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Updated: 5 hours ago From the Editor

Editor's note: Law firms not immune to change

By Peter Van Allen

There’s a notion that law firms are eternal, much like the partners that make up their names.

In the past year, we’ve seen the demise of Eaton Peabody. We’ve seen changes in the rankings of Maine’s top law firms. We’ve seen lawyers leave one practice for another or leave one firm to start another.

Our cover story, by Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber, delves into many of those changes. Of note, the Portland firm Verrill, which moved up the aforementioned list from No. 4 to the top spot, has been active. It hired several of the former Eaton Peabody lawyers and, though this was not a factor in the ranking, it also absorbed a Connecticut firm. Throughout its New England offices, Verrill now has 340 employees, including 180 attorneys. “We’re still seeing a lot of conversation in the Maine and Boston markets with folks who are moving around and looking for a new law firm,” the managing partner tells Laurie.  .

Elsewhere in the issue, Deputy Editor Renee Cordes has a Q&A with the managing partner of Bernstein Shur, Kaveri Subbarao Nauhaus, who took over from Joan Fortin earlier this year.  

On the policy side, Staff Writer Tina Fischer breaks down Maine’s Paid Family and Medical Leave law, which will begin to make benefits available by May 1, 2026. Though the law has not yet taken effect, employers in Maine have been gnashing their teeth over the legislation for some time. For employees, it’s a major perk. For employers, it may be a long-term recruiting tool, but for now it’s one more challenge in challenging times.  

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