What Practice Areas Does Bass, Doherty & Finks, P.C. Handle?

Updated

Bass, Doherty & Finks, P.C. is a boutique Boston law firm that focuses on four core areas: estate and transfer tax planning, probate and estate/trust administration, business succession planning, and charitable planning. If your question involves passing on personal or family wealth, settling an estate, transitioning a business, or structuring charitable giving, the firm's listed practice areas line up with that work. The firm describes itself as serving Boston, Brighton, Newton, and Brookline, Massachusetts, and says it has operated for over fifty years.

The Four Practice Areas

The firm's own practice listing names these areas:

Practice Area What it typically covers
Estate and Transfer Tax Planning Structuring how assets pass to heirs and how transfer taxes are addressed
Probate, Estate and Trust Administration Administering an estate or trust after death, including the probate process
Business Succession Planning Planning for the transfer or continuation of a business
Charitable Planning Incorporating charitable giving into an estate or tax plan

The firm frames these as its "core practice areas" and states that its commitment to them puts clients "in the strongest competitive position to implement effective strategies." That is the firm's own characterization, not an independent rating.

How to Tell If the Firm Fits Your Situation

Use the practice list as a first filter:

  • You are planning ahead for family wealth. Estate and transfer tax planning is the relevant area, and charitable planning may apply if giving is part of your goals.
  • Someone has died and an estate or trust must be administered. Probate, estate and trust administration is the matching area.
  • You own a business and need a plan for what happens to it. Business succession planning is the listed fit.
  • You want charitable giving built into your plan. Charitable planning is listed separately, which suggests it can be handled as its own engagement.

If your matter falls outside these four areas, the practice list gives no indication that the firm handles it.

What the Firm Says About How It Works

The site's central claim is service style: "We provide a level of personalized service that makes every client feel like our only client." It also describes the firm as built on client relationships "fostered by mutual respect, integrity and honesty," and says it has long-term relationships with clients and their families. These are self-descriptions useful for understanding the firm's positioning as a small, relationship-oriented practice, not verified measures of outcomes.

Practical Details for Reaching the Firm

  • Address: 1380 Soldiers Field Road, Boston, MA 02135
  • Phone: 617-787-5551
  • Fax: 617-787-4963
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Service area named on the site: Boston, Brighton, Newton, and Brookline, Massachusetts

The site also offers a mailing list sign-up and lists individual attorneys under "Our Team," which is useful if you want to identify who works in a given practice area before calling. The site does not publish fees, so cost and engagement terms would need to be asked directly.

A Reasonable Next Step

Match your matter to one of the four listed areas, then call or email with a short description of the situation and ask whether the firm handles it and who would be the point of contact. For estate or trust administration, having basic facts ready — whether there is a will or trust, and where the person lived — will make that first conversation more useful.