Practices | Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Bernstein Shur’s litigation attorneys are involved in many areas of litigation. Though skilled in jury and non-jury trials, we seek ways to resolve disputes outside the courtroom whenever possible. Many of our litigators have advance training and practice as mediators and arbitrators.

Tenacious | Creative

We take the time to learn about your business and challenges from the start. We do not rest until your challenges are met.

Our experienced litigators, through thoughtful counsel and advice, will help you determine if your interests are best served by pursuing litigation. When litigation cannot be avoided, we’re aggressive, efficient and effective. You can count on us to be “deal smart” in seeking creative solutions before and during litigation.

Experienced |  Skilled |  Knowledgeable

Our litigators are technology savvy and are experienced litigating disputes in courts, arbitrations and other forms of resolving disputes.  Although our practice is concentrated in New England, we regularly litigate disputes across the country.  Our team has been widely recognized by clients and peers and in publications including Chambers and Partners, Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers.

Specialized | Innovative

Each of our lawyers specializes in one or more areas of practice, making each attorney highly knowledgeable in specific industries and substantive areas of law.  This focus on specialization enables our litigators to develop and deliver innovative legal solutions.

Our litigation attorneys represent clients in the following areas:

 
Business Litigation

The Bernstein Shur Business Practice Group includes senior litigators with experience and expertise in a variety of business-related litigation, including:

  • Shareholder and partnership disputes
  • Shareholder and director deadlocks
  • Securities litigation
  • Business fraud
  • Lender liability suits
  • Noncompetition agreements
  • Contract disputes
  • Commercial real estate
  • Business transactions and intellectual property disputes

Members of the group have litigated cases before state and federal courts in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and before other courts around the country.

Contact
Maine: Paul McDonald, 207-228-7260, pmcdonald@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com


Construction Litigation 

The Bernstein Shur Construction Practice Group has the most experienced and largest group of construction litigators in Northern New England. We provide pragmatic alternatives and solutions, litigating only to the extent necessary.

Our construction litigators practice in all arenas in which construction disputes arise, from mediations and arbitrations, international forums, and administrative bodies to jury and nonjury trials in state and federal courts in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We’ve handled claims including:

  • Delay and extra work claims
  • Insurance issues
  • Design claims
  • Personal injury and OSHA claims
  • Payment and bond matters
  • Financing and workouts of construction loans
  • Management and resolution of toxic tort and hazardous waste liabilities

Contact
Maine: Michael Bosse, 207-228-7276, mbosse@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Roy Tilsley, 603-623-8700, rtilsley@bernsteinshur.com


Defense of Mass Tort and Products Liability Litigation

Bernstein Shur has represented clients in products liability cases for more than 30 years. Our asbestos defense practice, led by Peter Rubin, is recognized as one of the premier practices in New England. We’ve served as regional and local counsel to dozens of companies that have been sued in asbestos cases, including thermal insulation manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, component part manufacturers and premises owners.

Our strategic staffing of mass tort and product liability cases allows maximum flexibility and the ability to deploy a cohesive team to cover exigent situations at a moment’s notice. Because of our long history, we have easy access to a great deal of information, and our in-house resources offer a large advantage to our clients. We have close working relationships with other defense counsel around the country that we can leverage quickly, and we use the latest available technology to manage our database of deposition and trial transcripts, medical articles, and case-specific information and exhibits.

Contact
Maine: Dan Mitchell, 207-228-7202, dmitchell@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com


Energy and Environmental Litigation

The Bernstein Shur energy and environmental litigation team has extensive experience litigating state and local matters before state and federal agencies and in court, including:

  • Generation and transmission facilities development and permitting
  • Defending against enforcement actions concerning waste disposal/recycling
  • Remediation
  • Water and air quality
  • Endangered species impacts
  • Contract disputes
  • Power purchase agreements and insurance coverage
  • Waterfront and timberland property disputes

Contact
Maine: Jack Montgomery, 207-228-7249, jmontgomery@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Chris Aslin, 603-623-8700, caslin@bernsteinshur.com


Fraud, Qui Tam and White-Collar Defense

Questions of potential fraud may arise in a number of settings, most of which involve litigation or pre-litigation activities. Bernstein Shur has experience in defending against fraud accusations in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. We’ve counseled clients and conducted internal investigations where fraud was suspected. We’ve also been involved in the litigation of qui tam actions concerning fraud by governmental contractors.

Contact
Maine: Ron Schneider, 207-228-7267, rschneider@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com


Health Care Litigation and Professional Licensing 

The Bernstein Shur Health Care Practice Group represents physicians and other health care professionals, physician group practices and associations, hospitals, mental health and substance abuse agencies, joint ventures, nursing homes, home health care agencies, pharmacies and a wide range of other health care providers throughout Maine, New Hampshire and Northern New England.

Bernstein Shur maintains an extremely active practice defending health care professionals before administrative agencies and in practice and hospital-based disciplinary actions in Maine and New Hampshire. Our litigators have defended against fraud prosecutions and qui tam actions and have conducted internal investigations. Our employment lawyers represent hospitals and other health care institutions in all forms of employment litigation, and our business litigators have represented professional practices in complex corporate disputes.

Our attorneys counsel and defend clients regarding issues in health care practices, including:

  • Confidentiality, ethics and reimbursement
  • Managing difficult patient situations
  • Hospital and other credentialing actions
  • Licensure investigations and complaints, including matters regarding competence, substance abuse and professional conduct
  • State and federal investigations and actions, including fraud and abuse, recoupment and other actions

Contact
Maine: Ken Lehman, 207-228-7302, klehman@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com


Insolvency and Business Restructuring 

The Bernstein Shur Business Reorganization and Insolvency Practice Group represents clients throughout the United States, including busy reorganization courts in Delaware and the Southern District of New York. Within New England, the group plays a significant role in the majority of Chapter 11 cases filed, with an emphasis on representing debtors in such cases and purchasers of assets. Outside of New England, group members have represented asset purchasers in §363 and plan asset sales as well as major parties-in-interest in Chapter 11 cases and bankruptcy-related litigation.

The group’s litigation expertise includes:

  • Disputes regarding officers and directors’ liability
  • Lender liability disputes
  • Complex preferential and fraudulent transfers
  • Commercial and business tort litigation

Our clients include business debtors, liquidating trustees, creditors’ committees, parties acquiring distressed businesses and other parties affected by insolvency proceedings. 

Contact
Robert Keach, 207-228-7334, rkeach@bernsteinshur.com
Michael Fagone, 207-228-7280, mfagone@bernsteinshur.com


Intellectual Property, Copyrights and Trade Secret Litigation

Bernstein Shur attorneys have extensively litigated trade secret disputes, Lanham Act claims and other actions involving intellectual property before state and federal courts. Many of these claims were coupled with common law business torts and unfair trade practices claims. Our lawyers also have expertise in the employment law field concerning noncompete and nondisclosure agreements.

Contact
Maine: Paul McDonald, 207-228-7260, pmcdonald@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com


Labor and Employment

All members of the Bernstein Shur Labor and Employment Practice Group litigate before state and federal courts and before employment-related state and federal administrative agencies. Members represent business and management in discrimination, wage, wrongful termination and labor matters.

Contact
Maine: Glenn Israel, 207-228-7291, gisrael@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Karen Aframe, 603-623-8700, kaframe@bernsteinshur.com


Real Estate and Land Use Planning

Bernstein Shur’s commercial real estate lawyers have litigated disputes in the following areas:

  • Purchase and sale agreements and letters of intent
  • Breach of deed and mortgage covenants and conditions
  • Actions for specific enforcement
  • Title disputes
  • Boundary claims
  • Scope and breadth of easements
  • Quiet title actions
  • Foreclosures
  • Evictions
  • Condominium litigation
  • Damage claims
  • Land use planning and permitting

We represent governmental authorities and private parties in local and state land takings and in eminent domain litigation and appeals.

Contact
Maine: David Soley, 207-228-7300, dsoley@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Roy Tilsley, 603-623-8700, rtilsley@bernsteinshur.com


Securities Litigation 

Bernstein Shur’s securities and financial services litigators leverage industry knowledge and experience to achieve the best possible result in complex financial disputes. With attorneys dedicated to this practice, the firm serves securities issuers, asset managers, broker-dealers, banks, public and private investment companies (funds), accounting firms, and insurance companies, among others, throughout New England and the United States.

We have a reputation for our ability to work strategically toward solutions that resolve matters early on, whether by winning dismissals on motions, persuading opposing parties to drop claims without payment, structuring novel settlements or working through arbitration.

Our team includes attorneys who formerly served in senior roles at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange, and in-house at some of the world’s largest financial institutions and broker-dealers. Areas of focus include:

  • Defense of securities issuers and related parties
  • Corporate governance and fiduciary litigation
  • Defense of investment advisers and broker-dealers
  • Securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation
  • Financial products disputes
  • Mergers and acquisitions litigation
  • Corporate takeover/Control litigation
  • Accounting defense
  • Insurance Litigation Involving Corporate Issuers and Securities Industry Participants
  • Regulatory Investigations and Proceedings
  • Internal Investigations

Contact
Maine: Scot Draeger, 207-228-7336, sdraeger@bernsteinshur.com
Maine: Paul McDonald, 207-228-7260, pmcdonald@bernsteinshur.com
New Hampshire: Andru Volinsky, 603-623-8700, avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com