Michael Gove takes over Thompson & Bell practice at 358 Sewall St., Ludlow
LUDLOW – Attorney Michael Gove of Gove Law Office LLC in Northampton recently announced that he has purchased a law practice in Ludlow and will open a second office in that community, his hometown.
Gove’s 10-year-old practice concentrates on business and corporate law, real estate transactions and estate planning.
On Sept. 2, Gove assumed ownership of Thompson & Bell of Ludlow, the business formerly operated by the late James V. “Jason” Thompson and his associate, Gregory R. Bell. Bell and Gove will work together to cover the Ludlow and Northampton offices; in addition, the Ludlow office will also handle bankruptcy and personal injury law.
Gove grew up in Ludlow and has been friends with Thompson’s son Sean since middle school. After the elder Thompson unexpectedly passed away in April, Gove was invited by the Thompson family to take over the practice.
Gove said he met Jason Thompson when Gove was a student at Ludlow High School in the late 1990s. Thompson was the town moderator at the time, and Gove was an elected representative to Ludlow Town Meeting. Gove later served as chair of the Ludlow Democratic Committee, as a representative from Ludlow to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and he chaired the Ludlow Cultural Council.
“Jason Thompson was somebody I looked up to as a leader in our community,” Gove said. “I am honored to be taking over his practice.”
Gove, 35, lives in Northampton. He earned his law degree from Boston College School of Law in 2004, after graduating cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2001.
He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Hampden County Bar Association, the Hampshire County Bar Association, the Connecticut Bar Association, the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield, and the Northampton Association of Young Professionals.
Gove also has served on many area nonprofit boards, presently serving as a corporator of The Horace Smith Fund, which grants scholarships for Hampden County residents pursuing a college or graduate education. He also volunteers for Cooley Dickinson Hospital and serves on the board for Best Buddies of Western Massachusetts.
In 2012 and 2013, Gove was selected as a Massachusetts Rising Star by Super Lawyers, a designation earned by no more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in Massachusetts.
Gove’s parents, Susan and Robert Gove, still live in Ludlow.
Bell lives in Ludlow and is a 1983 graduate of Western New England College School of Law. He concentrates in residential and commercial real estate, consumer bankruptcy, probate administration and personal injury law.
For more information, visit www.govelawoffice.com or contact Gove or Bell at 413-583-5196.
featured image courtesy of Michael Coghlan via Flickr under Creative Commons.