Michael Welch

Karen focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, and planning for owners of closely held businesses. Karen is strongly client focused, a good listener, and delivers complex advice simply, with an emphasis on kindness and respect. Her practice includes advising clients on complex strategies relative to charitable giving and estate and gift taxes, including marital trusts, credit shelter trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, qualified personal re...

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...

Dick Spencer specializes in complex problems which require effective advocacy at the local and state levels and before administrative agencies, the state courts, and the Maine Legislature. He is among Maine’s leading experts in diverse areas including land use and conservation, municipal law, and public finance. Dick also advises multi-generational families on how best to transfer their Maine seasonal and other properties to the next generation. Dick’s approach to problems is intu...

With a strong professional and educational background in governmental administration and compliance, Joel is a practical, results-driven advocate who is uniquely qualified to represent clients in property tax and regulatory matters. He understands the importance of long-term relationships with regulators and municipalities, and leverages his training and experience to distill large amounts of complex data into clear, thoughtful, and effective counsel. In his energy practice, Joel represents g...

Gordon has counseled clients in the power generation industry for over three decades, assisting private energy generators, banks, and contractors with matters ranging from insurance and warranty claims to crisis management. As a managing director of the alternative energy consulting firm Stratex Energy, he’s well-versed in the waste-to-energy, pulp and paper, biomass, and ethanol industries, as well as more traditional energy sources like oil and natural gas. He is also a Managing Direc...

Lucus Ritchie is a partner in Pierce Atwood's Litigation Practice Group. Lucus' practice covers a wide variety of complex commercial disputes, with a particular emphasis on class action defense and energy litigation. Lucus regularly appears in federal and state trial courts throughout the country, and also represents clients in arbitrations, mediations and contested administrative proceedings. In each case, Lucus focuses on developing a detailed understanding of his client's business and its ...

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...

Jeff Jones has been practicing trust and estate law in Ellsworth since 1985 and has been a lawyer for over 30 years. He has received national recognition as an estate planning, probate and trust lawyer. He was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC) in 1990, serves on its Editorial Board and two of its national committees and was the ACTEC Maine State chair from 2002-07. Jeff was selected for inclusion in the directory “The Best Lawyers in America&...

Mike practices in general civil litigation, with a focus on construction and other commercial litigation in State and Federal Courts. Mike’s experience in construction litigation includes defense of personal injury and property damage claims, mechanic’s liens and payment claims such as damages for delay, claims for additional work and differing site conditions. His work in the construction arena includes review and negotiation of construction and supply contracts and resolution of...

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...