Joan M. Fortin
jfortin@bernsteinshur.com
Shareholder
Joan Fortin is the Director of Attorney Recruiting and Business Development, a member of Bernstein Shur's Management Committee, and a member of the Municipal and Regulatory Practice Group. Her practice focuses on economic development, tax increment financing, zoning and land use, and environmental matters.
Joan has assisted both municipalities and private clients in developing a wide variety of tax increment financing arrangements. She was instrumental in creating the first TIF district in an unorganized territory in Maine, and in creating the first TIF district to apply to a high-rise residential complex. She has helped several municipalities to implement tax increment financing initiatives as part of their long-term economic development planning.
Joan’s practice also focuses on land use and environmental issues, including environmental compliance, due diligence, litigation of enforcement actions, and administrative and judicial appeals. She provides legal counsel to municipal officials and boards, and she also represents property owners and real estate developers in proceedings to obtain land use approvals at the local, state, and federal levels.
Prior to law school, Joan worked in higher education in the area of student services. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Paul L. Rudman, Associate Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Joan currently serves as a member of the Lex Mundi Women’s Initiative Recruitment and Retention Task Force.
Joan is recognized in Best Lawyers in America for her work in municipal law, and is BV-rated by Martindale Hubbell.
EDUCATION
JD, Northeastern University School of Law, 1996
MEd, University of Maine, 1991
BA, Colby College, 1988
AFFILIATIONS
Admitted to practice:
States of Maine, Massachusetts, and Alaska
U.S. District Court, Districts of Maine and Alaska
U.S. Court of Appeals, First and Ninth Circuits
Member:
Maine State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Maine Bar Foundation Fellow