Dan McKellick is a Bacon Wilson attorney who regards business as a community cornerstone. “[Law] is a second career for me. I spent over a decade in wholesale distribution,” this Montgomery resident said, explaining that his early career focused on business-to-business sales and, eventually, management. For McKellick, that foundation honed two extremely valuable skills: working with people and getting deals done. Describing himself as a “transactional attorney,” McKellick specializes in helping business and residential clients work through a transaction’s prickly points so all parties can find their way to Yes.
“We’re all a lot closer to each other than we think we are in getting things resolved,” McKellick said. “We can get people to come together as long as we have a common goal. We start from that, and then we tailor the result to where you may not get everything you want, but we can look at the positives and see how to resolve those few points of friction.”
In sealing business and real estate deals, McKellick tries to be a calming influence, leading his clients toward thoughtful, well-informed decisions. “I don’t need to be on Law and Order or anything like that,” he laughed. “I’m helping people obtain assets, and then helping them protect those assets that they accrue. These are the deals that make the economy go.”
Outside Bacon Wilson’s new offices at 99 Westfield Street, McKellick participates wholeheartedly in his community. He’s an annual guest lecturer at Western New England University Law School. He’s on the Board of Directors for the Hampden County Bar Association and Northampton’s Cutchins Program for Children and Families. He serves on Montgomery’s Zoning Board of Appeals. He’s been active with business networking groups, and he’s first vice president on the board for the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce.
Some of these leadership roles augment McKellick’s commitment to community; all of them fuel his respect for our local economy. Whether a charity or a for-profit startup, “It takes a lot to start a business. It’s brave. It’s bold. Everybody else says no and these business owners say, ‘Yes I can.’ These entrepreneurs who are risking everything, they make our economy. Anything I can do to help them grow that business, and to grow the community through that business, is fantastic,” McKellick said.
Pointing out the multiple new businesses – despite COVID - on Westfield Street, McKellick said, “When the peaks and valleys of our national economy start bumping, if we have a strong local economy we can help [preserve] value.”
“A healthy local economy,” he said, “is good for all of us.”
“It takes a lot to start a business. It’s brave. It’s bold. Everybody else says no and these business
owners say, ‘Yes I can.’”- Atty. Dan McKellick, Bacon Wilson P.C
