Trial lawyers leave Lewiston firm to start statewide practice
Photos / Courtesy of each subject
Benjamin A. Gideon, left, and Taylor A. Asen, have left Berman & Simmons law firm in Lewiston to start their own statewide practice. They have an office in New Gloucester, with plans for additional offices soon in Portland and Bangor.
Two prominent Maine trial attorneys have left Berman & Simmons law firm in Lewiston to start their own statewide practice, based in New Gloucester at the Pineland Farms campus.
"Our separation became formal last Friday at 9 a.m., and we're now fully up and running," Benjamin A. Gideon told Mainebiz by phone on Thursday. He and fellow attorney Taylor A. Asen, a former federal law clerk, are embarking on the new venture after working together at Berman & Simmons for four years. Gideon had been with the firm for 17 years.
The new firm is called Gideon Asen LLC.
Both partners are plaintiffs' lawyers focused on medical practice, and Gideon's recent jury verdicts include $22.5 million awarded to a client who lost both legs in an industrial accident, one of the highest awards in northern New England. Gideon is the husband of Maine state representative and Speaker of the House Sara Gideon, D-District 48, who recently ran for U.S. Senate and lost to incumbent Republican Susan Collins.
As his wife recovers from the "intense" race, Benjamin Gideon said his decision to leave Berman & Simmons, where he was both an owner and a partner, to strike out on his own was a highly personal one.
"I really enjoyed my time there," he said, "but I was looking for the challenge of building something new from the ground up. I'm not getting any younger."
Along with a paralegal and an office manager/administrator, Gideon and Asen are working from an office at 19 Yarmouth Drive, Suite 203, in New Gloucester.
Gideon, who brought about 40 cases with him to the new practice, said the duo are already busy.
"The phones are ringing," he said, adding that it's an ongoing transition and the plan is to have a formal launch on Jan. 1.
They're also moving ahead quickly on adding additional locations in Portland, where Gideon said they just signed a lease for a space at 217 Commercial St., and that he'll be in Bangor today looking at possible locations there.
"We're going to launch with three offices so we can cover the whole state," he said. "We have a pretty good statewide practice," with clients all over. He said the offices would basically serve as places to meet clients and hold depositions, though the firm may also install some staff there.
Gideon also said that it will be essential to have downtown addresses "because you want to be where Google considers to the center of town ... It will be good for our business."
Long-term outlook
Asked whether they anticipate adding to the attorney team down the road, Gideon said, "I definitely think our plan is to have some growth, but we don't want to be out of scale for what we do or for the market."
As for Sara Gideon, Benjamin said she's decompressing and recharging her batteries after a lot of time spent away from the family during the election, but adds that she is highly motivated and "will have a lot of great opportunities."
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How does the $1,000,000 Gideon was reported to have collected as part of the PPP program play out with this transition?
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