Meet Phil, planning and land use devotee, counselor of municipalities, and proud home cook.

207 228-7160 direct
207 774-1200 main
207 774-1127 facsimile
100 Middle Street
PO Box 9729
Portland, ME 04104-5029
Chair
Municipal & Governmental Services Group
Co-chair
Land Use & Environmental Practice Group
Environmental
Land Use
Municipal & Governmental Services
Political Campaigns & Consulting
Property Tax and Valuation
- The Best Lawyers in America® 2024
Land Use and Zoning Law
Municipal Law - New England Super Lawyers “Rising Star”
- Faculty Significant Achievement Award, University of Maine School of Law
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.
Education
JD, University of Maine School of Law, cum laude
Editor in chief, Maine Law Review
BA, Vassar College
Admitted to practice
State of Maine
US District Court, District of Maine
Memberships
Maine State Bar Association, Co-chair, Municipal Section
American Bar Association, State and Local Government Section
International Municipal Lawyers Association