Verrill Welcomes Associates Rachel A. Deering, Anna Mikhaylina, Derek Rocha, and Lea Silverman

(March 17, 2022) – Verrill is pleased to welcome four new associates to the firm’s Boston and Portland offices – Rachel A. Deering, Anna Mikhaylina, Derek Rocha, and Lea Silverman.

Rachel A. Deering, nee Morandi joins the Family Law Group in the firm’s Boston office. Deering has practiced family law since 2014 and has worked in family law for over a decade. Admitted to practice law in both Massachusetts and New York, Deering focuses her practice on divorce, child custody, removal, paternity, alimony, modification proceedings, and contempt proceedings. Deering also works with clients to negotiate and structure prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. An experienced litigator, Rachel has appeared, argued, and tried cases throughout Massachusetts, including high conflict custody and parenting disputes, removal disputes, contested Guardian Ad Litem investigations, and complex asset division involving the valuation of financial assets and closely held businesses. Deering also has extensive experience assisting clients with Guardian Ad Litem investigations and working with Parenting Coordinators. In addition to her court room advocacy skills, Deering uses her skill and creativity to resolve matters for her clients and design and negotiate the agreements implementing those resolutions. Deering earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her law degree from the Suffolk University of Law.

Anna Mikhaylina joins the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group in the firm’s Portland office. She performs legal research and analysis, assists in the review and preparation of plan documents, and supports employers in a variety of employee benefits matters. Prior to joining Verrill, Mikhaylina was an associate at a nationally recognized veterans’ benefits law firm, where she advocated for clients at their Board of Appeals hearings and regularly filed motions for reconsideration as well as motions for clear and unmistakable error (“CUE”). During law school, Anna served as a research assistant to taxation professor, Jeffrey A. Maine; was an extern at the Maine Business and Consumer Court; and was an intern at Maine Revenue Services and regional accounting firms. Anna was awarded the Stanley R. Arnold Scholarship by the New England State and Local Tax Forum for her strength and involvement in the tax field. Mikhaylina earned her bachelor’s degree from the American University in Bulgaria and her law degree, cum laude, from the University of Maine School of Law.

Derek Rocha joins the Litigation & Trial Group in the firm’s Boston office, where he focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts across multiple jurisdictions. Rocha represents businesses and individuals in a wide array of subject areas with a particular focus in health care litigation and financial services and banking law. His experience also includes construction disputes, commercial contract disputes, class actions, consumer protection, and business torts. Prior to joining Verrill, Rocha was an associate at a Rhode Island-based law firm, where he represented health care providers on matters such as patient privacy, standard of care disputes, fraud and abuse laws and investigations, Medicare and Medicaid, professional liability, and state laws pertaining to the provision of telehealth services. He also represented national banks and financial services companies in disputes arising out of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Uniform Commercial Code, and state and federal consumer protection laws and regulations. Rocha earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his law degree, cum laude, from Boston College Law School.

Lea Silverman joins the Business Law Group in the firm’s Boston office. Silverman’s practice focuses on a broad range of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, entity formation, investments, and general business counseling. She has experience navigating/working with clients on contracts, transactions, and financing in a highly regulated and emerging industry sector. Prior to joining Verrill, Silverman worked in the corporate department of a national law firm servicing clients in the cannabis industry. While in law school, she was a student attorney at the Community Enterprise Clinic, which serviced the transactional and business needs of non-profits and entrepreneurs. Silverman earned her bachelor’s degree from Elon University and her law degree from Boston College Law School.