Swiney, J. Vincent

I was raised with my five brothers and two sisters in Emerson, New Jersey, a small town in Bergen County. I graduated from Paramus Catholic High School in 1972, and attended Davidson College and later Ramapo College, where I graduated with a degree in economics in 1977. I attended Rutgers School of Law in Newark, at night while working first as a teamster, and later as a law clerk in the Hackensack, New Jersey firm of Gladstone and Hart. I graduated from Rutgers in 1981, passed the bar exam and joined Gladstone and Hart as an associate that year. I became a partner at Gladstone and Hart in 1985. In 1987, my wife (also a lawyer) and I decided to relocate to Vermont and start a family. I was admitted to practice in Vermont and began working with Carroll, George & Pratt, predecessor to this firm, as an associate. In 1989, I became a partner. My experience in the practice has been varied and extensive. I have tried criminal and civil cases and have briefed and argued appeals in state and federal courts. I have represented clients in large complex business transactions including mergers and recapitalizations. My practice is primarily focused on commercial litigation and the representation of creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. I am a member of the Rutland County, Vermont and American Bar Associations. I chaired the Practice and Procedure Committee of the VBA from 1991 to 1997, and participated in the planning and presentation of numerous seminars on Vermont practice. I am presently the Chair of the VBA Bankruptcy Law Committee. I am also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. My wife and I, and our three children, live in Mendon, Vermont where I serve as Chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

E-mail: kennelly@vermontcounsel.com