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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 A U G U S T 6 , 2 0 1 8 In her own words Did you have a mentor or role model? My most enduring mentors/role models have been my law partner, Patricia Peard, and my mom, Rita Fortin. What advice would you give your former self? I did not fully appreciate the value of a liberal arts education when I went off to Colby College in 1984. My advice to my 18-year-old self would be to not worry about what my career would be after college, and instead just dive in head-first and take full advantage of every single opportuni- ty Colby had to offer. What are you reading this summer? The one that I have open at the moment is "The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle: How to Become a Servant Leader," by James C. Hunter. Who would play you in a movie about your life? Probably Sigourney Weaver, though think "Gorillas in the Mist" and "Avatar," not "Aliens." The char- acters she plays in these movies are strong women who are fearless when fighting for others, whether the others are gorillas or the fictional Na'vi people. She's an environmentalist, which we share, and people periodically tell me that I remind them of Sigourney Weaver. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Joel Moser, who chairs the firm's property tax and valuation team, says that no one has impacted his professional life more than Fortin. "I want to be like Joan when I grow up," he says. From higher education to law Fortin studied human development with an emphasis in religion at Colby College in Waterville, only 15 minutes from home but a culture shock for someone whose parents hadn't gone to college. Embarking on her initial career path in higher-education student services, she served as head resident at an undergrad- uate dorm her junior and senior years. In grad school at the University of Maine, she was a resident director before earning a master's degree in educational administration. After two years working in student services at Bowdoin College, she felt like she was already hitting the glass ceiling. To give her- self other career possibilities, she decided to pursue a law degree, as the presidents of Bowdoin and Colby had at that time. "I'm a big person for having options and back-up plans," she says. While at Northeastern University School of Law, she had the chance to do four three-month internships, including a summer at Bernstein Shur. She decided a career in law was for her. She also met her future hus- band, Chet Randall, a classmate from New Hampshire. After law school and a clerkship with Maine Supreme Court Associate Justice Paul L. Rudman in Bangor, Fortin became an associate a Bernstein Shur. A year later she joined Randall in Alaska, where he was working as a public defender. She landed at a small litigation firm in Anchorage. e following year, she con- vinced him to move with her to Maine. "I got out there and realized, my Maine roots are pretty deep," she says, "so we came back and here we are with two teenagers." In 1999 she returned to Bernstein Shur, where she practices municipal, administrative and land-use law. More importantly for the firm, she oversees attorney recruiting, hiring and retention, serves on the diver- sity and inclusion committee that she helped set up, and oversees the summer associate and mentoring programs. Out of more than 110 attorneys with the firm today, 47 were hired by Fortin. "She's been instrumental in hiring the highest- quality people over the last 10 years, not just law students but also many of the important lateral hires we've made," says CEO Patrick J. Scully. Danielle Conway, dean of the University of Maine School of Law, is another fan, saying: "I include Joan Fortin in the category of one of my sisters. She has at every turn supported my vision for the law school, created opportunities for me to pursue in furtherance of that vision, and she's been a consummate go-getter for women in the legal profession … She's been able to pull off the right mixture of support, sisterhood and subject matter expertise." Standing up for women and working parents Besides ensuring that the firm hires the right people, Fortin works behind the scenes to make sure that job offers to women are fair and equivalent to those for men. CEI helps grow good jobs, environmentally sustainable enterprises and shared prosperity through financing, advising and policy advocacy. To work with us, call 207-504-5900 www.ceimaine.org Coastal Enterprises, Inc. 30 Federal Street, Brunswick, ME 04011 Building an economy that works for everyone Visit Patrons.com to find an independent Maine agent near you. 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