Law Firm Opens Office In Middletown

From Updike, Kelly & Spellacy

Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, is pleased to announce that, effective November 1, 2010, it will be opening a Middletown, Connecticut office, to be located at 203 Main Street, 300 Plaza Middlesex. 

John F. Wolter, the President of the firm, stated that “we are pleased to extend our geographic presence to Middletown, which we have long recognized as a vibrant business community.  Our client base has grown significantly in Middlesex County, and this new Middletown office, in conjunction with our existing Hartford and New Haven offices, will provide us with an ideal platform for future expansion through central Connecticut to the shoreline areas.  We see a significant opportunity for UKS within this market by providing the greater Middletown area with local access to a wider range of specialized legal services, including employment, immigration, construction, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, environmental, alternative energy, creditors rights and healthcare.  Our business is about relationships, and the best way for us to further these relationships is to be close to our clients and have an active presence in their communities.”

The firm also welcomes Attorney Richard D. Carella, who will join the firm as a shareholder and manage the Middletown office.  Attorney Carella has been the  Managing Principal of Carella Law Offices in Middletown, Connecticut for seventeen years.  Attorney Carella has a broad range of experience and will continue to represent clients in the areas of commercial law, business succession planning, trust and estate planning, and real estate law. In particular Attorney Carella has represented clients in complex land use and zoning matters,  real estate based financing and commercial litigation. 

Attorney Carella has a longstanding commitment to community service, and has served as President of the Central Connecticut Business and Estate Planning Council,  and President of the Middletown Rotary Club. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Committee, Treasurer of the Northern Middlesex County YMCA, and a Corporator of Middlesex Hospital. 

Attorney Carella is a graduate of Xavier High School and Fairfield University, and received his law degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. 

In addition to Attorney Carella, the Middletown office will be staffed by Attorney Dana R. Bucin.  A Portland resident, Attorney Bucin has been an associate in the firm’s Hartford office since 2007, practicing in the areas of commercial finance, corporate and business services, international business transactions and immigration.  In the immigration area, Ms. Bucin represents institutional clients with obtaining work visas, including H-1B visas for physicians, nurses and allied health care professionals and L visas for multinational managers/ executives, as well as employment-based green cards.  Additionally, Ms. Bucin advises employers regarding general compliance with immigration laws and represents individuals with their applications for temporary visas, asylum, green cards, and naturalization.  Ms. Bucin is fluent in Spanish, French, and Romanian, and has a basic knowledge of Italian, German, and Hungarian.

Ms. Bucin serves as the Chair of the Young Professionals Committee of the World Affairs Council of Connecticut.  She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and serves on the Entrepreneurs Task Force of Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE).  For her leadership within the Greater Hartford Community, Ms. Bucin has been honored as a “40 Under Forty” award recipient by the Hartford Business Journal in 2009.  Ms. Bucin has recently been listed among the 2010 “Women in the Law High Achievers” by the Connecticut Law Tribune.

Ms. Bucin is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and received her law degree from Boston University.

Attorneys Carella and Bucin will be supplemented by the more than 50 attorneys resident at the firm’s existing Hartford and New Haven offices.  In addition, Mr. Wolter, an East Haddam resident, and Gregg J. Lallier, a UKS shareholder who lives in Durham, will work regularly in the Middletown office. 

Mr. Wolter practices primarily in the business law, commercial finance and healthcare areas.  He serves as an officer and director of a variety of community organizations, including Holy Apostle’s College and Seminary, Goodspeed Opera House Foundation, Inc. and Read to Grow, Inc.  Mr. Wolter is a graduate of Xavier High School and Saint Anselm College, and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. 

Mr. Lallier is a corporate lawyer whose practice includes a focus in the technology industry, and the intellectual property, venture capital and merger and acquisition issues commonly associated with such industry.  He serves on the board of directors of

Connecticut Venture Group, a professional association geared to serve entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, and is chairman of its New Haven chapter.  In addition, he serves on the board of Creative Arts Workshop, a non-profit art school located in New Haven.  Mr. Lallier is a graduate of Xavier High School and Boston College, and received his law degree from Emory University School of Law. 

Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C. is a full service law firm providing comprehensive legal, lobbying and public affairs representation on a local, regional and national basis.  The firm engages in the traditional areas of legal practice as well as a variety of specialized and emerging practice areas and is a member of Meritas Law Firms Worldwide.  The firm’s Meritas membership extends the reach of its practice across the United States and around the world through 174 member law firms in 74 countries.  From offices in Hartford, New Haven and Middletown, the firm is dedicated to providing business clients throughout Connecticut with access to sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service.