Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC

About Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC

Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC is a Vermont-headquartered law firm whose Burlington office is located at 199 Main Street. The practice is broad rather than specialized: attorneys work across business law, labor and employment, intellectual property, litigation, energy and environmental law, tax, trusts and estates, and white collar defense, positioning the firm as a single source for companies and individuals with interconnected legal needs.

The business side covers commercial lending, commercial litigation, corporate and LLC formation, mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, captive insurance, and commercial real estate. The intellectual property group handles patent preparation and prosecution, patent litigation, post-grant proceedings and AIA trials, trademark registration, trademark litigation and false advertising issues, copyright, domain names, software and SaaS licensing, and trade secrets. Employment work spans counseling and advice, litigation, labor relations, and management training, while the litigation group addresses appeals, construction contract disputes, environmental and toxic tort matters, health care and insurance litigation, personal injury and property damage defense, plaintiff personal injury, professional liability, and traumatic brain injury law. Trusts and estates, tax work including new markets tax credits, telecommunications, and white collar defense round out the offering.

The firm also organizes industry groups for captive insurance, commercial finance, commercial real estate, complex land use and development, food and beverage, health care, and renewable energy, which suits clients who want counsel already familiar with their sector. It maintains five locations - Brattleboro, Burlington, Lebanon, Montpelier, and St. Johnsbury - spanning Vermont and New Hampshire, and describes itself as having New England roots with global solutions. On the workplace side, the firm was recognized as a 2026 Best Place to Work by VTBiz, and it publishes client resources, attorney-authored articles, a data privacy blog, and a traumatic brain injury blog.

Across four ratings, the firm holds an overall score of 3.80, with three reviews at four or five stars and one at one star. The single written comment raises a billing-transparency concern and advises confirming costs contractually before engaging services. Prospective clients weighing a large, multi-practice firm against a smaller boutique should note that published review detail here is thin, so most of what can be assessed comes from the firm’s own practice descriptions rather than client narrative.