Heidi Sierra Groff Esq.

I am a partner and I have been with the firm since 1999. I specialize in helping people with their workers’ compensation and personal injury claims because I find it personally rewarding to help an injured person get the benefits they deserve, and to hold an insurance company accountable. I understand that having an injury can be very difficult and I know that insurance companies often do not treat people fairly. My clients like me because I am passionate about their claims, and I don’t give up. I listen to their concerns and fight with all I have. They often compare me to a pit bull! It is obvious that I enjoy what I do.

The legal process is long and frustrating for most people. I help by following my conscience, using common sense, and being extremely persistent. I form strong relationships with my clients and I really care about winning. If you have been hurt and the insurance company is jerking you around, you want me on your side. I love seeing the relief on my clients’ faces when they know they can relax and let us do the hard work while they focus on their healing!

My most rewarding cases have been apparent long shots that were medically complicated or factually difficult. Ultimately, they were winners when tested at hearing at the Department of Labor or in Superior Court because my clients were honest, hard-working, and deserving. My pride in my work comes from getting good results and winning cases for my clients.

I come from a very modest background. My grandfather was a coal miner, my grandmother worked in a manufacturing plant, and I was the first in my family to graduate from college and law school. I know what it means to work hard and I remember what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck. Like many of my clients, I have also experienced physical pain. Although my pain is improved, I know what it is like to live with chronic pain and how hard it is to describe to someone who has never had it before. Not all attorneys know how it feels to experience that kind of pain or to be poor. My clients often deal with these tough issues. It helps that I understand their situations and their stresses. I work hard to get the best results for them because I care and I want them to have a better life, too

I have lived in Montpelier for more than two decades with my husband, who is also an attorney. I enjoy attending baseball games (Red Sox, Vermont Mountaineers, and our son’s teams) and our daughter’s dance performances.

State of Vermont, October 1997
U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, December 2000

J.D., Vermont Law School (1997)

B.A., Ohio State University (1994)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Partner, Biggam, Fox & Skinner, LLP
Montpelier and Burlington, VT
March 1999 – present

• All aspects of WC litigation in Vermont advocating for injured workers
• Discovery, depositions, expert and other witness preparation and preservation, motion practice, formal hearings, proposed findings and conclusions of law.
• Appeal Dept. of Labor Decisions to Superior Court for trial de novo.
• All aspects of Civil Litigation of Personal Injury Claims for Plaintiffs only.
• Focus on pedestrian injuries, motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, and wrongful death.
• Managing Partner running all aspects of the partnership with two other partners; managing Human Resources.

Small Claims Judge (Volunteer)
State of Vermont, Washington County
February 2007 – present

• Adjudicate cases in Civil Court when amount in dispute is less than $5,000.
• Take hearing testimony from witnesses and rule from the bench or issue written decisions on the merits of the case.
• Trustee Process and wage garnishment.

Deputy State’s Attorney, Windsor County State’s Attorneys’ Office, VT
August 1997 – Nov. 1998

• Handled all aspects of criminal prosecutions of misdemeanors and felonies in a variety of cases: sexual assault cases, lewd and lascivious conduct, domestic assaults, violations of abuse prevention orders, juvenile cases, drug and alcohol crimes, larcenies, burglaries, etc.
• Arraignments, bail hearings, change of pleas and sentencing hearings,
  motion practice, jury trials.

• Best Lawyers (listed since 2015
• Lawyer of the Year (Workers’ Compensation Claimants 2018, 2024)
• Super Lawyers (listed since 2015)
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers (listed since 2015)

• Litigation Counsel of America
• Nation’s Top One Percent
• Top 100 National Trial Lawyers
• Top 25 Workers’ Compensation Trial Lawyers
• Vermont Association for Justice
• Vermont Bar Association
• Workers Injury Law & Advocacy Group
• Washington County Bar Association