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Updated: September 1, 2025 2025 Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine

Brann & Isaacson: A Trailblazing American Law Firm with Deep Maine Roots

PHOTO courtesy of Brann & Isaacson

For nearly a century, Brann & Isaacson has stood as a cornerstone of legal excellence in Maine and beyond. From its origin in 1927, the Lewiston-based law firm has evolved into a premier full-service practice deeply embedded in the fabric of Maine’s legal and civic community. With more than 20 attorneys practicing in offices in Lewiston and Portland, Brann & Isaacson consistently delivers sophisticated, creative, and effective legal solutions to individuals, businesses, municipalities, nonprofits, and public- and private-sector clients alike.

PHOTO courtesy of Brann & Isaacson
Stacy Stitham, Brann & Isaacson Managing Partner

The boutique firm was founded by Louis Brann, a former city of Lewiston mayor who went on to serve as the Governor of Maine from 1933-37, and Peter Isaacson, who apprenticed with Louis before joining him as a partner and founding the firm. Through Louis Brann’s political connections with then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the firm made its mark within the state after President Roosevelt appointed Isaacson as receiver responsible for reorganizing Maine banks that closed their doors during the “Bank Holiday” of the Great Depression.

The two provided the foundation of hard work, gumption, and deep roots that the firm lives by nearly 100 years later. A commitment to serving business clients and the community remains the touchstone of Brann & Isaacson to this day.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on the fact that we are responsive and clever and we try to focus on problem solving,” said Managing Partner Stacy Stitham. “There’s a lot of great law firms out there, big law firms with tons of resources, tons of associates, budgets and tools. And we’re a firm of about 20 lawyers located in Lewiston, Maine. The way we’ve been able to compete is to be very responsive to clients, to turn around work product quickly and accurately, and to come up with creative, out of the box solutions to their problems.”

Stitham, a fifth-generation attorney who is one of the youngest managing partners of the larger firms in Maine, brought a wealth of experience in both legal practice and firm management into the role after having served as President of the Maine State Bar Association (her grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather all served in the same role during their career), Chair of Pine Tree Legal Assistance and as a board member with the Maine Justice Foundation and the Maine Historical Society.

PHOTO courtesy of Brann & Isaacson

Superior Depth of Experience

As Managing Partner, Stitham is charged with overseeing the operation of the firm’s eight practice areas of business law, employment law, estate and wealth preservation, intellectual property, litigation, public sector law, retail and e-commerce, and state and local taxation. And although the firm represents some of the largest, best-known companies in the country, it continues to stay true to its roots advising Maine companies, families, cities and schools.

“We don’t want to be one of those 100-attorney firms that is doing a million different things,” said Hanna Wurgaft, an associate focusing on labor and employment law, education and municipal law, and litigation. “My impression has always been that we’ve been a boutique firm, and I think that continues to be our goal. There’s something special about having a close-knit group of professionals who work together year in and year out.”

Wurgaft is part of an impressive team of lawyers that serve as the backbone of the firm. Thirteen of its attorneys, including Wurgaft and Stitham, were recently named 2025 New England Super Lawyers for their significant contributions to the legal profession. Ten of its attorneys were recognized by Best Lawyers for 2025, including three as Ones to Watch, a designation recognizing the next generation of rising star lawyers, and Peter Brann is a former Maine Assistant Attorney General and State Solicitor and a teacher/lecturer at Harvard, Yale and Columbia.

“Our ability to look for the next opportunity, to see where the industry is going, where their needs are going, has been crucial to our success. It goes back to our size and our ability to pivot and priding ourselves on seeing where the industry is going. We’re always looking for opportunities to develop the next practice area.”
— Stacy Stitham, Managing Partner

National eCommerce & State Tax Experts

While offering services in various practice areas, Brann & Isaacson has elevated itself above its peers in National eCommerce and State Tax Litigation.

In the 1960s, Brann & Isaacson began to work with L.L.Bean, a pioneer in the mail order and direct marketing industry. The partnership resulted in the firm, despite its small size, developing into a national leader in what has transformed into the e-commerce sector with decades of experience representing online and multichannel retailers. Today, its nationally recognized team of attorneys navigate the complexities of taxation, privacy, intellectual property, and product safety issues, ensuring clients thrive in an ever-evolving e-commerce landscape — all the while defending clients against “patent trolls” and privacy shakedowns — making it the go-to firm for online sellers seeking to optimize compliance and mitigate risks.

The firm’s success in e-commerce led naturally to becoming trailblazers in State Tax Litigation with Brann & Isaacson attorneys directly involved in some of the country’s most influential pieces of state tax litigation, including representing Wayfair, Overstock, and Newegg before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S.Ct. 2080 (2018), among the most important state and local tax decisions issued by the nation’s highest court in the last 30 years. Following the decision, states across the U.S. went after out-of-state companies for tax compliance with sales, use, and other business taxes.

Brann & Isaacson has remained at the top of its game thanks to its longstanding skill in reading situations and responding effectively.

“Our ability to look for the next opportunity, to see where the industry is going, where their needs are going, has been crucial to our success,” Stitham explained. “It goes back to our size and our ability to pivot and priding ourselves on seeing where the industry is going. We’re always looking for opportunities to develop the next practice area.”

PHOTO courtesy of Brann & Isaacson

Maintaining Maine Roots

Throughout its history, Brann & Isaacson has remained true to its roots, providing expert council in Local Business Litigation and Advising.

Brann & Isaacson advises some of Maine’s largest businesses on trademarks and other intellectual property matters, and serves Maine businesses (private and public, for profit and nonprofit) as general counsel for their legal needs. When the Maine Chamber of Commerce needed expertise on proposed legislation concerning consumer privacy, it turned to Brann & Isaacson. The firm has secured litigation successes for local employers in business and shareholder disputes. Brann & Isaacson played a key role in negotiating long-term, nine-figure deal leases for Maine’s largest hospital network, and in the conservation easement protecting Katahdin Forest. Every person who has enjoyed shopping in Freeport village has benefited from Brann & Isaacson’s role in negotiating the ground leases for the outlet village, as well as the nationwide LEED-certified leasing and construction for one of Maine’s major multichannel retailers. And through it all, Brann & Isaacson has also supported Maine’s schools as they navigate some of the thorniest challenges to education — from pandemics to protests — in recent years.

Many of its relationships with Maine-based clients go back generations, cementing the firm’s reputation within the state it calls home.

“I think a lawyer is really a part of the community,” said Stitham. “We’re a strong part of the Lewiston-Auburn area where we represent municipalities and school districts and local businesses. We’re also a part of the Portland community. We have, for the last 10 years, had a burgeoning Portland office that has created great relationships with local businesses in the city there. Certainly, we don’t want to be the folks who only represent clients out of state via Zoom calls. We also represent our main street businesses in Maine, and that’s very important to who we are.”

Brann & Isaacson combines deep local roots in Maine with nationally recognized expertise, particularly in e-commerce, tax, intellectual property, and privacy. Its boutique size ensures personalized client service, while its strong credentials reflect its impressive professional depth, setting the firm up for a successful future as it looks forward to another 100 years.

Brann & Isaacson

113 Lisbon St., Lewiston, ME 04240

136 Commercial St., Portland, ME
04101

Sector: Law firm

Stacy Stitham, Managing Partner

Founded: 1927

Maine employees: 39

www.brannlaw.com