Family Law:.
William E. Brennan
Founder
Brennan, Caron, Lenehan, & lacopino in Manchester
www.bclilaw.com
Years practicing law: 38
Law: School Catholic University of America
If you're getting divorced, you'd better hope Bill Brennan is on your side. The state's leading divorce attorney gets results, whether representing CEOs, doctors, business owners . . . or their spouses.
"Every divorce is different," says Brennan, who is selective about his clients, choosing those with interesting cases and those with whom he can communicate and provide all the services needed. And while known for his courtroom savvy, Brennan prefers to avoid litigation. Still, he says he's always prepared to go to trial. "But my goal is to settle it," he says.
Brennan likes his clients. "I realize they are going through hell. I try to make it easier for them," he says. But he says those cases that involve children are the most difficult, and he finds parents who use their children as bargaining chips distasteful. "I'm prepared to go into the courtroom to debate custody, but it's an area of my practice that cries out for settlement and negotiation.... I try to teach clients that kids deserve both parents, not just one."
He began his career in criminal law, serving as a criminal prosecutor for the NH Attorney General's Office and the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office. He prosecuted for three years before going into private practice. Brennan's career changed in 1987 during an arbitration case when a client asked him to represent him in his divorce. "I was not sure I wanted to be a divorce attorney, but he was persistent, he says. After that, Brennan quickly became an in-demand divorce lawyer. He says his experience in criminal law prepared him for work as a divorce attorney. "It trained me how to take people though the highs and lows of a case," he says. Now 90 percent of his work is divorce cases and 10 percent is mediation. And while divorce is about a separation, Brennan enjoys helping couples find a resolution.
The state's premier divorce attorney has never been divorced. In fact, he has been married to his wife Marilyn for 41 years, and he gets a twinkle in his eye just talking about her. He says dealing with others' failed marriages makes him a better husband. "She knows when I'm going through a tough case. I'm extra nice to her. Marriage is a job. You have to work at it." And it's not just Brennan's career that has soared. Brennan is a licensed pilot, flying a single engine Beechcraft. "It takes a lot of stress of my job out of me," he says. As for his professional future, Brennan wants to expand his mediation practice.
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