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Biography

Eileen M. Lavigne is a Senior Counsel in the Westport office and serves as Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Westport. She has deep experience in business and not-for-profit law, and advises clients in municipal and general corporate law matters

Prior to joining Berchem Moses P.C., Attorney Lavigne served as Of Counsel for Cohen and Wolf, P.C. where she advised individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofits regarding contracts, general corporate, and not-for-profit law. Attorney Lavigne began her legal career as an attorney at Arnold and Porter in Washington, D.C. and later served for almost 10 years as General Counsel of a major wine and spirits wholesaler and distributor in New York City. 

Ms. Lavigne graduated With Distinction from the University of Nevada with a degree in business administration concentrating in public accounting, and summa cum laude from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where she graduated first in her class and Valedictorian in 1988. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the Pepperdine Law Review from 1987 to 1988. 

Attorney Lavigne is deeply committed to the Fairfield County community. From 2013 to 2017, she was the elected Moderator of the 36-member Westport Representative Town Meeting, and she served on that body as an elected representative for nearly 12 years.  She has been an active Rotarian since 2009, serving as board member of the Westport Rotary Club and previously as past president and board member of the Westport Sunrise Rotary and board member of the Sunrise Rotary 21st Century Foundation.  In the past, Ms. Lavigne has served as a member of the Employment Steering Committee of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, and has served on the boards of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Friends of Westport Parks and Recreation, Green Village Initiative, and the American Society of Botanical Artists, among many other board and pro bono roles. Attorney Lavigne has also volunteered as pro bono counsel with the Pro Bono Partnership.

Practice Areas

  • Municipal Law
  • General Corporate
  • Nonprofit Organizations

Education

  • Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California
    • J.D. – 1988
    • Honors: summa cum laude
    • Honors: Valedictorian
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada
    • B.S.B.A. – 1985
    • Honors: With Distinction
    • Major: Public Accounting

Volunteer Activities

  • Westport Rotary Club (Board Member)
  • Previously: Westport Sunrise Rotary (Past President, Past Board Member)
  • Social Venture Partners (Partner)
  • Westport-Weston Chapter of Connecticut Bar Association (Past Chair)
  • Justice of the Peace

Published Works

  • “Executive Leadership Program: A Powerful Model for Peer-to-Peer Nonprofit Executive Leadership Development,” a white paper published by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (2015)
  • “Fiduciary Duty Limitations on Voting and Investment Policies of Institutional Investors,” with Robert D. Rosenbaum, Institutional Investors: Passive Fiduciaries to Activist Owners, Practicing Law Institute Corporate Law and Practice Course Handbook Series, No. 704 (1990)
  • Selected Entries in “California Supreme Court Survey: A Review of Decisions,” Pepperdine Law Review, Volumes 14:1 and 14:2 (1986-1987)

Professional Associations

  • American Bar Association
  • Connecticut Bar Association
  • Connecticut Association of Municipal Attorneys

Bar Admissions

  • Connecticut, 2013
  • New York, 1993