrose, Peter Millham and Edmund Hibbard. Absent at time of photo are Dorcas Gordon and Matthew Huot. (Courtesy photo)