Helping Families & Business Owners Protect Their Assets & Secure Their Futures.
About Us
Morgen M. Bowers
Attorney Morgen M. Bowers’ estate planning practice focuses on helping families enhance their lives today and secure their futures tomorrow. She excels in guiding her clients through the often-confusing maze of financial and legal decisions to create plans that ensure the well-being of their families and the accomplishment of cherished family goals. Her estate planning expertise includes family protection, wealth preservation, and values-based planning, as well as planning strategies for unmarried couples and divorced individuals. Whether you are married or single, with a traditional family or blended one, just starting out or looking back on a life well-lived, Morgen will help you craft a plan that achieves your goals for your loved ones today and for tomorrow.
Morgen’s business practice focuses on helping closely held businesses and entrepreneurs elevate their businesses today and safeguard them for the future. She excels in guiding her clients through the often-confusing maze of financial and legal decisions to create the structures, standards, and practices to realize their dreams and build a business they love, and which supports them and their family. Her considerable business expertise includes assisting manufacturers, creators, professionals, and services providers, and represents local, national, and international companies in areas such as liquor licensing, copyright, and trademark law, as well as formations, real estate, and general contract review. Whether you are looking to start, grow, or transition out of your business.
In September 2022 Morgen was honored with the coveted “Personal Family Lawyer®” (PFL) designation. The PFL designation is awarded to lawyers who have learned to help clients from a parent’s perspective to pass on their values and ensure their loved ones inherit what is most important and aren't left with a big mess at the end of life. Personal Family Lawyers practice under a new business model that allows them to help their clients be better parents, better business owners, and better citizens of the community rather than just putting in place form documents that may or may not work when the family needs them.
Morgen received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1999, where she was Senior Editor of the Law Review and invited to join the Order of the Coif. After graduation she began her career at the international Wall Street law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, where she specialized in private and syndicated secured, unsecured, and structured financing in the New York and Hong Kong offices. Morgen originally joined the Law Office of Sonya del Peral in 2003 after hiring Sonya to handle her house closing. Morgen and Sonya became partners in Bowers & del Peral, PLLC in 2016, and Morgen took over the firm in 2018 when Sonya retired from practicing law.
Morgen is a requested guest speaker for various community, business development and private groups on topics including estate planning and starting a business. When she isn’t working, you will find her riding her Morgan horse, hiking, and traveling. She works on her golf game and learning French when time allows.
See Morgen's full CV at LinkedIn. See some of her client's reviews at Avvo.
Shannon Dorn
Shannon is personable, outgoing, and loves helping our clients. She goes above and beyond to make sure each one has a special experience when working with us. She is the firm’s Executive Assistant, who works directly with our clients and team to provide a smooth and seamless experience. Shannon is extremely organized, is great at multi-tasking, and follow-through, which is appreciated by all.
Prior to joining us, Shannon worked as an assistant in two general practice law firms, one of which specialized in estate planning. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys reading, the outdoors, traveling, and most of all spending time with her loved ones. She also has volunteered with the Guardian ad Litem program for many years, as well as within her local community.
Portia
Portia is our Intake Specialist and Funding Coordinator and works closely with our team and our clients on the implementation of their estate plans. Portia is the first person you probably spoke with and is always ready with a smile to greet you. She is patient and thorough, stewarding our clients carefully through the intake and funding process. She has excellent hands-on experience in Customer service and has been serving clients for the past 8 years.
Portia is a great communicator and adapts very quickly to any situation. She regards herself as a person of high integrity, showing tenacity in individual situations to ensure the completion of the task, meeting pressing deadlines.
Prior to joining us Portia worked as a Credit Assessor and Sales Consultant in the banking sector. In her spare time, Portia enjoys exercising, traveling, and spending time with her loved ones.
Sonya del Peral, Retired
Retired. Sonya opened her solo practice in Columbia County in 1996, and formalized a partnership with Morgen in 2016. In 2013 Sonya and her son, Alejandro del Peral, started Nine Pin Ciderworks, New York's first farm cidery, in Albany, NY. After 25+ years of practicing law, Sonya retired from the practice of law on September 1, 2018 to manage Nine Pin full-time. She is grateful to all of her past clients, many of whom became friends, and encourages them to stop by the Cidery or Nine Pin's corporate office (upstairs from the law firm) and say "Hi."
Sonya's practice focused on intellectual property, real estate, alcohol industry licensing, education law and trusts and estates. She spent the first five years in large law firms in New York City and Albany. She received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Albany Law School in 1991. She received a M.A.T. degree from SUNY Binghamton in 1984.