Philip R. Saucier

Here’s why you’ll enjoy working with him.

Having worked as an urban planner, as chair of the Portland Zoning Board, and inside state government, Phil is well acquainted with municipal and  land use law. That experience, combined with his legal expertise, makes him extremely adept at counseling municipal officials and boards and obtaining land use approvals at local, state, and federal levels for real estate developers and property owners. And he’s just as equipped to help clients with legislative issues: he helped draft and pass health care legislation during his time as a senior legal advisor in the Governor’s office.

Whether he’s drafting legislation or helping clients solve seemingly intractable issues, Phil keeps his calm and level-headedness, and delivers efficient, thoughtful solutions.

But that’s not all. Phil is also very experienced in:

• Municipal broadband initiatives, including both municipal-owned services and interlocal agreements for broadband utilities
• All aspects of election law and Maine’s Freedom of Access Act
• Ongoing general counsel to municipal officials and boards, covering general administration, zoning, planning, enforcement actions, administrative and judicial appeals, and more
• Working with both municipalities and developers on TIF districts
• Drafting legislation and testimony
• Advising clients on campaign compliance election law, including government ethics requirements, political action committee formation and governance, and ballot question campaigns
• Securing land use permitting and contract zone agreements

In his former life, Phil was:

• Senior policy and legal advisor on health care and health insurance matters for Governor John E. Baldacci, as well as one of the governor’s legislative liaisons to the Maine Legislature
• Associate at Verrill Dana in Portland, Maine
• Law clerk for the Honorable John A. Woodcock Jr. of the US District Court for the District of Maine
• Urban/land use planner at Sasaki Associates, an international architecture and design firm

When Phil isn’t working, he is…

Cooking up a storm and he loves good food and Maine beer. Phil is a member of the Town of Cape Elizabeth School Board, a member of University of Maine School of Law Alumni Engagement Committee, and a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Portland Stage Company. He enjoys playing tennis, canoeing, hiking, and spending quality time with his family.