Avery Day

Benjamin J. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative / Regulatory Law, Energy Law and Energy Regulatory Law. Benjamin J., who practices law in Augusta, Maine, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Benjamin J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Newell Augur has more than 20 years of experience in Maine in the fields of government relations and administrative law, cultivating long-standing relationships with state government officials and other policy leaders. Newell’s experience includes designing and executing his clients’ legislative strategy, enlisting and organizing stakeholders, serving as spokesperson for press events, and monitoring initiatives that affect client operations. He has appeared before the Maine Commis...

Eben Albert focuses his practice on complex energy regulatory proceedings and litigation before state public utilities commissions including the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) and other administrative and regulatory bodies, as well as in state and federal courts. Eben has deep experience representing clients in utility ratemaking and rate design proceedings, complex utility reorganizations, requests for approvals, and various other regulatory matters. Prior to his energy practice, E...

Ben Marcus is a highly experienced transactional attorney. Ben has 33 years of experience representing clients throughout North America in complex commercial arrangements including equity and asset transactions on the buy and sell side, joint venture and development agreements, workouts and restructurings, and contract preparation and review (including the negotiation and execution of Saas and other hosted agreements, and hotel management agreements). Ben has represented companies in many dif...

As a shareholder in Bernstein Shur’s Real Estate Practice Group, Eliza represents timberland investment companies and wind energy developers on real estate-based projects in Maine and around the country. Her acute knowledge of all aspects of real estate transactions and financings, robust organizational and drafting skills, and calm demeanor under pressure are a boon to companies whose complex projects often involve multiple parties and many moving parts. Eliza’s previous experien...

Calm under pressure, dependable, and a true advocate for her clients, Mary is an experienced municipal and environmental law counselor. Having worked in the public sector for years before joining Bernstein Shur, she has a firsthand understanding of the issues faced by municipal and state employees and boards—and how to help her clients confront them. Her most recent public sector position was associate corporation counsel to the City of Portland, where she advised the city staff and cou...

Michael High was the leader of the firm’s Business and Commercial Services Practice Group for more than 20 years and currently serves as co-leader of the Group. He has extensive experience in representing businesses, investors, lenders and borrowers in a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including entity formation, shareholder/owner relations, corporate governance, drafting, reviewing and negotiating complex contracts, mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, corporate fina...

After clerking for Maine Supreme Court Justice Robert Clifford for a year after law school, Mike dove straight into construction law, defending architects and engineers in construction cases at a small Portland insurance defense firm. Since joining Bernstein Shur a decade and a half ago, Mike has had the pleasure of representing the full panoply of participants on a construction project: developers, owners, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, lenders, and sureties in everything fr...

Mark Franco is a seasoned litigator with more than 35 years of experience in state and federal courts, advocacy before government agencies, and alternative dispute resolution. He represents clients in a broad range of civil disputes and has specific expertise litigating in the fields of employment, municipal, construction, transportation, maritime, civil rights, defamation/slander, commercial disputes, real property, professional malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, auto liabilit...

Jonathan Shapiro has extensive experience in employment, labor and employee benefits law and litigation. He represents employers before state and federal courts across the country in complex wage-and hour class and collective actions and cases that involve discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and other employment matters. Jonathan has defended executives in white-collar criminal investigations and litigation. In addition, he counsels employers on various issues concerning employm...