Page 3 - Carter DeYoung | Attorney at Law Magazine

Thirty-three years later, the firm now known as Carter DeYoung, formerly Wilkins, DeYoung and Carter, is still based in Hyannis. Domestic relations, civil litigation, criminal defense and personal injury have always been the mainstays of the practice. However, as the demographics of the area began to change, so did the type, volume and complexity of cases they handled.
DeYoung’s perfect storm happened after Hurricane Bob in 1991. For several years prior to the calamity, he had represented a large business client in various civil matters. When the hurricane struck and the company had a dredge damaged off the coast of New Bedford, his client found itself being criminally charged under the newly minted Clean Water Act. After a two-month trial in United States District Court, where DeYoung was able to extricate his client from criminal responsibility, his classmates no longer wondered if the Cape was a place for a serious law practice.
Carter’s practice was similar to DeYoung’s, focusing heavily on domestic relations, criminal defense and civil litigation. At the time Carter obtained his Juris Doctor in 1983 from New England School of Law, he was working as a special agent in the FBI. When the prospect of a job transfer would
lead him out of state, he decided it was the right time to start his law career and he headed back to the Cape. “Criminal defense and family law were natural practice areas for me in light of my background as a police officer and FBI agent. As a police officer, I saw people from all walks of life. As an attorney, I have tried homicide cases and multistate custody contests,” relates Carter.
DeYoung knew Jeremy Carter for many years before the two became partners. The two trial lawyers often found themselves in the courthouse together assessing each other’s talent. “Back then it was a close-knit bar association,” says Carter, also a Cape native, who was managing his own firm at the time. It wasn’t until Carter and DeYoung found themselves on opposing sides of a case that the depth of their mutual respect became apparent. At the conclusion of the case, Carter and DeYoung decided to join forces. Neither one has ever looked back.
The synergy at Carter DeYoung is relentlessly evident and the six attorneys that comprise the firm all echo similar sentiments. Their commitment to one another lies at the heart of the firm’s success. DeYoung comments, “We are a diverse group, which is especially valuable in trial work.
Partners Steven DeYoung & Jeremy Carter
Premiere 2016 Attorney at Law Magazine® South Boston | 13
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