You may have noticed something different about our name. As of July 1, Blackburn & Donnelly, LLC is now Blackburn, Donnelly & Barbarotta, LLC — and we could not be more excited to tell you why.
Two firms, one shared story
Our firm was co-founded by Attorney Stuart G. Blackburn, who has deep roots in Windsor Locks, where he raised his family and built a practice on word-of-mouth referrals and long-term relationships. Co-founder, Managing Partner and Attorney Derek Donnelly brought sharp litigation instincts — including courtroom experience before the Connecticut Supreme Court — along with expertise in government, insurance, and real estate law, which helped grow the firm into one of the region’s most well-rounded practices.
Just down the road in Windsor, Johnson, Dowe, Brown & Barbarotta spent decades doing the same — becoming a mainstay of the community and a trusted name for generations of families. Attorney Kristen S. Barbarotta, a partner who began there in 2003, built a reputation for being exactly the attorney clients want in their corner for estate planning and probate: knowledgeable, steady, and deeply committed to the people she serves.
With the retirements of Attorneys Warren Johnson, Everett Dowe and Stephen Brown, that chapter in Windsor comes to a close — but the story doesn’t end. Attorney Barbarotta carries it forward here, joining us as Partner along with paralegals Lynda Cmara and Kathryn Daly, who together bring roughly fifty years of experience to our team. For Kristen’s clients, nothing skips a beat: her matters and files continue with her, without interruption, at our Windsor Locks office.
What this means for you
In a word: more. Kristen brings a substantial estate planning, trust and probate practice that fits hand-in-glove with what we already do.
We helped you buy your home and we can help you protect it — with a will, a trust, a power of attorney and a plan for your family’s future. And when you come to us for estate planning, you’ll have an experienced real estate, business and litigation team right down the hall. It’s the kind of full service we’re thrilled to offer to our clients.
Our expanded practice areas include estate planning and probate (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, guardianships and conservatorships, and estate administration), residential and commercial real estate, civil litigation, insurance coverage and subrogation, business and corporate law, land use and zoning, and state, local and municipal law.
Getting to know Kristen
Kristen is exactly the kind of attorney — and person — we want representing our firm. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Connecticut School of Law, she has practiced estate planning, estate and trust administration and probate law for more than two decades. She serves on the Board of Directors of Windsor Federal and is a former President of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and First Town Downtown. Her commitment to her clients and her community speaks for itself.
What stays the same
Everything you already count on. Same office at 2 Concorde Way in Windsor Locks. Same phone number: 860-292-1116. Same attorneys and staff, same responsiveness, same straight answers.
A couple of housekeeping notes: our new website is www.bdblegal.com, and our email addresses now end in @bdblegal.com. Please add us to your address book so we don’t end up in your spam folder — though we’ll still receive anything sent to our old addresses.
Thank you
To our clients, referral partners and friends: thank you for decades of trust. We can’t wait to show you what this new chapter holds. If you have questions — or if it’s finally time to get that estate plan done — call us at 860-292-1116 or visit www.bdblegal.com.