Edward B. French, Jr.

Attorney Ed French represents many individual, small business, and corporate clients in an advisory capacity, in transactions ranging from the simplest to the most complex, and in contested litigation in Vermont and Federal Courts. Throughout his years of practice, Ed’s clients have included real estate developers; the sellers and buyers of businesses and real estate; plaintiffs and defendants in civil actions; utilities; banks; businesses; health care organizations; estates; and individuals from around the world. He has represented clients in complex trials and administrative proceedings, establishment of businesses, and the drafting of contracts; and thousands of other diverse transactions. He has generally advised individual and corporate clients in connection with their business activities, disputes, and a wide array of other issues. Ed particularly enjoys the opportunity to act as general counsel for individuals, businesses, and organizations, as it gives him the ability to gain a complete understanding of the needs of his clients.

Ed firmly believes in being a dedicated attorney and vigorous advocate for a lifetime client, while at the same time promoting humanism in the practice of law. He understands how critical it is for an attorney to develop and maintain a strong relationship of trust and understanding with his clients to fully and effectively serve their needs. Many of the clients of Stackpole & French have sought advice and counsel from our firm for decades.

Ed has a longstanding personal and professional connection to the Lamoille Regional Community. His father was a physician who came to Vermont to practice medicine with the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, and then chose to remain in the community and raise his family of nine children here over a career that spanned fifty years. Ed grew up in Hyde Park with his parents, seven sisters, and one brother. He graduated from the University of Vermont magna cum laude in 1975, with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Classical Studies. He was inducted as a member of Phi Beta Kappa while in college. Ed then went on to receive his Juris Doctor degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1978 and is admitted to practice law in the State of Vermont, the Federal District Court of Vermont, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Ed has actively been involved in many professional and public service organizations, including the Vermont Bar Association; the Lamoille County Bar Association; as a Board Member of the Lamoille Valley Chamber of Commerce; as a Commissioner of the Stowe Electric Department; as a Trustee of the Village of Hyde Park, Vermont; as a Justice of the Peace and Board Member of the Board Civil Authority in Hyde Park, Vermont; as a Charter Member of the Lamoille Area Lions Club; as a Board Member and President of the Lamoille County Mental Health Agency; as a member of Stowe Rotary Club; as a Board Member of Johnson Friends of the Arts; as Hyde Park Town Agent and Grand Juror for the last 20 years.  Through our office, Ed and Katie Reen manage the successful John M. Bissell Foundation, which provides critical assistance to the film industry of the State of Vermont.

Ed has been a member of the New York City Metropolitan Club since 2002, and formerly served as Grand Seneschal of the Vermont Sous-Commanderie of the Confrerie des Tastevins.   He has extensive interest and involvement in cross-border projects and French-Canadian culture through his ownership of properties in Quebec.