Sheldon J. Tepler

Griff Leschefske’s practice centers on estate planning, charitable giving, and probate, trust, and fiduciary litigation, in which he represents individuals, families, fiduciaries, and institutional clients in all aspects of trust and estate planning, administration, and controversy. Griff also represents charitable organizations, educational institutions, and corporate clients with respect to planned giving and philanthropy matters. In his estate planning practice, Griff provides counse...

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...

Asha’s specialty is dispute resolution involving construction, energy, insurance, and banking claims. In addition to being an attorney, Asha is a licensed professional engineer, with LEED accreditation and years of experience designing and coordinating multi-million dollar projects as a civil engineer with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Her firsthand experience with the ins and outs of construction, and energy projects makes her an especially effective advocate in litigation matters and contract...

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...

Emily Cooke’s practice focuses on commercial transactions, compliance, and corporate governance for a range of clients, including banks and other financial institutions, health care organizations, insurance industry participants, educational institutions, nonprofit entities, and small businesses. She negotiates third-party vendor contracts for banking services, negotiates master services agreements for outsourcing critical processing functions for national bank and insurers, and provide...

Nicholas J. Morrill is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. Nicholas J., who practices law in Portland, Maine, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nicholas J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Edward J. Kelleher is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Edward J., who practices law in Portland, Maine, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Edward J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Paul is one of Maine’s go-to trial lawyers for difficult and bet-the-company litigation. Paul provides a unique and effective one-two punch for clients facing the prospect of litigation: combining a deep understanding of how the business world functions with ability to more clearly see the litigation playing field and, therefore, devise and implement winning strategies. As Chambers USA put it in its 2017 Edition of America’s Leading Business Lawyers, “Clients describe him as...

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.

Michael was born in Norfolk, Connecticut. He attended college in Maine, went away to law school and returned to begin his practice of law with Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry in 1985. Mike chairs the firm's Business Services Practice Group. Mike also serves on the firm's Management Committee, currently in the position of President. His practice is concentrated in the areas of corporate, business and commercial law, and non-profit corporation law. He represents large, medium and small Maine b...