Cheryl Gabes Rice

Ms. Rice gradated from Providence College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics, Magna Cum Laude.  She received her Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra University School of Law.  While attending law school, Ms. Rice served as the Director of the Hofstra University School of Law Moot Court Board.  More recently, she completed the Mediation Certification Program at Quinnipiac University School of Law.

The Law Office of Cheryl Gabes Rice, LLC is a boutique law firm in West Hartford, Connecticut that is built on a lengthy and proven track record of experience, accomplishment and success.  Prior to starting her Firm, Cheryl Gabes Rice was affiliated with some of the larger, well-respected law firms in Connecticut, where she gained invaluable professional experience and expertise representing clients in a wide variety of large, sophisticated business and financial transactions and commercial litigation cases, as well as estate planning and probate matters.  Her creative, results-oriented approach to addressing complex legal issues, together with her sensible, yet aggressive-when-necessary style, has enabled her to achieve tremendous success for her clients.

What distinguishes our Firm from other law firms is the personal attention we provide to each client engagement.  Ms. Rice has spent her career building relationships with her clients.  She has always believed that by getting to know the people and businesses she represents, she is better able to advocate for and serve their interests.  Her warm, sincere and genuine concern for the needs and interests of her clients is distinctive, putting them at ease and enabling the development of a unique attorney-client rapport.  She is particularly adept at explaining difficult legal concepts in easy-to-understand terms, empowering her clients with the knowledge and tools needed to make prudent decisions.  A diligent and dedicated professional, Ms. Rice has become a trusted advisor to many, largely due to the relationships that she has developed, her uncompromising personal and professional integrity and the meaningful counsel she provides.  

Our Firm has earned an excellent reputation with its clients by effectively and efficiently solving complex legal matters with skill, imagination and expertise.  Limiting the focus of our practice to our areas of proficiency ensures that we are able to deliver the highest quality legal services in a cost-effective manner.   We specialize in helping individuals, families and smaller businesses enhance their situations today and secure their futures for tomorrow.  Each client engagement is viewed as the beginning of a long-term relationship rather than a single legal transaction.  By staying in contact with our clients through the years, our goal is to is to make sure that you, your family and/or your business is protected now and for many years to come.  

Ms. Rice has a diverse practice that focuses on four areas of law:  Business Law (including business and lender representation), Commercial Litigation, Estate Planning/Fiduciary Services and Probate/Estate Administration.

Business Law:  Ms. Rice advises business clients and their owners on formation issues and growth strategies, business financings (including secured, unsecured and equipment financings, as well as in obtaining grants), business succession planning, negotiating and drafting a variety of business contracts/agreements and in connection with the purchase and sale of businesses.  She frequently serves in a general counsel role for many of her small and family-owned business clients, counseling on various issues ranging from day-to-day business operations, strategic planning and litigation avoidance strategies to working through managerial and other internal struggles that tend to arise in closely-held business operations.

In addition, Ms. Rice represents lender clients (financial institutions, asset-based lenders and finance companies) in negotiating and documenting commercial and asset-based loans and working through troubled credit facilities, including drafting loan restructuring and workout agreements, as well as collateral liquidations.  She also represents lenders in contested foreclosure, replevin, complex loan-related, and other creditor's rights litigation matters, including defense of lender liability claims.

Commercial Litigation:  Ms. Rice represents individual and business clients in a variety of business-related litigation matters, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, business torts, fraud, real estate disputes and financial transaction-related claims.  She also represents lender clients in contested foreclosure, replevin, complex loan-related, and other creditor's rights litigation matters. 

Estate Planning and Fiduciary Services:  Ms. Rice counsels and advises clients on identifying the appropriate estate planning documents to achieve their personal and financial wishes and goals, including wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and health care directives (including living wills and appointments of healthcare representatives).  She also advises small and family-owned business owners on issues pertaining to business succession planning.

In addition, Ms. Rice is regularly appointed by the Connecticut Probate Courts to serve in a variety of fiduciary capacities, including appointments as the Administrator of Decedent's Estates and Conservator of Person and/or Estate for elderly persons and persons with disabilities.

Probate/Estate Administration:  Ms. Rice is frequently retained to represent Executors and Administrators to ensure that estates are properly probated and that estate assets are appropriately dispersed.  She is also retained to represent the interests of executors, administrators, heirs and beneficiaries in connection with a variety of estate-related issues.

Guided by experience and professionalism and driven by client satisfaction and success, the Law Office of Cheryl Gabes Rice, LLC delivers exceptional and highly-qualified, cost-effective legal representation with a warm and personal approach.