The Burlington law firm of Paul Frank + Collins is pleased to announce the following promotions and new hires:
Attorney Stephanie J. Mapes has been elected Vice-President of the firm and now serves on the firm’s three-person Management Committee. Attorney Mapes is the practice leader of the firm’s Captive Insurance Law department and also works on trademarks and copyrights with the Business Services team. Attorney Mapes is currently a member of the Legislative Committee of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (“VCIA”), as well as a member of the Government Affairs Committee of the National Risk Retention Association (“NRRA”). She is a faculty member at the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (“ICCIE”) and counsel to the boards of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce and Champlain College. In addition to her legal and firm management work, she also serves as a chair of the firm’s marketing committee and leads the firm’s strategic planning and diversity initiatives.
Rebecca B. Guenther, the firm’s Human Resources Manager since 2001, has been appointed to the role of Firm Manager. Ms. Guenther has worked at PF+C for over 20 years, having begun her career as a litigation paralegal in 1992 after her graduation from the paralegal program at Champlain College. She later managed the paralegal department and was a technology trainer at the firm. In 1999, she completed her B.S. in Business Administration from Champlain College and subsequently expanded her role to include marketing and support staff administration. As Firm Manager, she oversees the staff, paralegals, recruiting, and is involved with marketing, finance, technology and the general business operation of the firm. She is also assisting with the firm’s new diversity initiatives.
Julliana Von Bernewitz has been hired to serve as the firm’s Information Technology Manager. Ms. Von Bernewitz has over 13 years of experience in the I.T. field, four of which were most recently at a large Vermont law firm. Prior to that, she worked as an I.T. Specialist for the State of Vermont, and, for many years as a network administrator for the Bank of Brazil’s North American I.T. operations in New York City. She is a graduate of the Universide de São Paulo in Brazil. Ms. Von Bernewitz brings an ideal set of skills, experience and legal software and systems knowledge to PF+C. She takes the lead in assuring that PF+C’s systems and technologies provide our employees and clients with the most efficient and productive resources available in the legal industry.
Colleen M. Price has been hired as the firm’s Financial Manager. She brings over 20 years of administration and financial management experience to the firm through her prior roles as a Bookkeeper, Corporate Services Manager, and Marketing Information Coordinator for three different Vermont ski industry organizations. She comes to PF+C from another Vermont law firm where she served as the Business Manager for four years. Ms. Price graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a B.S. degree in Business Management. She heads the PF+C accounting department and oversees the financial operations of the firm.
Meghan L. Hemond has been hired as the firm’s Human Resources Assistant, supporting Firm Manager Rebecca B. Guenther. For the past two years, Ms. Hemond served as an Administrative Assistant for a Fire and Life Safety company in Vermont, graduating from Saint Michael’s College in 2010 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in English Literature. Ms. Hemond brings in a unique set of skills in areas of writing, editing, and administrative support. In her role she will provide assistance in all areas of Human Resources, as well as Marketing, and other administrative functions.