By Dan Rosenberg
In March of this year I began working on a new business opportunity in Maine. There were several people and groups involved, so three different law firms were needed to avoid conflicts of interest.
First, I needed a personal attorney. I called a good friend of mine, Sam, in Portland, who is primarily a litigator. He recommended an associate in his firm, Adrianna. Turns out she and I attended Syracuse University, albeit with many years separating our tenures there.
Second, an attorney was needed to help form a consulting firm that I founded with two other people, including a former colleague, John, that I worked with, in 2016. Though John lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he recommended a Massachusetts attorney with substantial experience, working as a solo practitioner with little overhead and good rates. Shortly after we hired Henry, I found out that he was the former internal counsel for Endurance International Group, the company in Burlington, Massachusetts, that employed me from 2011 through 2015. Though Henry left the firm a few years before I joined, we share many acquaintances.
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Third, a client of our new consulting firm, Ben, asked me to do a search of law firms in Maine that could help him, as he was dissatisfied with his current attorney. I interviewed about six law firms, narrowed it down to the best three, and presented them to Ben. After he made his choice, I set-up a call for a week later for me, Ben, and the lead attorney for Ben’s account, Hannah.
Unbeknownst to me, Hannah and Ben researched one another in preparing for the call. I felt like the “third wheel” for the first fifteen minutes of the call as they exchanged stories. Ben, born and raised in Massachusetts, and Hannah, born and raised in Maine, had both attended Prescott college, student population just over 800, about 100 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona.
Maybe these vignettes, taken one at a time, would not be considered unusual by many people. Considering that all of this transpired in my world in a matter of weeks, I thought the collection of the three was worthy of “random connection” status.
If you have some random connection stories, particularly if they are related to events in our country since the last Connection was published, I would be honored to record and report them. Please contact me through The Connections staff.