OUR FIRM
Company Profile
"Striving for excellence in service & strategy."
Jim founded Standard Title & Escrow with a mission to provide personal, zealous and effective representation to clients of all shapes and sizes. He combines experience in both finance and law to provide clients with insight from multiple vantage points in the largest transactions of their lives.
Standard Title & Escrow provides representation to buyers and sellers of real estate, as well as banks and mortgage companies. As we strive to provide the most wholesome representation available, we guide our clients through every step of the closing process, from negotiating the Purchase & Sale Agreement, to reviewing the final closing documents.
Jim Richards, esq.
Jim was given the task of managing the operations of a multi-state title company at 22 years of age, while attending Northeastern University School of Law full-time. This experience combined with a desire for entrepreneurship led Jim to form Standard Title & Escrow in April 2019. After closing 100 real estate transactions in the first 100 days in business, Jim looks forward to providing his clients with superior service for the years to come.
Email – jim@standardclosing.com
Derek Heltzel
Derek joined Standard Title & Escrow, PC as a partner with over eight years of real estate experience and is passionate about the industry and all that it has to offer. He represents buyers, sellers, and lenders in all aspects of real estate transactions, from first-time homebuyers to experienced real estate investors. He along with Dan Cahill, Jim Richards and Brendan started the firm in September 2020.
He earned his BS from Arizona State University and his JD from Boston College Law School.
While attending Boston College Law School, he worked as a title examiner at the Middlesex South County Registry of Deeds and spent a semester externing for the Honorable Alexander Sands III at the Massachusetts Land Court.
He is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Email – derek@standardclosing.com
Daniel F. Cahill
Dan, a longtime resident of Lynn, is a graduate of Northeastern University (BS), Suffolk University (MS), and Suffolk Law School (JD). Upon being admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, Dan worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett. Dan worked in Boston at a worldwide law firm with over 1,000 attorneys. Dan’s legal areas of practice include real estate, probate, landlord/tenant, and zoning, and land use. Dan is the current State Representative for the 10th Essex District and serves on several committees with jurisdiction over the financial, insurance, energy, and telecommunications industries as well as public pensions. Dan is also a former Lynn City Councilor At-Large and former Lynn School Committee Member. He is a member of the Greater Lynn Bar Association, Essex County Bar Association, and many local charities and community organizations. Super Lawyers recognized Dan as a Rising Star in its 2013 through 2016 publications.
Email – dcahill@standardclosing.com
Daniel Godefroi
Daniel Godefroi joined our team in August 2020 and concentrates his practice on the representation of buyers, sellers, and lending institutions for both residential and commercial real estate transactions. Daniel comes in with over seven years of real estate experience, and counsels clients on purchase and sale agreements, and eases clients through the entire closing process.
Email – dgodefroi@standardclosing.com
Jerry Parasella
Jerald (“Jerry”) Parisella has over 23 years of diverse legal experience, working in both private and government practice. Jerry currently focuses on real estate and estate planning. Jerry also served as assistant city solicitor in Salem and Beverly, handling a variety of matters, ranging from drafting ordinances to litigating cases in the district and superior courts.
Jerry is also a state representative, serving the City of Beverly since 2011. He is House Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. Jerry is also a 27-year veteran of the Army Reserve and serves as a judge advocate, or Army lawyer, and has done tours in Iraq and Bosnia. Jerry served as the legal advisor to a medical brigade in Iraq and took part in the draw down of United States troops in that country.
Email – jerry@standardclosing.com
Jacob Simon
Coming Soon.
Nancy Theodore
Attorney Nancy Theodore was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Brighton and received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from Boston College. Attorney Theodore received her legal education from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 2001.
Attorney Theodore has vast professional experience as a server in the restaurant industry. She brings enthusiasm, dedication and an exceptional work ethic. She is trained in customer service with knowledge of fine dining and the ultimate guest experience. Her high energy and outgoing personality brings positive experience to guest relations.
Attorney Theodore is a member of The Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, The Real Estate Bar Association, and The Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association.
Email – nancy@standardclosing.com
Brendan Ward
Brendan L. Ward is a Nahant resident, attended St. John’s Prep in Danvers and subsequently received his Bachelor of Science from the University of New Hampshire and his JD from New England School of Law. Brendan has received extensive training and coaching in Estate Planning that sets him apart from his peers through Wealth Counsel and the Family Wealth Planning Institute.
Brendan continues to focus on estate planning for families with young children, same-sex couples, together with elder care and intervention, trust, and estate administration. His skills provide a depth of knowledge in probate practice and asset protection. Brendan in addition to estate planning and trust & estate administration, works on real estate conveyancing helping both buyers and sellers in the sale of real estate.
Brendan spends a great deal of time volunteering in his local community. He is the past president of the Copley Society of Art Circle, past chairman of the town of Nahant Advisory & Finance Committee, the Secretary of local non-profit 01908, President of the Board of Directors of Family & Children Services of Greater Lynn, a member of the Board of Directors of the Lynn Boys and Girls Club, and Trustee of the Lynn Home for the Elderly.
Email – brendan@standardclosing.com
Lori Ballantine
Coming Soon.
Sabrina Mazzeo
Coming Soon.
Christen Tipert
Christen Tipert began her career in the legal field in Hartford, Connecticut, first in the Housing Court and then working full time for a private practice while a full-time student at the University of Hartford. Although working for a general practice firm, she soon found real estate law to be her favorite. She has accumulated over 25 years of experience as a real estate paralegal and joined Standard Title & Escrow as Paralegal Manager in March 2021. Christen has a passion for organization and efficiency and developing and implementing systems to better serve the needs and requirements of all parties to real estate transactions.
Christen lives in Danvers with her husband Wally, daughter Peyton, and two Samoyed dogs Blizzard and Alpine. When not in Danvers, she and her family can be found in Lake Placid, New York hiking, biking, and skiing the Adirondack Mountains or on the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
Email – christen@standardclosing.com