David B. "Dave" McConnell

Having worked as an urban planner, as chair of the Portland Zoning Board, and inside state government, Phil is well acquainted with municipal and land use law. That experience, combined with his legal expertise, makes him extremely adept at counseling municipal officials and boards and obtaining land use approvals at local, state, and federal levels for real estate developers and property owners. And he’s just as equipped to help clients with legislative issues: he helped draft and pass...

Natalie practices municipal, environmental, land use and administrative law and represents both public and private clients. Before joining the firm, she served as Associate Corporation Counsel for the City of Portland for 10 years. Natalie graduated from Bowdoin College, with departmental honors in Romance Languages. She received her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law. She has made presentations on municipal and land use issues at seminars sponsored by the Maine State Bar A...

David Soley leads Bernstein Shur’s Real Estate Litigation Group, is the author of the American Bar Association’s nationally acclaimed Real Estate Litigation Handbook and is recognized by Best Lawyers in America for his work in Real Estate Litigation. Mr. Soley concentrates his practice in the areas of business, real estate and constitutional litigation. He regularly represents entrepreneurs and property owners in disputes over boundaries, titles, easements, mortgage priorities, pa...

James M. Saffian practices principally in the areas of public finance, economic development and tax increment financing. Jim has represented issuers, borrowers, underwriters and trustees in a variety of structured public financings. In addition to regularly representing various municipalities and special purpose districts in Maine with respect to general obligation bond and revenue bond financings, Jim has also had substantial experience with complex private activity bond financings including...

Jeremy R. Fischer is the Leader of the firm’s Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practice Group. He specializes in litigation and transactions involving distressed commercial matters, where he helps clients from the first sign of trouble through the most complex financial restructuring or Chapter 11 case. A Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute, he has built a reputation for achieving exceptional results both...

Kaighn Smith Jr. has been fighting for Tribal Nations and their enterprises in the tribal, federal, and state courts and before federal administrative agencies across the country for over 30 years. He has garnered a national reputation for his committed advocacy for tribal sovereignty, winning cases in a wide range of areas, including jurisdiction disputes, gaming matters, labor and employment relations, and land-in-trust and environmental matters. He regularly teaches federal Indian law as a...

Ryan Kelley provides legal counsel to public and private companies regarding debt and equity financings, commercial transactions and bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters. Ryan represents both lenders and borrowers in construction, acquisition, new markets tax credits, term and working capital financing transactions. His transactional experience also includes commercial matters such as the representation of franchisors and franchisees with respect to franchise matters, of manufacture...

A straight-shooting, disciplined former naval officer and present-day real estate attorney, Bill gets projects done on budget and on time. Throughout his career, Bill has helped major real estate developers realize large-scale commercial projects in the Greater Portland area and throughout the state of Maine. His skill set includes acquisitions, sales, development projects, entity formation, financing, and leasing. He currently heads up Bernstein Shur’s Massachusetts Real Estate Initiat...

Gerald F. Petruccelli is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Arbitration, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions, Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy), Mediation and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Gerald F., who practices law in Portland, Maine, has been recognized since 1989. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review su...

George is passionate about achieving the best practical result, but he tries not to lose sight of humor and humanity in the process. He has been practicing law for over four decades and focuses on litigating, arbitrating, and mediating business and construction disputes. His trial experience is extensive and multi-faceted, before juries and arbitrators alike throughout New England and New York, including numerous construction and design claims, some involving tens of millions of dollars; prod...