Melanie Comer

Anna Cole delivers well-informed, creative advice to support employers, including schools and colleges, municipalities, private entities, and Tribal Nations, as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of labor and employment laws. Co-Leader of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group, Anna represents employers in collective bargaining negotiations, contract administration, and grievance and arbitration proceedings. Additionally, she represents employers before the state and fede...

For over 40 years, Jerry Zelin has devoted his practice to representing New Hampshire school districts in a wide array of student-related matters including special education, inter-district residency disputes, juvenile court cases, pupil discipline, civil rights, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and limits on the state and federal governments’ authority to regulate local school districts. Jerry has successfully represented school districts in some of New Ha...

Dave serves as President and Managing Director of the firm. He also maintains an active practice. Dave represents firm clients in state and federal courts, arbitration and administrative proceedings. He routinely handles trade secret, non-competition, predatory hiring, discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower, wrongful termination, and healthcare related matters. He also frequently helps businesses and executives navigate employment separations. Dave is a certified mediator who serves in...

Bill concentrates his practice on tax-exempt financing transactions, land use and zoning, and commercial real estate transactions. He has served as counsel to borrowers, purchasers, and issuers in connection with the issuance of over a billion dollars in tax-exempt bond financings. In addition to serving as general counsel to the New Hampshire Health and Education Facilities Authority, Bill has represented a wide range of borrowers, including schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and nu...

Gareth Orsmond focuses his practice on commercial real estate, land use, environmental, and energy matters in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His practice encompasses transactional work, permitting, and litigation. Gareth started his career as an environmental and land use lawyer before building his commercial transactional practice. This background enables him to negotiate and implement complex real estate deals while resolving challenging environmental and land use issues.

Kevin F. Dugan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Kevin F., who practices law in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been recognized since 2006. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kevin F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Sarah Ambrogi is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Elder Law and Trusts and Estates. Sarah, who practices law in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sarah is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mark Knights is a member of the Government Investigations & White Collar Defense practice group and lead of the Global Compliance & Investigations team. He represents individuals and businesses across a variety of industries in connection with matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the False Claims Act, and other federal and state laws. Prior to joining Nixon Peabody, Mark served as a law clerk for Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of the U.S. Court of A...

Kierstan Schultz is a litigator and a member of Nixon Peabody’s Complex Commercial Disputes practice group. She represents health care providers, businesses and individuals, and manages discovery, motion practice and trials for complex commercial litigation matters. What do you focus on? I represent clients in a variety of industries in all aspects of the adversarial process, in civil litigation in state and federal courts. Health Care Litigation My health care litigation practice focus...

Michele Kenney is the Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Portsmouth, NH, office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. She enjoys a diverse commercial litigation practice and appears regularly in federal and state courts in New Hampshire. Michele represents multinational corporations, medium and smaller-size businesses, individuals, and national and regional financial institutions in a wide range of disputes, involving, for example, issues of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of contra...