Attorneys
Stephen L. Bishop
Stephen L. Bishop (“Steve”) practices in the areas of real estate law, estate planning, estate and trust administration, commercial law and administrative law. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in 1972 and from Drake University Law School with a J.D. in 1977.
Mr. Bishop is a member of the Connecticut and Fairfield County Bar Associations.
Stephen L. Bishop
Donald B. Powers, Jr.
Donald B. Powers, Jr. practices general law with an emphasis on family litigation, probate litigation and landlord and tenant law. He also conducts real estate closings and handles administration of estates. He has been practicing law since 1979 and has been a partner of the firm since 1985.
Donald graduated from Tufts University, B.A., and Suffolk University Law School, J.D. He also graduated from Greenwich High School many decades ago.
He is a member of the Fairfield County Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association, including the Family Law Committee. He is admitted to Connecticut and Federal courts in Connecticut. Donald contributes his time in pro bono work for Connecticut Legal Services in family law and landlord tenant law.
Donald and his wife raised three children and now live in Northern Fairfield County where he pursues his interests in golf and skiing and hiking.
Donald B. Powers, Jr.
Robert M. Godzeno
Robert M. Godzeno (“Rob”) practices primarily in trusts & estates and real estate law, assisting clients (both individual and institutional) with matters involving estate planning, estate and trust administration, probate, charitable contributions, formation and operation of non-profit organizations and real estate transactions. Rob is admitted to the bar in Connecticut and New York, and he is a member of the American Bar Association and the ABA’s Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section; the Connecticut Bar Association, and the CBA’s Estates & Probate Section Executive Committee; and the Fairfield County Bar Association.
Prior to joining Mead, Bromley & Bishop, Rob was an Associate in the Estates & Personal Group of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York City, where he represented domestic and international families, trust companies and charitable organizations in complex planning, tax, administration and governance matters. He was also active with the firm’s pro bono efforts to prepare basic estate planning documents for low income clinic patients with terminal illness.
Rob graduated from Amherst College in 2006 (B.A., with distinction; Phi Beta Kappa) and Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2009 (J.D., summa cum laude). He was the Executive Managing Editor of the Quinnipiac Law Review during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Rob’s publications and speaking engagements include:
The Role of Ultrasound Imaging in Informed Consent Legislation After Gonzales v. Carhart, 27 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 285 (2009)
Unconstitutional, Unfair or Just Unimpressive? Connecticut’s Incongruous Income Tax Laws for Trusts, Connecticut Bar Association Estates & Probate Newsletter, December 2014
Crossing Borders: U.S. Estate Planning for International Families, joint presentation with AnnaMarie Boccuzzi of First County Bank at a meeting of the International Women’s Group, Stamford, CT, March 4, 2015
Rob lives in Stamford with his wife, Jen, and their two young children. Rob is the Past Moderator of the First Congregational Church of Stamford.
Robert M. Godzeno
Steven E. Ayres (Of Counsel)
Steven E. Ayres (“Steve”) practices primarily in the areas of estate and trust administration, estate planning and real estate law. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in 1967 from Dartmouth College with an A.B. and from Syracuse University with an M.A. in geography in 1969. For six years, he served as a line officer in the U.S. Navy, including combat duty in Vietnam. He then attended Cornell Law School, where he received his J.D. degree, cum laude, in 1978.
Mr. Ayres is a member of the American Bar Association, the Elder Law and Estates and Probate Sections, Connecticut Bar Association (Estates and Probate Section Executive Committee; former Chair, Public Education Subcommittee), a former Director of the Stamford/Norwalk Regional Bar Association (former Co-Chair, Probate & Estates Committee) and a frequent speaker to groups of lawyers and laypeople. He received the 1999 Public Service Award from the Connecticut Probate Assembly. Steve became of counsel with our firm in September 2015.
Mr. Ayres retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Captain. He and his wife live in Springdale; they have two adult daughters.
Steven E. Ayres (Of Counsel)
The History of Mead Bromley & Bishop
We are proud of our firm’s long history of serving clients
The firm of Bartram & Mead was founded in 1908 by Floyd B. Bartram and Benjamin H. Mead. They opened in an office in downtown Stamford on Main Street, just around the corner from the firm’s current location. Benjamin’s brother, Stanley P. Mead, joined the firm in 1913, and became a partner of the firm a few years later, along with Joseph L. Melvin. Benjamin and Stanley Mead were sons of Benjamin P. Mead, a prominent New Canaan businessman who served as Connecticut State Comptroller, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and a Connecticut State Senator.
About Us
The firm of Bartram & Mead was founded in 1908 by Floyd B. Bartram and Benjamin H. Mead. They opened in an office in downtown Stamford on Main Street, just around the corner from the firm’s current location. Benjamin’s brother, Stanley P. Mead, joined the firm in 1913, and became a partner of the firm a few years later, along with Joseph L. Melvin. Benjamin and Stanley Mead were sons of Benjamin P. Mead, a prominent New Canaan businessman who served as Connecticut State Comptroller, member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and a Connecticut State Senator.
The firm moved to its current location in 1915, to accommodate the growing partnership. Around that time, Floyd Bartram left the firm to become Judge of Probate in Stamford, and the firm changed its name to Mead, Mead & Melvin. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, there were as many as six partners of the firm, placing it among the largest firms in Stamford, and perhaps Connecticut, at the time.
In later years, Stanley Mead represented New Canaan in the state legislature and helped pass an act creating Connecticut’s Juvenile Courts. He was eventually appointed as the Juvenile Court Judge for the district covering Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, and he left the firm to take on his new judicial responsibilities. At that time, Benjamin Mead was in declining health and the firm was held together by his law partner, William J. Murray, Jr. (“Bill”).
In 1948, Stanley’s son, Penfield C. Mead (“Pen”), joined the firm to work alongside his uncle, Benjamin Mead, and Bill Murray, and the firm became known as Mead, Mead and Murray. Pen had been drafted into the Army in 1941, before his senior year of college. During World War II, he served with the 439th AAA Battalion in North Africa, Italy, Southern France and the Rhineland. After the war, Pen finished college, completed law school and joined the firm. He also was in the Connecticut National Guard, serving with Field Artillery Battalion and reaching the rank of Major before his retirement. In addition to having a successful law practice at the firm and military career, Pen also served as the Judge of Probate in New Canaan for 13 years.
Pen Mead was the sole partner of the firm after the death of his uncle, Benjamin, in 1971. Shortly thereafter, Pen welcomed a new law partner, J. Robert Bromley (“Bob”), and the firm became known as Mead and Bromley. Bob continued the firm’s tradition of community leadership and engagement, serving as Corporation Counsel of Stamford for several years and heading the Stamford Historical Society.
Stephen L. Bishop, a grandson of Benjamin H. Mead, joined the firm in 1978. At that time, the firm took on its current name, Mead, Bromley & Bishop. In 1987, shortly after the retirement of Pen Mead, the firm welcomed two new partners who had been practicing in Stamford for several years and were well-known to the firm: Donald B. Powers, Jr. and Steven E. Ayres.
Aside from the gradual retirement of Bob Bromley during the 2000’s, there were no additions or departures of lawyers at the firm for almost three decades, from 1987 through 2014. In 2014, Robert M. Godzeno joined the firm as a partner, after having worked as a paralegal at the firm for several years before graduating law school.
Our partners and staff look forward to continuing the impressive history and legacy of the firm and serving our clients for years to come.
