|
Christopher O. Bicknell, J.D., Of Counsel
Chris brings a law degree and experience in Estate Planning from New York City to Laconia. While he trained professionally elsewhere, Chris' formative years were spent in Sanbornton, New Hampshire. Not too long after being born in the Yale University Hospital, his parents moved from New Haven, Connecticut to the Sant Bani Ashram in Sanbornton. Soon after Chris made his first trip abroad: To India.
Before Chris had a chance to travel again, the Sant Bani School started up in his living room. He attended from age three to seventeen, and since Chris wasn't scheduled to start Middlebury College until the following February, he flew to Guatemala and spent six weeks there seeing Mayan ruins by midnight, enjoying fútbol with the locals, and playing tag football with the US Marines who guarded our Embassy.
After this adventure, Chris settled into life at Middlebury as a Literary Studies Major (comparative literature). He spent a semester in Madrid, Spain, taking a break to visit his younger brother, Nick, in Stockholm, Sweden (where his mother's Minneapolis family has their roots) because Nick had decided that his Junior year of high school should be spent playing hockey there.
Chris returned to Sant Bani School after college and taught a variety of things including second grade Phys. Ed. and eleventh grade English. In addition, Chris took over the Development Office and concentrated his efforts on creating a structure with longevity. This led to considering the question: Where to go from there?
The answer turned out to be law school, by way of some database project management and newsletter editing. The law school of choice (theirs as well as his) was Fordham University School of Law in New York City (right next to Lincoln Center). There Chris took the advice of a dynamic professor and sampled from a variety of disciplines, favoring the practical area of Trusts & Estates (with Tax) and the intellectual area of Constitutional Law.
Upon graduation, Chris bought a very fast motorcycle and in between riding sessions he studied for the New York Bar Exam, which he passed. He then began work as a commercial litigator, but ultimately decided that specializing in this area was not for him. So he left that firm and spent some time contemplating the future, beginning several novels, and enjoying New York City.
Later, Chris began work as a Trust Officer at Morgan Stanley Trust, administrating Personal Trust accounts for clients throughout the country. After more than a year there, Chris was invited to join a small law firm started by an old college friend and fellow Fordham graduate. This opportunity presented a great challenge and Chris loves those. He attended a number of legal education workshops, including a ten day "boot camp" for Trust & Estate lawyers at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, with instructors from the top ranks of the practice.
However, the firm suffered a great setback on 9/11/2001 because it was scheduled to (a) move into new offices in the World Trade Center in October, 2001, and (b) merge with another firm. When the 9/11 tragedy occurred, the merger was canceled, one of the members left, and the firm was left in its old very small offices. These events also inspired Chris to begin considering a move back to his home territory: New Hampshire. This did not happen immediately, but after spending some time as a consultant to Merrill Lynch Trust, this option became more and more attractive (the fact that Chris' parents have a beautiful summer house on Newfound Lake might explain the use of the term "attractive"). In addition to these factors, a long-time relationship had come to an end and it was time to move on.
When the opportunity (and new challenge) arose to join Dana S. Beane & Company, Chris was thrilled. With an eye for books (a family disease: His mother reads voraciously; his father collects feverishly; and his brother is enrolled in Library Science school) he greatly appreciated the extensive library on-site. In addition, after meeting with everyone in the office, it was clear that they offer a kind of human depository, each person a tome of experience and knowledge.
Chris is also happy to be using these resources to help local individuals, their families, and their businesses, many of whom he knew before, and many others he enjoys meeting. Furthermore, when a lunch break might consist of playing hockey with some Lakes Region Laker pals or the Sant Bani School skating club, things just couldn't be better.
[ Return To Staff Directory | Return to Qualifications Index ]
All Original Content ©
1999-2010. Dana S. Beane & Company, P.C. All Rights Reserved.
If you have any questions with
regards to the use of these documents, please read our Disclaimer .
If quoting Dana S. Beane &
Company, P.C.'s editorial content in any printed or promotional materials,
Dana S. Beane & Company, P.C. requires that you submit the quoted material
to them, and that you sign an agreement with Dana S. Beane & Company,
P.C. stating that you will use it in context, attribute the quote accurately,
and identify Dana S. Beane & Company, P.C. as the source.