PORTLAND, Maine– Attorneys Joan M. Fortin and James F. Keenan, Jr. have been selected by their colleagues to Bernstein Shur’s Management Committee. Attorneys John L. Carpenter and William M. Welch were also selected to serve a second three-year term.
"We are delighted that these talented individuals are serving the Committee,” said Managing Shareholder Charles E. Miller. “Their innovative thinking and business acumen will add significant value."
Joan Fortin is the vice-chair of Bernstein Shur's Municipal and Regulatory Practice Group, and a member of the firm’s Energy and Environmental Practice Group. Her practice focuses on economic development, tax increment financing, zoning and land use, and environmental matters. Fortin 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.
Jim Keenan is a member of the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group. Keenan counsels an international client base regarding the identification, protection and commercialization of their intellectual property assets. Having a particular expertise in trademark law, Keenan heads one of the region's most active trademark practices and regularly assists clients with clearing, protecting and enforcing their brands throughout the world.
John Carpenter is the chair of the firm’s Business Law Practice Group. Carpenter concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate law and commercial transactions such as business formations, sales, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity financings. Carpenter is recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the corporate governance and compliance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate, and franchise law categories and Chambers USA for his corporate/mergers and acquisitions practice.
Bill Welch is a member of the Real Estate Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, title insurance, real estate brokerage, business acquisition and sale transactions, loan transactions, and business licensing. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA for his work in real estate law.
Bernstein Shur is one of northern New England’s largest multi-service law firms, with more than 90 attorneys in offices in Maine and and New Hampshire. Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation, and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur is Maine's exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world's leading association of independent law firms.