Who We Are
Our team brings excellent legal qualifications, a team approach and a record of true stewardship to our client and community matters.
Seth Handy
Seth Handy has more than 20 years of experience in energy, land use and real estate, environmental, finance, municipal, commercial and litigation matters.
Seth practiced law at Chace Ruttenberg & Freedman, LLP from 2008 through 2010. At CRF, he grew a strong energy law practice, helping municipalities, developers, industry specialists and public interest groups implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and seek positive reform of state and federal energy policies. He also did significant work on environmental matters, real estate and general business issues and helped clients resolve their disputes.
He practiced law at Edwards & Angell LLP from 1996 through 2005 where he was a member of the litigation and environmental practice groups. Seth focused on litigation, environmental, land use, real estate/construction, municipal and general commercial law.
From 2005 to 2008, Seth was the Development Director of the Dynamo House project for Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, Inc. He oversaw development of the former Narragansett Electric power plant on the Providence River into a mixed-use office, hotel and retail development that included the Heritage Harbor Museum. Among other roles, he shepherded building acquisition, remediation, design, entitlements, tenanting, and bank and equity financing, turning the developed project over to SBER’s construction team.
Seth graduated from Harvard College with honors in 1990. He was a member of the varsity squash and lacrosse teams and wrote his thesis on William Shirer’s experiences with Nazi Germany and Mahatma Gandhi. After working as an environmental consultant with USEPA, he got his JD and Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School in 1996. At VLS he wrote a law review note on licensing hydropower projects and clerked for Justice Ernest Gibson on the Vermont Supreme Court.
Seth has spoken and written numerous articles on environmental, energy and litigation issues. He and his wife Charlotte have 3 children and live in the Fox Point section of Providence. He is admitted to practice in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Helen Anthony
Helen Anthony specializes in land use, real estate and non-profit law. A Connecticut native who moved to Providence in 2013, Helen brings her energy, fresh perspective and significant public sector experience to Handy Law, LLC.
Helen is a Providence City Councilwoman, representing Ward 2 on the Eastside. She serves on the Finance Committee and Claims and Pending Suits Committee. Prior to her election, Helen served on the City of Providence Zoning Board of Review and volunteered at the Crossroads Domestic Violence Shelter and at the RI Coalition for the Homeless free legal clinic at the Mathewson Street Church.
Before moving to Providence, Helen lived in Columbia, Missouri for ten years where she also served as a Councilwoman on the Columbia City Council and as a member of the City’s Planning & Zoning Commission. In Columbia, Helen spearheaded the City’s first comprehensive land use plan. Columbia, home to the University of Missouri, has experienced explosive growth. As a former Planning & Zoning Commissioner and Attorney, Helen used her skills to bring together diverse constituencies to create a land use plan that fostered continued economic growth while preserving Columbia’s quality of life.
In Missouri, Helen served on the Board of Trustees for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and worked on a number of political campaigns to elect progressive women to local, state and federal office.
Helen graduated from Colby College, Waterville Maine and received her J.D. from New England School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, Missouri and Rhode Island.
Conor MacDonald
Conor MacDonald brings experience in land use law, environmental advocacy, and pension investment law, and is passionate about clean energy, urban development, non-profit, and municipal law. Before becoming an attorney, Conor worked for ten years in nonprofit organizations which focused on architecture, design, urbanism, and community building, in Boston and Providence, where he directed membership strategy and community engagement.
He currently serves on the board of DownCity Design, and has held past roles on the Providence Athenaeum Building and Grounds Committee, the AIA Rhode Island board, and the committee for Common Boston, a neighborhood-based festival which ran for ten years.
Conor graduated from Lehigh University, where he studied finance and architectural history (BS); Brown University where he studied cultural institutions, cities, and the public humanities (MA); and Roger Williams University School of Law (JD). In law school, he graduated with honors and was president of the Roger Williams School of Law Association for Public Interest Law (APIL), where he helped coordinate a forum to raise awareness of Rhode Island’s leading role in lead paint litigation and current advocacy efforts. He is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and is pursuing admission to the Rhode Island bar.
Alec Wickersham
Alec Wickersham is Handy Law’s part-time paralegal and marketing coordinator. He has over five years of experience as a litigation paralegal at Sidley Austin LLP and Loeb & Loeb LLP, working on a wide variety of litigation matters including multiple trials and arbitrations, along with white collar investigations, regulatory compliance, and real estate closings. Alec graduated from NYU with a degree in environmental studies.
In addition to his work with Handy Law, Alec is currently a full-time cook at the Providence restaurant Persimmon.
Our Team
A network of skilled professionals stand ready to support our work efforts as necessary to serve our clients’ needs.