We are committed to a balanced lifestyle — we care passionately about the practice of law, but feel equally responsible to our families and our communities.

We also believe that professionalism requires us to give back to the community, as part of our pro bono commitment. Our community involvement takes many forms:

Tom Carlson has been a Planning Commission or Select Board member in his town of St. George since 1985, and moderator of the town’s school meeting since 1998. He is also currently serving as a member of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, and the Pro Bono Committee of the Vermont Access to Justice Coalition. He is past president, board member and capital campaign chair of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association.

Mitch Pearl currently serves on the Brandon Selectboard, served two terms as the chair of the Brandon Town School Board, and is a member and past officer of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Ren Barlow served two terms on the Town of Middlebury Select Board. Bill Miller has served on the Middlebury Union High School Board, assisting them through several complex contract negotiations. Ellen Fallon has served on the New England Board of Higher Education Commission on Legal Education and Practice and the Economy and the Board of Trustees of Vermont Law School. Eric Knudsen serves on the Design Review Board for South Burlington.

David Conard is a board member, and past president of COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, a Burlington based non-profit organization which provides services to the homeless, and those at risk of homelessness. He is a past president of the Chittenden County Bar Association, and provides pro bono legal services to land trusts.

Susan Murray and Beth Robinson founded and are current board members of Vermonters for Civil Unions Legislative Defense Fund (a lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the civil union law in the Vermont legislature). They also founded Vermonters for Civil Unions (a PAC dedicated to ensuring the election of pro-civil union political candidates in Vermont), and the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force. They speak frequently about their freedom to marry work on college and law school campuses, and to other organizations. In years past, Susan was a member of the boards of the Vermont ACLU and Outright Vermont, and Beth served on the board of the Addison County Humane Society and the Vermont Girl Scout Council.

Alison Bell is a member of the board and vice president of Housing Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation that owns and operates low-income housing for Vermonters, and serves on the Hearing Panel of the Professional Responsibility Board. Mark Sperry served for many years on the Hearing Panel of the Professional Responsibility Board. Emily Joselson has served on the boards of several area nonprofit organizations, including the Addison County Home Health Care & Hospice, Inc., and the Addison County Parent/Child Center, and provided pro bono legal services to each organization. For close to a decade she served as the Chair of the Vermont Human Rights Commission. She also serves on the Executive Committee of Havurrah, Addison County’s Jewish Congregation, and is active in her children’s public schools.

Peter Langrock currently serves on the boards of the Burlington Arts Council and the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History. Michael Wool has been a member of the board of the New England Board of Higher Education, Boys & Girls Club of Burlington, and the Nordic Spirit Soccer Club. Lisa Shelkrot is a past officer and current board member of the Vermont ACLU, as well as a member of the Vermont Legal Services Law Line. She is also active in the Burlington Neighborhood Planning Assembly for Ward 6, her neighborhood.

Chris Davis founded the Burlington Rugby Football Club and is a former nationally ranked rugby referee. He still actively referees, occasionally plays, and is a board member of the USA Rugby Referee Association. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors for the Tree Farm Management Group that operates a soccer complex in Essex Junction. Every year he plunges into the freezing waters of Lake Champlain to raise funds for the Vermont Special Olympics. In his more serious moments, Chris is also a long term appointee, and former Chair of the Judicial Conduct Board.

Jim Swift and Alison Bell coach local youth hockey teams; Kevin Brown coaches Little League baseball; Devin McLaughlin coaches youth hockey and soccer; and Fritz Langrock is a coach in the Middlebury Youth Hockey League and a member of the Executive Board of the Vermont State Amateur Hockey Association.

The firm is a member of the Vermont Business Roundtable, the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.