Standard Title & Escrow was founded in 2019 by Attorney Jim Richards with a mission to provide personal, zealous, and effective representation to clients on residential and commercial real estate transactions. Jim’s strong finance and law background, along with his deliberate and effective networking with clients and vendor partners, has proven to be a very successful business model, creating substantial early success.

In 2019/2020, two key attorneys, Derek Heltzel and Daniel Godefroi, joined the firm as partners. Attorneys Heltzel and Godefroi brought with them significant experience and established referral sources upon joining the firm. With the hiring of several industry respected paralegals, including long time North Shore based Christen Tipert as the firm’s paralegal manager, the growth trajectory for Standard accelerated quickly. Standard was positioned in 2021 as a leading Boston area real estate conveyancing firm, and had begun to grow nationally with successful ongoing operations in both Florida and Arizona.

In the summer of 2021, Standard set its sights on further expansion by way of introduction to Attorney Jeff Stelman, of Stelman Law. Stelman, a leading industry respected Boston area real estate conveyancing attorney, was also in search of a growth opportunity, to efficiently build upon his firm’s 25 plus years of success. During the second half of 2021, the Standard partners and Stelman created a unique vision for the strategic integration of the two firms. Standard Title & Escrow and Stelman Law officially merged on January 1, 2022, resulting in an immediate expansion of attorneys and staff for Standard. The firm is now expanding nationally, building upon its extensive footprint in the New England, Florida, and Arizona markets.