Steier & McCormick, LLC

Focus and practice areas

Real estate runs through most of what the firm does. The website lists residential and commercial real estate transactions, commercial leasing, title services, short sales, foreclosure defense and mortgage modification. Alongside that property work, the firm handles Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, business law, estate planning and probate.

That mix points to a general firm with a property spine. A homebuyer and a small business owner would each find their matter covered here. The range stays close to the everyday legal needs of individuals and small companies in central Connecticut.

Grouping property, debt, business and estate work in one office has a practical logic. A person who buys a first home may later write a will, open a company, or need help when money runs short. As a reviewer, I read the practice list as one built around a client's ongoing financial life, where property, business and estate needs surface over many years.

Who runs the firm

One attorney runs the firm: Christopher H. McCormick, the managing member. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar on December 12, 1985, and to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in February 1986. He earned his J.D. at the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1985 and a B.A. at Duke University in 1982, cum laude.

The federal court admission lets a lawyer appear in the District of Connecticut, the venue for consumer bankruptcy cases in the state. His Connecticut bar admission dates to 1985, which puts his licence close to four decades. The site also describes more than forty years of real estate practice and lists him as a title insurance agent.

The firm name carries two surnames. The site states that Mark S. Steier is no longer of counsel, so day to day legal work now runs through McCormick.

Real estate and title work

A title insurance agent can issue policies that protect a buyer or lender against defects in a property's chain of ownership. McCormick holds that role, which keeps title review in the same office that handles the purchase or sale. The firm handles both residential and commercial closings, along with commercial leasing for landlords and tenants.

A residential closing turns on a clean title, a lender's requirements and a set of signed documents that transfer the property. A title search checks past deeds, mortgages, liens and easements before the sale closes. When the agent issues a policy, the buyer and the lender gain cover against claims that surface later. Handling the search, the closing and the title policy together can keep one file moving under a single lawyer.

On the commercial side, the firm lists leasing for landlords and tenants along with commercial real estate transactions. A commercial lease sets rent, term, build-out and who pays for repairs and taxes, and the terms often run for years. Reviewing that lease before signing can head off disputes once a tenant moves in.

Homeowners under financial pressure

Short sales, foreclosure defense and mortgage modification all deal with homeowners who have fallen behind or expect to. A short sale asks the lender to accept less than the mortgage balance when a home sells. Foreclosure defense answers the lender's court action and can test whether the paperwork and notice meet Connecticut law. A modification reworks the terms of an existing loan and can lower the payment or extend the schedule. The firm names all three among its property services.

Bankruptcy and debt relief

Consumer bankruptcy comes in two common forms for individuals. Chapter 7 clears many unsecured debts through a court-supervised liquidation, and a means test screens who qualifies by income. Chapter 13 sets up a repayment plan that runs three to five years, which can let a filer keep a home or car while catching up on arrears.

Filing either chapter triggers an automatic stay, a court order that pauses collection calls, lawsuits and foreclosure while the case proceeds. The firm handles both chapters. Its pages carry the federal debt relief agency statement, a disclosure that Congress requires of lawyers who help people file under the Bankruptcy Code.

Property and debt work often overlap in one household. A homeowner facing foreclosure and a filer weighing bankruptcy can be the same client, and the firm's real estate work and bankruptcy work share one office. That overlap lets one lawyer weigh a modification, a short sale or a Chapter 13 plan against each other.

Business and estate services

Business clients get help at the formation stage and beyond. The site lists business formation, buying a business, buy/sell agreements, noncompete and severance agreements, and partnership agreements. Those documents set ownership shares, plan for succession, and fix the terms under which people join or leave a company.

Business formation sets up the legal shell, whether a limited liability company or another structure, and files it with the state. A buy/sell agreement decides what happens to an owner's stake on death, exit or dispute. Noncompete and severance terms shape how employees leave and what they can do next. Buying an existing business adds due diligence on the seller's books, contracts and liabilities before the deal closes.

Wills, trusts and probate

Estate work covers wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance directives. A will directs who receives property and names an executor, while a trust can hold assets and pass them outside probate. A power of attorney lets someone act on another person's financial affairs, and an advance directive records medical wishes. Probate and estate administration follow after a death, when a court oversees the transfer of assets and the payment of debts. Keeping the planning and the administration in one office means the lawyer who drafts a will can guide the same estate through probate later.

Reach and what the record shows

The office sits in West Hartford, with Hartford County as its main service area. Named towns include Hartford, Farmington, Newington, Wethersfield, Simsbury, Canton, Granby, East Granby, Bloomfield and Windsor. The firm also lists work across Tolland, Middlesex, Litchfield, New Haven, Windham and New London counties. Staff speak Polish, which the site notes for clients who prefer that language.

The county list points to work beyond the immediate Hartford area. Real estate closings, probate and bankruptcy each run through county and district courts and local land records, so naming six counties marks where the firm expects its files to land.

The record in brief

The public record on this firm is compact. Christopher H. McCormick carries a Connecticut bar admission from 1985 and describes more than forty years in real estate, with title insurance, bankruptcy, business and estate work attached. In my opinion, that shape fits a client who wants one Connecticut lawyer for a house closing, a small business matter or a will. The site does not state a firm founding year, and it names one attorney across all of its practice pages.