Micah Alden-Danforth has had plenty of career changes throughout his life — working odd jobs from landscaping to electrical work and even working at grocery and liquor stores — but he feels he’s now landed where he belongs as both a Marblehead firefighter and local real estate attorney.
Born and raised in Marblehead, Alden-Danforth earned a degree in economics from the University of Connecticut in 2009 and was a bank teller at Salem Five for a year or two before joining the Army in 2012 as a combat medic.
His father was in the Army, and he decided to follow in his footsteps because “I didn’t want to have any regrets later on in life by not doing it.”
“I wanted to serve my country, and I was interested in emergency medicine and things like that, which led me to being a combat medic,” Alden-Danforth said. “I’m just proud of my service. I’m proud of Marblehead’s history of service, and I wanted to continue with Marblehead’s rich history of coming to the call of America’s needs whether that be through the Revolutionary War, World War II, the Global War on Terror, I’m just proud to continue that tradition.”
After leaving the Army in November 2016, Alden-Danforth put his medical knowledge to use by working as a medical assistant at an urgent care. He then joined Marblehead Fire Department’s team in September 2017, where he is still employed as a firefighter and child passenger safety technician.
He said many firefighters have “side gigs” or other forms of employment, which led him to using his G.I. Bill to go back to school. This time for law.
“I tried being a realtor for a little while, and it just wasn’t for me. But I still love real estate and real estate law,” he said. “I took a class at North Shore on being a paralegal, and I just kind of felt that it was a good fit, so I decided to go to law school to become a real estate attorney.
“I attended law school during COVID, graduated in December ‘22, took the bar exam in February ‘23 and passed that — and ever since then, I’ve been grinding and trying to build my business.”
Alden-Danforth works for Boston-based law firm Tempest Fugit Law as an “of counsel attorney,” which means that he doesn’t earn a salary from the firm but rather commissions based on what he brings to the table.
“I work from home, and I go around and try to meet new clients and lenders and banks, trying to build my own book of business because I create income more through creating transactions that I can bring into the firm,” he said. “I’m trying to spread awareness (about my work). I found that just through meeting people, if they haven’t heard of you, they don’t know to send transactions your way.”
He said that since his schedule for Marblehead Fire rotates in perpetuity and is only two days/week, he is able to schedule clients easily and meet their needs. Alden-Danforth added he stands out from other real estate attorneys because of “positive communication.”
“I try to be, not to say overly communicative, but really stay on top of giving clients and transaction partners the information that they need because one of the biggest issues I found in real estate transactions is when people do not communicate effectively and don’t share information effectively, it can really hamper the transaction,” Alden-Danforth said. “I want to show clients that I am not to say young but energetic, and I’m willing to use processes such as AI and modern technology and things like that.
“I really feel like I am the coming of the next generation of real estate attorneys in Marblehead who are energetic and use positive communication in making sure that there’s a smooth transaction. I’m trustworthy because of my service in the past with the fire department and the army, and I really am personable and all those things that people look for when creating a relationship with an attorney in their local community.”
