Former Edwards Wildman partners launch boutique firm

RENEE A.R. EVANGELISTA, former co-managing partner of Edward Wildman's Providence office, has joined fellow former Edwards Wildman partners Kin Howland and Max Kohlenberg, as well as former Edwards Wildman counsel Melissa Burnett-Testa, to form a new boutique law firm in Providence. / COURTESY RENEE A.R. EVANGELISTA
RENEE A.R. EVANGELISTA, former co-managing partner of Edward Wildman's Providence office, has joined fellow former Edwards Wildman partners Kin Howland and Max Kohlenberg, as well as former Edwards Wildman counsel Melissa Burnett-Testa, to form a new boutique law firm in Providence. / COURTESY RENEE A.R. EVANGELISTA

PROVIDENCE – Four former attorneys of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP have left the firm to launch Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg LLP, a new local boutique law firm focused on estate planning and trust administration.

The new firm officially launched on March 3 at the company’s offices on the 16th floor of One Financial Plaza in Providence, following an amicable split with Edwards Wildman.

“We are grateful to these attorneys and wish our long-time colleagues well in their new endeavors,” said Heather Fontaine Merton, a spokeswoman for Edwards Wildman, in a statement. “We look forward to working with them and their clients who need other legal services.”

Altogether, 14 former Edwards Wildman employees – all of whom had worked in the firm’s trusts and estates group – left the company to join Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg. Two additional people have been hired on from other firms, bringing the new group’s total head count to 16.

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“Attending to the sophisticated and often unique needs of our growing clientele will be our exclusive practice focus,” said Kin Howland, senior partner of Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg and former partner of Edwards Wildman. “More importantly, this exciting venture allows us to build upon our longstanding collaborative and collegial approach to serving our clients.”

Joining Howland as partners in the new firm are Renee A.R. Evangelista, former co-managing partner of Edwards Wildman’s Providence office; Max Kohlenberg, former Edwards Wildman partner; and Melissa Burnett-Testa, former Edwards Wildman counsel.

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