Driver Crashes Into Law Office, Destroys Name Partner's Desk
Ordinarily, attorney Michael Ready spends much of the time he is in the office at his desk.
So he has to feel fortunate that the driver who crashed into the Ready Kiernan & McNally law offices in New Bedford, Mass., and destroyed his office did so yesterday morning, rather than today, when it was unoccupied.
“Anyone who was in that office would not have have survived. I had a very large desk that was completely destroyed,” the name partner tells the ABA Journal.
“It was a little shocking to see my office in that condition,” he adds, especially since “not too long ago I was sitting right there.”
Nonetheless, Ready views the crash as a freak accident and says he plans to rebuild and resume sitting—at a new desk—in his old office. “It’s such a random event, I don’t think it’s something that’s likely to be repeated in my lifetime.”
The driver apparently also was not seriously injured, according to Ready and WPRI. A police report indicates the elderly driver became distracted and looked down, looking up, too late, to see the law office looming in front of the vehicle. A photo accompanying the article shows a red sedan stuck, on top of a brick half-wall, partway into the building.
The six-lawyer worker’s compensation and personal injury firm was alerted to the crash by a security alarm early yesterday morning and immediately sent personnel there to ensure that its client files were secure and transfer them to its Wareham headquarters, about 20 minutes away near Cape Cod. The New Bedford office is closed for now but should reopen soon, Ready tells the ABA Journal.
Meanwhile, he has been hearing from friends and fellow practitioners checking to see that everyone is OK. One told him “she thinks our law firm is the only law firm in Massachusetts with a drive-through window,” he says.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “SUV Smashes Into Pittsburgh Law School; Building Evacuated for Safety Check”
