William J. "Bill" Sheils

Peg Smith handles all aspects of commercial acquisitions, dispositions, development, leasing, title review and analysis, with particular expertise in drafting and analyzing conservation easements. She represents timberland companies, commercial developers, nonprofit organizations, and individual clients with respect to their various real estate needs, and regularly assists energy companies with real estate matters related to solar development, hydroelectric facilities, and transmission corrid...

From startups to Fortune 500 companies, Matt Stein helps clients navigate, negotiate and close technology and intellectual property transactions involving software, SaaS, data processing, managed services, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Matt understands the real world challenges and opportunities presented by these emerging technologies and provides clients with thoughtful, pragmatic advice to get complex deals done efficiently and responsibly. Matt focuses his practice on thre...

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...

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 ...

Brendan Rielly has experience in a broad range of civil matters in both state and federal courts (including the First Circuit Court of Appeals) as well as before the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Brendan's practice area focuses on commercial litigation, real estate litigation (including easements and rights of way), school law, probate litigation, public utilities law, environmental compliance and personal injury. Brendan has also served as local counsel for major law firms in both state...

Having served as lead counsel to multi-national organizations on major M&A transactions, fledgling startups looking to raise capital, and countless other companies on virtually every matter in between, Chris has the experience and insight that runs the gamut of business law. His sharp business acumen and superior negotiating skills have enabled Chris to build his legal practice from the ground up to the highest level—all while keeping the facts straightforward and plainspoken. Even ...

Alexander Spadinger is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Alexander, who practices law in Portland, Maine, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Alexander is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Pete’s employment practice is guided by the adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Pete uses his common sense business approach to help his clients make legally sound decisions regarding their employees while advancing the needs and mission of his clients’ businesses. Pete practices in all areas of employment law, providing counsel and representation to employers throughout East Coast on issues regarding federal and state leave laws, wrongful termina...

To say Pete is persistent is an understatement: He focuses all day, every day on bringing his real estate clients great results. And the greater the challenge and more complex the matter, the better. Case in point: After more than four years of intense, complicated work, involving multiple moving parts and players, Pete was able to help a client bring two large-scale renewable energy projects online in Maine. Pete thrives on solving the seemingly unsolvable, and brings confidence, honesty, an...

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...