Blank Rome is pleased to share that partners Scott H. Moskol, Luke M. Reid, and Josef ("Joe") B. Volman and associate Vanessa C. DiDomenico have been recognized in Connecticut Law Tribune’s 2025 New England Legal Awards. The New England Legal Awards recognize professional excellence within the legal community across Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Scott, co-chair of the firm's Cannabis practice, has been named a winner in the Distinguished Leaders category. This honor recognizes lawyers who achieved impressive career results and demonstrated clear leadership skills that helped them achieve those results. Since 2013, Scott has established himself as a leading cannabis industry attorney with a nationwide client base that includes investors, lenders, cultivation and dispensary operators, investment funds, and family offices. His practice covers capital raises, mergers and acquisitions, investment structuring, regulatory compliance, and general counsel. He has handled major transactions, including institutional lending, complex business combinations, equity financings, and asset acquisitions. Scott also works on cannabis industry insolvencies and restructurings, including pioneering receivership cases. He regularly advises on regulatory issues, including state cannabis laws and emerging psychedelics legislation.
Luke, a partner in the Maritime group, has been named a finalist in the Partner of the Year category. This award recognizes exceptional supporting partners who have earned praise and recognition from firm leadership for their contributions to the past year’s success. A former U.S. Coast Guard officer and attorney, having attained the rank of commander, Luke advises and represents clients throughout the United States and globally in connection with government investigations, maritime regulatory compliance, criminal and civil litigation, defense of maritime regulatory enforcement actions, and international law.
Joe, co-chair of the Boston office, has been named a finalist in the Merger and Acquisition Attorney of the Year category. This award celebrates outstanding attorneys who excel in the areas of mergers and acquisitions. During his 30-year career, Joe has become known as a go-to lawyer in the middle-market community, particularly with respect to mid-market mergers and acquisitions. Joe works on sell-side transactions, representing entrepreneurs, closely held and family-owned businesses, as well as sponsor-backed companies. On the buy-side, he represents private equity funds and strategic acquirers. Through his creative, results-driven approach, Joe partners with his clients as a strategic adviser, and leverages his vast network to help clients source deals and raise capital in order to effectively drive growth and maximize returns on their investments. Joe also teaches a class in the Entrepreneurship Program at Tufts University on Entrepreneurial Business Law.
Vanessa, an associate in the Maritime group, has been named a finalist in the Most Promising Newcomer category. This award honors newly minted attorneys in New England who, within their first three years of practice, have demonstrated exceptional potential, work ethic, and legal acumen—making a significant impact on their organizations and showing the qualities needed to rapidly advance in their careers. Beyond her maritime practice at the firm, Vanessa remains actively engaged in the industry through her involvement with the Maritime Law Association, the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association, and the International Maritime Business Advisory Board at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Winners in categories not yet announced will be revealed at an awards dinner on October 23, 2025, in Boston. This event serves as a testament to the outstanding contributions and achievements made by legal professionals within the region.
To learn more about the 2025 New England Legal Awards, please click here.