File photo / Courtesy of Verrill
Scott Anderson
Updated: 1 hour ago
Verrill bulks up in Bangor with several more Eaton Peabody hires
Photo / Renee Cordes
Verrill, a law firm based at One Portland Square in Maine's largest city, is on the hunt for an office in Bangor.
Verrill, a Portland-based law firm with big plans for Bangor, has added several more hires from Eaton Peabody including Managing Partner Michael A. Hodgins. Eaton Peabody, a Bangor-based firm, is winding down its operations.
Scott Anderson, Verrill’s managing partner, said that there is pressure on established firms in Maine to grow given the increasing number of senior attorneys retiring and difficulties in recruiting younger professionals.
“The question for all of us is, how strong is your succession plan?” he told Mainebiz in a phone interview. “You have to make sure you are growing.”
Hodgins, one of eight former Eaton Peabody attorneys joining Verrill, will join the firm as a construction partner.
The others are: Karen M. Holyoke and Nathaniel S. Putnam and associate Alexandra N. Stanley in the private clients and fiduciary services group; Casey M. Olesen and Sarah Reinhart as real estate partners; Matthew S. Raynes as a partner in the labor and employment group who will also lead the launch of the firm's new immigration group; and Edward F. Feibel as counsel to the employee benefits and executive compensation group.
They will be accompanied by six support staff members — including paralegals, trust and estate administrators and legal assistants — also formerly of Eaton Peabody.
All of the supports staff members are based in Bangor, as are seven of the eight new attorney hires.
David M. Austin, Eaton Peabody’s former president and managing partner who led that firm for 12 years, joined Verrill as a partner in January.
Verrill also employs former Eaton Peabody attorneys Shawn Coil and Sam Hamilton as well as two other former staff members from the Bangor firm.
Bangor office plans
As Eaton Peabody gets ready to close its offices in Bangor, Portland and Augusta by June 30, Verrill is working out of temporary space in the Queen City at 700 Main St. and hunting for a permanent home.
“The goal was always to find permanent space, but as the closure of Eaton Peabody moved quickly, we needed to also move quickly to set up a space for the incoming attorneys while our search is underway,” said Jillian McKenna, a spokeswoman for Verrill.
Anderson told Mainebiz that while he expects to see more consolidation in Maine’s legal market, he believes that Verrill’s ability to recruit is strengthened by its multi-state footprint with offices in places including Boston and Washington, D.C.
“If you’re going to be a multi-service firm,” he said, “it’s important to understand that clients do not limit their needs by state boundaries.”
Besides its home base in Portland and temporary office in the Queen City, Verrill has an office in Augusta. The firm also has offices in Boston and Westport, Conn., as well as satellite offices in Wellesley, Mass.; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Naples, Fla.
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