Member Profiles

Stephen Vlock is a principal of the firm. He earned his B.A. degree from Columbia University and his J.D. degree from Fordham Law School. Mr. Vlock practices in State and Federal Courts and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He also teaches continuing legal education for the New York State Bar Association in the area of Judgment Enforcement and Collection, as well as for Rossdale CLE and Lorman Education Services. Mr. Vlock has been appointed Special Counsel to the Bankruptcy Trustee in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for Judgment Enforcement and Collection. The Firm Vlock & Associates, P.C. practices in the areas of commercial and business-related litigation, appeals, arbitration, mediation, judgment enforcement and collection, mortgage foreclosures, creditor representation in bankruptcy cases and adversary proceedings, fraudulent conveyance, breach of contract, debtor-creditor issues, property damage, personal injury, insurance defense, estate litigation, and partner and shareholder controversies.

Kenneth A. Reich is an experienced lawyer with a nationwide reputation and practice on behalf of institutions, corporations, public entities and individuals.  He concentrates in environmental law—litigation, transactions and advice; energy law; health and safety; civil litigation; general corporate law; and commercial leasing.  Mr. Reich spent seven years in the U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Enforcement Section as a trial attorney, then Assistant Chief where he handled and supervised government litigation across the country under all of the major federal environmental statutes.   Following his service at the Department of Justice, Mr. Reich was in a number of international, national and regional law firms prior to forming his own firm in 2010. Mr. Reich is a trained, experienced mediator and formerly was a member of the Commercial Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association.  In 2019 he was appointed to the Dispute Resolution Section Council of the Massachusetts Bar Assn. and was reappointed for the 2020-2021 year. See Mediation/Arbitration tab for further information about his ADR practice. Mr. Reich speaks and writes frequently on hot topics in environmental and energy law.  A list of recent blogs and articles can be found under the Media tab. Mr. Reich taught environmental law, energy law and policy and alternative dispute resolution as an adjunct faculty at the Boston University School of Law for a number of years.  Mr. Reich is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Maryland (inactive) and Montana (inactive). He is also admitted in a number of federal appellate and district courts. He has held leadership positions in the bar and has been active in a broad range of professional associations and non-profit institutions. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D. cum laude) and Cornell University (B.A. in Government).  Mr. Reich is a member of IR Global and its Massachusetts Environmental/Energy Lawyer. See https://www.irglobal.com/ Of Counsel Stephen Reich is a New York based attorney, licensed to practice in both NY and MA, who concentrates in trademarks and copyrights, contract review and civil litigation.  See the Of Counsel tab for more information. Kenneth Reich Law, LLC's national network of lawyers and consultants provide the necessary support to handle a broad range of complex, resource-intensive matters on a case by case basis.  Kenneth Reich Strategic Consulting provides non-legal strategic consulting on environmental and energy regulation and policy. DETAILED LIST OF LEGAL SERVICES: Environmental Law Energy Law Civil and administrative litigation, including appeals in the federal and state courts Health and Safety General corporate law advice Advice regarding general federal, state and local regulatory matters Commercial leasing Copyrights and trademarks, including creation and litigation (Of Counsel, Stephen J. Reich) Wills and Estates (Of Counsel, Stephen J. Reich) Expert witness Mediator and Arbitrator Representative cases include: As DOJ attorney, lead counsel on major, complex cases around the country  under the principal federal environmental statutes. Successful settlement on eve of trial of client’s copyright infringement case against Fortune 100 company-with team of Of Counsel and local counsel. Defense of private federal court Superfund litigation for contamination of formerly leased property (pending), including argument in Eleventh Circuit on issue of “necessary” costs under CERCLA. Successful trial to Massachusetts State jury of client’s suit to recover past and future costs of cleanup of contaminated property from prior owner. Outside counsel to rural electric cooperative in obtaining all required state and federal permits and federal/state environmental impact statement for construction of a proposed energy plant, including administrative agency trial of the Air Permit and NEPA defense in federal court. Representation of clients and as common counsel in numerous federal Superfund cases brought by EPA and/or a State. Representation of clients sued by federal or state government for civil penalties, including under the Clean Air Act. Expert witness in divorce proceeding on issue of value of chemical plant that was major marital asset, in light of state cleanup action and Superfund potential responsible party liability notice. Case evaluation of a landowner’s lawsuit against the United States for cleanup costs at a former federal munitions site.  Environmental counsel in numerous buy/sell or lender transactions involving actually or potentially impaired property. Negotiation of numerous commercial leases on behalf of a major medical complex.

Sherrie Boutwell has focused for thirty years in the areas of employee benefits law and ERISA, with an emphasis on retirement and deferred compensation plans. She advises and counsels a broad range of clients, including employers, employees, plan fiduciaries, financial institutions, government agencies and trade associations, on a wide range of employee benefits matters. Sherrie has extensive experience and is a highly sought after speaker and writer on employee benefits topics. Sherrie has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and the United States District Court with respect to employee benefits issues. Sherrie has experience working with the unique deferred compensation issues that arise in the non-profit and governmental employer arena and also has many years of experience in the design and operation of non-qualified executive deferred compensation plans including the requirements under Section 409A of the Code. Sherrie takes pride in bringing a practical and down to earth approach to resolving complex benefits issues involving qualified plans, non-qualified plans and health and welfare plans.

Certified Specialist, Franchise and Distribution Law, The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization Over the course of a 33-year career, Tim Pickwell has represented some of the biggest names in the franchise and restaurant industry—and also advised some of the smallest. He gained his initial franchise experience negotiating international license agreements as corporate counsel for 6,000 unit franchisor Century 21® Real Estate (1988-1994). He then headed up the international franchise division of $2.2 billion revenue, publicly-traded Jack in the Box® Restaurants (1995-2000) where he supervised franchise marketing and operations. He also served as corporate counsel to the company’s purchasing, IT and marketing departments. From 2000-02 Mr. Pickwell was general counsel of a Silicon Valley-based pre-IPO telecommunications start-up, and also represented several other start-up and telecommunication companies. More recently, Mr. Pickwell served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary (2002-05) to the Coco’s® and Carrows® restaurant chains, where, among other things, he supervised real estate, risk management, human resources, franchise sales and franchise operations. Since 2005, Mr. Pickwell has had a private law practice representing national and international restaurant and franchise clients, with an emphasis on franchise registration, disclosure and relationship issues. Mr. Pickwell’s unique in-house background enables him to provide practical, business-oriented solutions to franchisors and franchisees. His expertise includes intellectual property licensing and trademark matters, international franchising, retail lease drafting and negotiations, franchise registration and compliance, litigation advice, and general corporate and business matters. Clientele include established franchisors, large restaurant companies, multi-unit franchisee organizations, as well as single-site retailers, and start-up franchisors. Mr. Pickwell is a member of the California Bar, and a Certified Specialist in Franchise and Distribution Law. He is admitted to the Federal District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California. He is a former member of the State Bar Franchise Law Standing Committee, a frequent speaker to franchise trade organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Legal Specialization Franchise and Distribution Law Advisory Commission (FDLAC)—which drafts the legal specialization exam. Mr. Pickwell is an Honors Graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and obtained his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

I am a franchise attorney who has been representing franchise companies for 40 years. I have sat on the Board of Directors of publicly traded companies, and wrote a book, “So You Want to Franchise Your Business”.