The year of 2026 is already shaping up to be a year of significant growth for Egan, Flanagan & Cohen, P.C. We are excited to announce that earlier this month, our firm merged with Goldsmith, Katz and Argenio, P.C., effective January 1, 2026, as reported by MassLive and Business West.
Through this merger, we are proud to welcome Jonathan R. Goldsmith, Esq. and Thomas E. Argenio, Esq., who will each serve as Counsel. Both attorneys are in the midst of distinguished legal careers, and what makes each a perfect fit for EFC is their deep roots in the Greater Springfield area and their demonstrated commitment to community service.
Goldsmith has served as past president of the Springfield Public Forum, is a current board member and past president of the Springfield Jewish Community Center, and serves on the board of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Western Massachusetts. A leader in his field, he is also a past chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the Hampden County Bar Association.
Similarly, Argenio is a former adjunct professor at Elms College, where he taught criminal law, demonstrating his commitment to educating the next generation of lawyers and paralegals. For many years, he served Chicopee as an Assistant City Solicitor.
Deep Experience, Exceptional Credentials
Each of these attorneys brings a wealth of experience and capability to Egan, Flanagan & Cohen:
Jonathan R. Goldsmith, Esq. has been practicing law for 39 years and specializes in bankruptcy, corporate, and real estate law. For the past 20 years, Goldsmith has also served as a Chapter 7 Panel Bankruptcy Trustee for the Office of the United States Trustee. He holds the highest rating (AV) from Martindale Hubbell for ethical standards and legal ability and has been designated as a “Super Lawyer” and named to the list of the Top 100 Attorneys in Massachusetts by Boston Magazine. Goldsmith was also the first recipient of the United States Bankruptcy Court’s District of Massachusetts Pro Bono Award in 2013. He completed his undergraduate studies at Boston College and earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Western New England University School of Law.
Thomas E. Argenio, Esq. has been practicing law for 42 years and currently specializes in real estate and domestic relations. He graduated from St. Michael’s College in Vermont and earned his J.D. from Western New England University School of Law. Prior to his time at Goldsmith, Katz and Argenio, P.C., Argenio served as City Prosecutor for the City of Chicopee from 1988 to 1992 and was for many years an Assistant City Solicitor in Chicopee, handling civil matters for the city.
Strategic Additions
According to Michael G. McDonough, Managing Partner at EFC, “these attorneys joining EFC enjoy pristine reputations for competence, ethics, and people skills. They will be excellent fits for our office—not just in bringing clients and business, but also in mentorship and adding to our culture and depth of knowledge.”
EFC also plans to welcome another prominent western Massachusetts attorney, Henry C. Cropsey, Esq., of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, next month. “Jon Goldsmith, Tom Argenio, and Henry Cropsey will make us stronger and better suited to meet our clients’ needs in the new year and beyond,” McDonough added.
The additions of Goldsmith, Argenio, and Cropsey will pair well with the firm’s steady addition of newer but impactful associate attorneys in each of the past four years. The strategic hiring of Goldsmith, Argenio, and Cropsey is designed to match their experience in their respective areas of law with EFC’s team of associate attorneys, expanding the firm’s capabilities for the benefit of clients.
“In return, those same associates will gain three new mentors in the building for their own professional growth,” said McDonough, who, with the firm’s Administrative Director, Faith A. Hoynoski, and the firm’s Chief of Operations, Lauren F. Olanoff, Esq., oversees recruitment and firm growth.
Building upon a Century-Long Legacy
This is the latest of many impactful mergers and additions in the firm’s 102-year history. Founded in 1924, EFC helps clients with civil litigation; commercial and residential real estate; corporate governance and external general counsel services to new and existing entities; commercial lending; bankruptcy; labor and collective bargaining; estate planning (wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care proxies), estate administration, probate and fiduciary litigation; and divorce and family law matters.
EFC’s civil litigation department is known state-wide and commonly retained in complex cases by businesses and even other law firms in matters such as shareholder disputes, business-to-business claims, class action defenses, claims under Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93A, and wrongful death actions. In the area of business litigation, EFC has helped shape the law in cases decided by the Supreme Judicial Court and Supreme Court, resulting in instructive opinions commonly cited today.
In recent years, consistent with the additions of Goldsmith and Argenio, EFC has expanded its transactional services. EFC represents many institutional clients in diverse fields, including prominent local and regional businesses, municipalities and governmental organizations, religious entities and nonprofits, and leaders of these organizations and their families. EFC is proud to serve these and many other institutional clients in the Massachusetts community and beyond.
Always Looking Ahead
EFC will continue to explore other methods of intentional and strategic growth designed to expand the value that we can add for our clients in both litigation and transactional needs.
EFC now has over 20 bright attorneys, and this year the firm will add at least two new associate attorneys, who will each graduate from law school and take the bar examination in 2026. Details will be shared by the firm on this front in a future announcement.
