Donovan & O'Connor Adding Dodig to its Name

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire County's oldest and largest law firm, Donovan & O'Connor is changing its name to Donovan O'Connor & Dodig as of July 15.

The addition of Chris S. Dodig's name marks the first name change for the well-known law firm since 1954, when J. Norman O'Connor Sr. joined Walter Donovan in the general practice of law. Donovan, an Adams native, had been practicing law in Berkshire County since 1913.

Dodig joined the firm in 1990, at age 24, after receiving his juris doctorate from Albany Law School. Dodig focuses his practice on litigation, including serious injury cases, and broke new ground for the firm by securing numerous million and multi-million dollar settlements, judgments and verdicts. His most notable cases include a $5.9 million settlement in a Vermont double fatality case, an $8 million settlement in a Massachusetts medical malpractice case, a $9.5 million judgment in a domestic battery case and $7.9 million jury verdict on behalf of a Bennington family in a medical malpractice matter. He also represented the family of Richard O'Bert in the civil rights claims surrounding his shooting death by Vermont State police in April 2000.

In addition to practicing law, Dodig is active throughout the Berkshire County community. He has been a Big Brother and has served on the board of directors of the Family Life Support Center (Louison House), tThe Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the North County Development Corporation and the Northern Berkshire United Way and he has been elected to  Mt. Greylock Regional School Committee. He has served as a coach in the Williamstown/Lanesborough Youth basketball and softball leagues and participates regularly in the Community Reading Day at Lanesborough Elementary School. He also has served as president of the Berkshire County Bar Association and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.

Dodig has also been active in the management at Donovan & O'Connor, serving as the firm's first managing partner and the firm's director of marketing for the past 20 years.

MCLA Announces Four Finalists for Next President

03:46PM / Thursday, April 02, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts announced four finalists for the position of president, following a national search. 

 

The finalists were selected by the MCLA Presidential Search Committee and will participate in on-campus visits scheduled for the weeks of April 6 and April 13.

 

The successful candidate will replace President James Birge, who is retiring at the end of the term. 

 

The four finalists are David Jenemann, Michael J. Middleton, Sherri Givens Mylott, and Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson.

 

David Jenemann

David Jenemann is dean of the Patrick Leahy Honors College and professor of English and film and television studies at the University of Vermont, where he oversees recruitment, retention, curricular innovation, and advancement for an interdisciplinary college serving undergraduates from across the university, including UVM's campuswide Office of Fellowships, Opportunities, and Undergraduate Research. 

 

An internationally recognized scholar, he has published three books and numerous articles, with research spanning intellectual and cultural history, mass media, and the intersection of sports and society.

He holds a doctor of philosophy from the University of Minnesota and completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education.