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V O L . X X I V N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 1 8 12 T he "Girl Boss" throw pillows in the office aren't just for show — the women at Augusta law firm Ellis & Meader, two attorneys and a paralegal, mean business. Elisa Ellis and Amanda Meader, business partners who spend so much time together they call each other "work wives," founded the full-service civil law firm in September 2017 and recently hired paralegal Kasey Nelson to help with the workload, which includes estate planning, business law and municipal law. "We're three women from central Maine who came from rather mod- est backgrounds and made our way very much based on our own grit and determination," says Meader, who grew up in Fairfield on wel- fare and food stamps and now lives in Winthrop. Ellis was raised in Oakland and spent 10 years selling commercial insurance before going into law. ey first crossed paths at the Maine Municipal Association, a nonprofit resource for local govern- ments where Meader was a staff attor- ney and Ellis did an externship. Today despite the long hours, hard work and challenges of running a small practice, they relish being their own bosses. "I would never go back to a large firm, a medium firm, any kind of firm that isn't this firm," says Meader, who spent the first seven years of her career in private practice before join- ing the Maine Municipal Association in Augusta. Ellis, who was used to coming and going as she pleased during her sales career and started a law practice right out of law school, says she can't imagine ever answering to a boss at a large firm. "I don't ever want to do that again," she says. Startup law firms are making their mark in Maine B y R e n e e C o R d e s M A I N E L AW Y E R S R E G I S T R AT I O N S TAT I S T I C S S O U R C E : 2017 Annual Report, Board of Overseers of the Bar Firm size % in 2016 % in 2017 Lawyers 1 27.07% 26.51% 1,429 2–5 22.00% 21.73% 1,171 6–9 9.06% 8.74% 471 10–19 9.01% 9.22% 497 20–49 7.41% 7.27% 392 50–99 4.51% 4.81% 259 100+ 9.98% 9.80% 528 N/A 10.96% 11.93% 643 but F O C U S Elisa Ellis, at left, and Amanda Meader, at right, are founders of Augusta firm Ellis & Meader. At center is paralegal Kasey Nelson. P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R

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