Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
You're IT Hastings, Cohan & Walsh!
Four questions with Attorney Richard Hastings, founder of Hastings, Cohan & Walsh.
Why did you start your business?
One of the things that give me the greatest amount of joy is helping people who are experiencing difficult situations that they cannot navigate on their own. I am also the oldest of five boys so I have a great deal of experience in arguing and fighting. It would seem that my natural career path would involve fighting for the rights of people who have been injured and who are not being treated fairly by the insurance company.
My family moved to Ridgefield when I was in the second grade and I am a graduate of Ridgefield High School. After I graduated from Fordham Law School, I knew that I would be returning to my hometown. I worked for a local attorney for five years and then open my own firm in 1988 with my third-grade classmate Mark Allan. Mark went on to become a minister and I now practice law with George Cohan and Patrick Walsh whom I have known for a combined total of almost 100 years.
I have lived and/or worked in Ridgefield for over 60 years. I raised my family here and my three children also graduated from Ridgefield High School. I could think of no better place to be practicing law. The people of Ridgefield are extraordinary.
What is your best-selling product/service?
I practice exclusively in the area of personal injury law. George Cohan has a very busy real estate practice and Patrick Walsh practices in the area of personal injury law, litigation, real estate, criminal, and probate law. If our clients have a legal matter that we do not handle we are always happy to make a referral to a lawyer who can assist them with their specialized legal needs.
How many local businesses do you use to support your business (products and services) and can you name them?
We look to support our local business community as much as we can as our fellow merchants and business owners are the lifeblood of our community. A partial list of the wonderful businesses that we patronize are as follows: Fairfield County Bank; Webster Bank; Nature's Temptations; Tazza; Steve’s Bagels; Squashes; Ridgefield Hardware; Ridgefield Supply; Books on the Common; Colonial Cleaners; Cake Box; Olly Court; Hutton’s; Toy Chest; the Winter Garden; Marty Motors; Georgetown Auto Body; Limestone Service Station; Ridgefield Running Company; Ridgefield Playhouse; The Prospector; Montanari Fuel; Casey Fuel; Ancona’s Liquors; Health X; Reynolds and Rowella; Rodier Flowers; and all of the local restaurants. We feel it is very important to shop locally because these individuals are our neighbors, friends and help to support the arts, local sports teams, and other not-for-profits.
Fortunately, when the pandemic hit our industry was listed as an essential provider so we have literally been opened during the entire pandemic. Naturally, we have made some changes in how we go about servicing our clients so as to protect both our team members and the people that we are dealing with on a day-to-day basis.
Like most businesses, we have been utilizing remote platforms to communicate with our clients, to have meetings, to conduct mediations, have court hearings, and have reinvented ourselves to have a bigger presence online which helps to educate people about what we do and encourages them to contact us about their legal needs.
We were quite blessed to have one of our best years ever during the height of the pandemic because of our ability to recognize the needs of our clients, to work more efficiently and effectively, and to develop and manage our files in a way that allowed us to service more clients and resolve more cases.
Hastings, Cohan & Walsh is located at 440 Main Street, Suite 2 in Ridgefield. Visit Hastings, Cohan & Walsh online here, and make sure to check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages as well!
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!