06/16/2017

Pierce Atwood Alumni Newsletter - Spring 2017

New 2017 partners

We rang in 2017 by elevating these attorneys to firm partner:

  • Mike Anderson
  • Kris Eimicke
  • Jana Magnuson
  • Nolan Reichl
  • Mark Rosen

Click here to read our full announcement.

We're still growing!

Pierce Atwood continues to grow in strategic areas of practice and bolster its ranks firmwide. We are pleased to welcome the following attorneys who have joined the firm over the past year:

  • Ann Robinson: Government Relations - Augusta/Portland
  • Bob Abrahamsen: Patent and IP - Portland/Boston
  • Chris Baxter: Patent - Portsmouth
  • Cyrus Miller: Patent - Portsmouth
  • Ilan Barzilay: Patent and IP - Boston
  • Kasey Boucher: Business - Boston
  • Kathleen Hamann: Litigation - Washington, DC
  • Kyle Noonan: Litigation - Portland
  • Lisa Gilbreath: Environmental and Energy - Portland
  • Michael Derderian: Litigation - Boston
  • Mike Hernandez: Business and IP - Portland
  • Sara Murphy: Litigation - Portland
  • Sarah McGarrell: Business - Boston
  • Soyoung Yoon: Employment - Boston/Portsmouth
  • Steve Russell: Patent and IP - Boston
  • Steve Silver: Litigation - Portland
  • Tom Gilbertsen: Litigation - Washington, DC
  • Zach Bland: Business - Boston

Alumni on the move

Former Government Relations attorney Avery Day has joined former partner Dan Stevens’s law practice to create the firm Stevens & Day LLP. Avery offers a general practice consisting of wills and trusts, real estate transactions, corporate formation, and more. Avery was most recently general counsel in Governor LePage’s administration, and had served as LePage’s policy adviser on environmental and natural resource issues. Prior to that he served as interim commissioner of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

John Formella, a former associate in the Environmental and Business Practice Groups, left the firm in January to become legal counsel to Chris Sununu, the newly-elected governor of New Hampshire.

We also said goodbye to Ron LaRocca this year. Ron was an associate in the firm’s Providence office, who left the firm last month to join the Department of Defense in Washington, DC. Ron is also an officer in the United States Navy Reserve.

Annual alumni event

Thank you to everyone who attended our alumni event at RiRa on May 17. The firm was pleased to donate $15 per attendee to Family Crisis Services, one of the recipients of our 2017 fundraising efforts.

Congratulations to this year’s raffle winners:

  • Bruce Coggeshall: $100 gift card to RiRa
  • Brenda Kern: $100 gift card to Sea Bags
  • Ted O’Meara: $100 gift card to Maine Beer Co.       

Click here to visit our Facebook page for event photos.

Milestones, awards, and recognitions

  • Keith Cunningham has been named Chair of the firm’s Business Practice Group.
  • John Aromando received the 2016 Vincent L. McKusick Award from the Maine State Bar Association.
  • Andrea Maker received the 2016 Maine Real Estate and Development Association Public Policy Award, was named one of four “Women to Watch” by Mainebiz in 2016, and was recognized in Maine magazine’s 2016 “50 Mainers” issue.
  • Barbara Wheaton was named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
  • Gareth Orsmond has been admitted to Leadership New Hampshire Class of 2018. He has also been selected to oversee the Land Use Clinic at New England Law|Boston.
  • Jim Erwin has been elected Chair of University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
  • John Bulman has been selected to serve on the ADR Panel of the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island. John has also been inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
  • Peter Guffin has been appointed to a Task Force on Transparency and Privacy in Court Records, which will report its findings to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
  • The firm’s class actions team received a National Tier 1 ranking by 2017 US News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” report.

Pro bono and community service news

Emily Cooke has been named the firm’s new pro bono team leader, with Jared des Rosiers stepping down after four successful years. Click here to read more about Jared’s accomplishments, and Emily’s skills and leadership in this area.

At this year’s pro bono and community service awards ceremony, we recognized the following employees:

McKusick Community Impact Award

  • Tony Derosby for his work with ILAP, his ongoing mentoring of ILAP volunteer attorneys, and for offering immigration workshops.
  • Karen Bean for her work with Girls on the Run.

Scribner Firm Impact Award

  • Ron LaRocca for his work with KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) and RI VLP (Rhode Island Volunteer Lawyers Project), and his tireless dedication to providing legal assistance to the family of a Pierce Atwood employee who tragically lost her life.
  • Mary Clifford, who for the past seven years, has been the driving force behind the Portland office’s annual Day of Community Service.

Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Given annually to the attorney who logs the most pro bono hours, this year’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year is Trusts & Estates associate Griff Leschefske. In 2016, Griff completed 313 hours of pro bono service, providing assistance to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Maine VLP, and several individuals, families, and nonprofit organizations.

We are also pleased to report that 13 firm attorneys were recognized by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's 2016 Katahdin Recognition Program for providing at least 50 hours of legal assistance to low income and elderly Mainers. Click here to view the list of Katahdin honorees.

Click here for our complete 2016 Pro Bono and Community Service Overview.

In other news ...

New website – Earlier this year, we launched this new Pierce Atwood website, designed to make it easier for users to find what they want more quickly and more effectively, in a more current and less cluttered look.

New Augusta office – We recently moved our Augusta office to 157 Capitol Street, Suite 3, conveniently located near the Maine State House.

New blogs – Check out some of our newest blogs, or click here to view a list of all firm blogs.

Stay connected!

Like us on Facebook to view photos from firm events, gatherings, and more. And we invite you to join the conversation by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn.