Get to know a professional Boston Business Attorney
Formed 25 years ago, the attorneys at Morisi & Oatway, P.C. are recognized for solid counsel, effective representation and an unflinching willingness to take litigation to trial when warranted. Our Boston business attorneys are just as talented at Boston business transactions as they are business litigation. With experience stretching over a cumulative 60 years, they can draw on each other for specific knowledge to enhance their handling of client legal matters.
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Contact us today to learn more about how our business attorneys in Boston can put their experience to work for you.
Andrew C. Oatway, Managing Partner
ATTORNEY ANDREW C. OATWAY is the President and managing attorney of Morisi & Oatway, P.C. Attorney Oatway’s practice focuses on business, real estate, and probate litigation.
Attorney Oatway represents businesses and individuals negotiating and litigating commercial disputes, in court and in arbitrations, involving closely held corporations and partnerships, general employment, departing employee, noncompete and trade secrets, contract, construction, fraudulent conveyance, business torts, and Chapter 93A. Attorney Oatway represents developers, condominium associations, management companies, businesses, and individuals in negotiating and litigation real estate disputes, in court and in arbitrations, including specific performance and real estate contracts, joint ventures, easements and boundary disputes, adverse possession, zoning appeals, commercial leases, construction defects, and condominium-related matters.
Attorney Oatway is also admitted to practice law in the State of Connecticut and the Federal District Courts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Attorney Oatway has been practicing law since 1992. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 1987, Attorney Oatway obtained his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1992. Attorney Oatway was a member of the Boston College National Administrative Law Moot Court team.
Attorney Oatway was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in Urman v. South Boston Savings Bank, 424 Mass. 165 (1997), in which the SJC addressed the Chapter 93A liability of a commercial seller of real estate who failed to disclose material facts regarding hazardous waste on an adjacent parcel of real estate. Attorney Oatway was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in First Enterprises, Ltd. v. Cooper, 425 Mass. 344 (1997) in which the SJC addressed the scope of the trade or commerce requirement of c. 93A. Attorney Oatway was trial counsel for Valenti v. Lubin & Meyer, P.C., et al., a $6.25 million plaintiffs’ verdict in a legal malpractice case brought in the United States District Court in Boston. The Valenti case was reported to be the largest legal malpractice verdict in Massachusetts and it was one of the top five verdicts in Massachusetts in 1998. In 2008, Attorney Oatway was trial counsel and obtained a $750,000 jury verdict on a counterclaim leading to an approximately $1,300,000 judgment in the Norfolk County Superior Court in Granite Telecommunications, LLC v. Patrick Nee, involving Granite’s breach of its agreement to furnish equity in the start up business to one of its founding employees.
Attorney Oatway was named as a Massachusetts Superlawyer®, New England Superlawyer® in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, was named a Superlawyer Corporate Counsel in 2011, and was previously named a Superlawyer® Rising Star. This honor, which is bestowed on less than five percent of all eligible attorneys, reflects a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement for attorneys.
Adam P. Whitney, Partner
ATTORNEY ADAM P. WHITNEY is a skilled and resourceful business attorney in Boston who has earned the utmost respect of his peers by bringing substantial civil business litigation in Boston and trial experience to the firm.
Attorney Whitney handles complex business and employment matters for businesses, minority owners, executives and for select employees. Attorney Whitney serves as de facto general counsel on business and employment matters to several mid-sized and large employers on the South Shore, whereby he handles all of their needs with respect to hiring and firing advice, trade secret issues, non-competition issues, wage and hour issues, contractual and interference issues, and their litigation needs. Attorney Whitney recently handled all of the executive employment agreements for the new Massachusetts office of a large, publicly traded Hong Kong corporation. Attorney Whitney also handles many employment issues for a large, national managed print company. Attorney Whitney also handles and has substantial experience in certain litigation involving condominiums, real estate and construction.
As an example of a representative matter, while at Morisi & Oatway, P.C., Attorney Whitney represented an employer on the South Shore who had its trade secret documents stolen by an employee, taken to a competitor and used by a competitor to steal clients away. Attorney Whitney obtained a preliminary injunction against the former employee, and eventually won a verdict against the former employer and the competitor in the Business Litigation Session after a trial lasting several days, which included an award of double damages and all attorneys' fees and costs incurred charged to the competitor. The case is reported as People's Choice Mortgage v Premium Capital Funding, LLC, 26 Mass. L. Rprt. 31 at 582 (2010).
Prior to joining Morisi & Oatway, P.C., Attorney Whitney practiced at a 70-lawyer firm in Boston. In addition to business and employment litigation, Attorney Whitney represented architects and engineers related to a variety of projects, including many commercial, multi-million dollar construction projects. He also performed substantial work related to the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (the "Big Dig") where claims of upwards of $160 million were at issue before the Business Litigation Session of the Superior Court. Attorney Whitney has also successfully defended employers at the MCAD and in the courts against claims alleging: employment discrimination; unpaid wages; sexual harassment; and whistleblower claims.
In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Attorney Whitney was named as a Rising Star Super Lawyer® in a poll of Massachusetts attorneys. This honor, which is bestowed on 2.5% of all eligible attorneys, reflects a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement for attorneys under the age of 40 or in practice up to 10 years. Attorney Whitney has practiced law since 1997. A graduate of the University of Maine, he obtained his J.D. Cum Laude from Suffolk University Law School in 1997 where he graduated in the top 10% of his class, won awards for oral advocacy and brief writing, and was a member of a national moot court team. Attorney Whitney is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Maine, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Attorney Whitney has served as a mock trial judge for area law school competitions and the Citizen School middle grades competition. He participates in the FAAN charity walk to raise money for food allergy awareness and research. He enjoys flag football, hiking and kayaking and is a member of the Moose Hill Community Farm in Sharon. He lives on the South Shore with his wife and two daughters.
Paul C. Bijkersma, Senior Counsel
ATTORNEY PAUL C. BIJKERSMA has been practicing law since 1985. He worked at the Boston law firms of Goldstein & Manello from 1985-1989 and Shapiro, Israel & Weiner from 1989-1993, and then started his own law firm before joining Morisi & Oatway, P.C. in 1996. Attorney Bijkersma has been head of the Transactional Department of Morisi & Oatway, P.C. since 2002, and serves as the firm’s Director of Information Technology as well.
Attorney Bijkersma has extensive experience negotiating, documenting, and closing a wide variety of business and real property transactions, representing lenders in a broad range of financings and workouts, and advising clients in general business, corporate, computer law, and contract matters. He is a member of the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce, where from 1998 until 2006 he served as General Counsel and sat on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Attorney Bijkersma has also served on the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee and was founding chairman of the Legislative Committee.
Attorney Bijkersma has represented buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions of high-tech, manufacturing, retail and service companies. He has acted as bond, bank, borrower’s and underwriter’s counsel for tax-exempt bond financings, Attorney Bijkersma negotiates and drafts a wide variety of technology licensing, distribution and value-added reseller agreements for clients in the software, hardware and Internet industries. He also advises clients in general business, corporate and contract matters, including drafting and negotiation of shareholders’ purchase and redemption agreements; employment, non-competition and confidentiality agreements; asset and stock acquisition documents; joint venture and partnership agreements; software development and reselling agreements; and corporate documents of all kinds. Attorney Bijkersma represents buyers, sellers, developers, and management companies in commercial and residential real estate transactions. Finally, as lender's counsel, he has represented numerous commercial banks as well as such nonprofit organizations and quasi-public agencies.
Attorney Bijkersma is also fluent in Dutch and lives in Sharon with his wife Judi.
Candice L. O’Neil, Associate
ATTORNEY CANDICE M. O'NEIL is the newest addition to the Morisi & Oatway, P.C. team, joining the firm in January of 2009. A magna cum laude graduate of the honors program at Assumption College in 2003, Candice L. O'Neil achieved her law degree from Northeastern University in 2006. Prior to attending Northeastern, Candice completed her first year of law school at the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, where she was a Dean's Scholarship recipient and appointed an Associated Editor of the Penn State Law Review. She earned admission to the state bar of Massachusetts in 2006 and the state bar of New Hampshire in 2007. She is currently a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association. Prior to joining Morisi & Oatway, P.C., Attorney O'Neil worked for a business law and estate planning firm in Needham and a wealth management firm in Weston, specializing in probate administration and estate planning for high net worth clients.
Attorney O'Neil's practice is focused on estate planning, probate, corporate law and real estate transactions. Attorney O'Neil is currently studying to obtain her L.L.M. in taxation from the Boston University School of Law with an emphasis in estate taxation. Attorney O'Neil's expertise in estate planning brings a new dimension of service to the clients of the firm. In addition to business planning, we are now able to advise our clients in sophisticated estate and tax planning techniques to ensure that their assets remain with their loved ones following their passing.
Attorney O'Neil lives with her husband Corey in Newburport.
Caitlin Ebbs, Paralegal
PARALEGAL CAITLIN E. EBBS has been working as a legal assistant and paralegal at Morisi & Oatway since 2003.
Caitlin has extensive experience as a paralegal in all facets of civil litigation, including preparation of litigation documents, such as pleadings, discovery, and correspondence. Caitlin has assisted the litigation department with various aspects of trial preparation and has attended and supported our attorneys from beginning to end in several trials. Caitlin frequently interacts with all courts, registries and public agencies.
Caitlin received her BA in Political Science from Assumption College in 2003, with a double minor in Philosophy and Theology. She graduated cum laude as a Lyceum Scholar and was on the Dean’s List.
Caitlin lives in Quincy.
Debra Lyons, Office Manager
OFFICE MANAGER DEBRA LYONS has been working with Morisi & Oatway since 2000 and has been working in the legal field since 1990. Debra handles the administrative duties of running the law firm, handling billing, bookkeeping, and relationships with vendors.
Debra lives in Milton with her husband Steve and their four children.
The firm works with other Boston business law attorneys to provide specialized legal services to clients, as needed.
Contact our office today at 617-479-0400 to discuss your business needs with one of our experienced business law attorneys in Boston.
