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V O L . X X V I I N O. X X V N OV E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 2 1 20 L AW M aine law firms have made acquisitions, hired new talent and found opportunities to serve new clients throughout the pan- demic. Some have found new ways to work remotely, others have returned to the office. Here are notable changes at some area firms. Expansion at Drummond Woodsum Drummond Woodsum in Portland has seen significant growth in the past year, and is now Maine's second-largest law firm (see list on Page 26). In July, it merged with Germani Hill & Hayes to beef up its litigation practice. It also has expanded its environmental and natural resources practice, as well as its govern- ment and campaign relations group. One unique expansion included adding two lawyers who live and work remotely from Arizona. Joe Sarcinella and Brian Lewis joined Drummond Woodsum's tribal nations practice group this year as shareholders, expanding its client base and practice reach. "It's the first time the firm has hired workers from elsewhere without an expectation that they would move to Maine. It's exciting. It would not have been possible pre-pandemic," says Michael-Corey Hinton, leader of the firm's tribal nations practice. "We're the only law firm in New England with this type of practice." "e pandemic has been very hard. e growth of our business came from hardship suffered by our clients. It's pushed all of us to do more and we're just extremely grateful for the opportu- nity to do this work," Hinton says. Hinton knew Sarcinella and Lewis from law school at Arizona State University. He stayed in touch over the years and eventually recruited them to Drummond Woodsum. "I knew they were in places in their careers where they could grow very, very fast. We said 'Come work with us. We'll give you administrative support. You can see your families more and work more effectively,'" Hinton says. e practice group meets weekly by Zoom and handles clients from the eastern U.S. through to California, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico. e group includes seven lawyers who are dedicated to working with Tribal Nations or organizations that interact with them, and another 10 lawyers with other specialties in cannabis, financial issues or litigation provide additional help. e firm sought to expand the prac- tice to reach clients in other areas. "We felt like there was a big swath of the country where we had great connections and opportunities to grow," Hinton says. e pandemic created a lot of oppor- tunity for the firm because of new laws like the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act that injected trillions of dollars into the economy and cre- ated a lot of opportunities and ques- tions for clients. Bernstein Shur adds media-and-marketing practice Following a move to add a practice group dedicated to climate-related law and regulation earlier this year, F O C U S We're the only law firm in New England with this type of practice. — Michael-Corey Hinton Drummond Woodsum Michael-Corey Hinton is the leader of Drummond Woodsum's expanded tribal nations practice group. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Around the legal field Remote work changes hiring strategies for some Maine law firms B y J e s s i c a H a l l

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