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Benjamin W. Putnam, Esq.

Benj began his legal career in Middlebury in 2005 and has built an extensive practice representing businesses, individuals, municipalities, and nonprofits in Vermont’s Champlain Valley. After practicing for more than a decade as a shareholder with Neuse, Duprey & Putnam, P.C., Benj joined forces with Amy Menard in 2020 to form Putnam & Menard, PLC.

Benj enjoys the diversity of a rural law practice, which allows him to tackle a wide and ever-changing variety of legal challenges. His clients include successful businesses such as family farms, renewable energy developers, manufacturers, and timber companies, as well as individuals from all walks of life. Benj has successfully closed too many real estate and business transactions to count; he works hard to resolve disputes both in and out of court; and he provides thoughtful and practical advice in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, and land use and permitting issues.

After attending local Addison County schools, Benj attended college and law school in California and Texas, participated in an international moot arbitration competition in Vienna, Austria, and completed an internship at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Following these far-flung adventures, Benj came back to his senses and returned to Vermont, where he served as law clerk to the Hon. William K. Sessions, III, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. After his clerkship, Benj was excited to have the opportunity to devote his skills and energy to serving clients here in the greater Addison County community and throughout Vermont.

Benj lives with his family in New Haven, Vermont, where he serves on the Town Planning Commission, participates in other local boards and activities, and enjoys getting outdoors and enjoying all that Vermont has to offer.

Education

Juris Doctor with highest honors, The University of Texas School of Law, 2004
Articles Editor, Texas Law Review
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Pomona College, 1998
U.S. Presidential Scholar; National Merit Scholar

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Vermont Bar
United States District Court, District of Vermont

Amy R. Menard, Esq.

Amy has over 25 years of experience representing clients in the state and federal courts in Vermont and Alaska.  Her clients include individuals, business entities and their owners, municipal governments, educational institutions, trusts, estates, and professionals faced with liability claims.  She represents both claimants and defendants in all aspects and phases of litigation.

On behalf of institutional and business clients (both public and private), Amy provides services as an independent investigator into whistleblower and other legal claims, frequently involving employment matters and issues relating to health, safety, and the environment. As a related component of her work in this area, Amy acts as a resource for clients needing advice and counsel relating to risk assessment, operational quality improvement, and best-practice strategic planning.

A substantial part of Amy’s Vermont practice is assisting clients with their trust and estate needs and elder law planning. Amy works with clients to create prenuptial agreements, to prepare their estate plans, to accomplish long-term care planning, to establish special needs trusts for individuals with disabilities, and petition for legal guardianships of minors and adults. She also represents Executors and Administrators of estates, along with Trustees. Amy also serves directly in those roles, and as an appointed legal guardian. Amy handles many matters which are subject to the probate court’s administration, oversight, or litigation.

When not focused on the law, Amy centers her life on certain key principles that she feels lend themselves to greater well-being: cut and buck your own firewood, spend equal or more time around animals than humans, remember that enlightenment is never achieved by looking at a blue screen and, remain in awe of the natural world.

Education

Juris Doctor, Northeastern University School of Law
Bachelor of Arts, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum Laude, University of Vermont

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Vermont Bar and Alaska Bar
United States Tax Court
United States District Court, District of Vermont
United States District Court, District of Alaska
United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit

Judson E. Hescock, Esq.

Judson grew up in Shoreham, Vermont, and is a 2014 graduate of the University of New Hampshire School of Law where he graduated Magna cum Laude. Following law school, Judson returned to Vermont and began the practice of law in 2015. In his practice at Putnam & Menard, Judson strives to provide personal attention to each of his clients and will gladly make house calls and the occasional barn call to accommodate the needs of his clients.

Judson’s work at Putnam & Menard includes guiding numerous buyers and sellers through the complexities of Vermont real estate transactions, acting as settlement agent for lenders, and providing counsel on land use/zoning matters. He also advises clients on estate planning strategies including the drafting of Wills and Trust documents, end of life planning, and Medicaid long-term care planning. Additionally, Judson provides guidance to estates regarding the Probate process and represents individuals involved in probate guardianship cases. Judson’s practice also encompasses business formation.

Judson is active in the Addison County community, including volunteer work as a hockey coach, as an active member of the Middlebury Rotary Club, and serves on the board of directors for the Addison County Chamber of Commerce. Judson previously served as President of the Middlebury Rotary Club and as board chair of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce. In his free time, Judson enjoys hiking, cross country running on back roads in Vermont, ice hockey, and spending time with his family. Judson lives with his wife Chelsea and son Walden in Middlebury.

Education

Juris Doctor, Magna cum Laude, University of New Hampshire School of Law
Bachelor of Arts, Honors, Crandall University

Bar Admissions/Memberships

Admitted: Vermont Bar
Member Vermont Bar Association