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Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney is pleased and privileged to be named in the Bar Register, the definitive guide to the most distinguished law firms in America.

The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers is an invaluable reference for lawyers and sophisticated purchasers of legal services looking for the leading practitioners in any given location or practice area.

Only those select law practices that have earned the highest rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory are included.

For over 100 years, the Bar Register has been a unique reference to the legal community’s most eminent practitioners. The Bar Register’s listings are updated and verified each year.

Partners, former partners, lawyers, and staff at Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney recently gathered for a fun-filled social at a popular rooftop restaurant in downtown Providence. A wonderful time was had by one and all.

Gerald C. DeMaria has just received the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting confidential assessments from not only his peers in private practice but also from members of the judiciary familiar with his work.

This coveted 2022 AV-Rating from Martindale-Hubbell’s Judicial Edition represents the pinnacle of professional excellence as measured through a strenuous evaluative process managed and monitored by the world’s leading legal resource, Martindale-Hubbell.

As one of the legal industry’s oldest and most prestigious legal ranking organizations, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings sets the gold standard in attorney ratings.

In addition to this special honor, Mr. DeMaria has been recognized by other prominent associations and publications over multiple years, including The Best Lawyers in America for his expertise in personal injury defense and product liability defense.

He recently received that publication’s “Lawyer of the Year” designation for his outstanding professional accomplishments in product liability defense. In the latest edition of this seminal reference, he also achieved a similar honor in the field of premises liability. Only a single “Lawyer of the Year” designation is awarded in any given location and in any particular practice area.

Mr. DeMaria, a former partner with Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney, maintains an active practice at the firm as Of Counsel.

“Benchmark Litigation is a well-regarded legal directory whose rankings are important to decisionmakers in multiple industries,” said Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney Managing Partner James A. Ruggieri.

“We are delighted to be included among the best law firms in the state. Dispute resolution is a specialty that is critically important to our clients and transcends so many other practice areas as well,” he added.

The recent edition of Benchmark Litigation serves as one of the most definitive guides to America’s leading litigation law firms by focusing exclusively on litigation in the United States.

Since its inception more than a decade ago, Benchmark Litigation has grown dramatically and has garnered industry-wide attention as the definitive resource for in-depth analysis of the dynamic practice of litigation.

For the Rhode Island rankings, Benchmark Litigation concentrated primarily on the area of dispute resolution. Research was conducted through extensive interviews with litigators and their clients to identify leading law firms.

Recent casework handled by law firms was examined; peers within their jurisdiction or practice area were also questioned.

In his spare time, HCC administrator and financial officer Gerald M. Miele serves as an official for U.S. Figure Skating.

He recently returned from officiating the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which were held Jan. 3-9 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were the final competition before the nomination of the 2022 U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team.

The event was widely covered on NBC and viewed in 250 countries and territories that carry the Olympic Channel, making the program the most widely distributed U.S. Figure Skating Championships since the competition began in 1914.

Gerald has a rich family history in the sport of ice skating. His mother, the late LeeAnn Miele, pioneered synchronized skating and served for many years as an official at national and international figure skating events.