From the Editor: Pandemic has reshaped Maine’s legal industry
As every industry has had to shift in the past two years, lawyers, law firms and the legal profession have had to adjust to the pandemic.
Doing trials by and other courtroom proceedings by Zoom has been just one of the adjustments, as Renee Cordes reports. Remote court appearances have become the norm, though not everyone feels equally represented, with language and cultural barriers often literally getting lost in translation, as Renee writes in “Trial by Zoom,” which starts on Page 12.
Renee also checks in with Maine Law Dean Leigh Saufley, who was hired in 2020 and is now shepherding the law school’s move from the University of Southern Maine campus to downtown Portland. See “Future-proofing Maine Law” on Page 10.
Maine’s largest concentration of lawyers is in Cumberland County, not surprisingly, but the next largest category of registered attorneys is out-of-state practitioners. The need for rural lawyers has only gotten worse, particularly in Piscataquis County, which has just seven attorneys, down from 10 in 2014. Laurie Schreiber looks at northern Maine recruiting efforts to see what’s working. See “Country lawyer,” which starts on Page 16.
The past two years have changed law firms, but also presented opportunities, as reported by Jessica Hall, who checked in with Maine’s five largest law firms. Firms have been adjusting their hybrid workforces, in some cases hiring experts to work remotely, while building out practice areas to meet emerging needs, including tribal nations representation and broadband policy. See “Around the legal field,” which starts on Page 20.
On the list of Maine’s largest law firms, you’ll see some changes, with Drummond Woodsum moving up from No. 5 to No. 2. See Page 26.
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