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Fact Book: Doing Business in Maine 2025

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45 B U S I N E S S P RO F I L E S for 2025, including three as Ones to Watch, a designation rec- ognizing the next generation of rising star lawyers, and Peter Brann is a former Maine Assistant Attorney General and State Solicitor and a teacher/lecturer at Harvard, Yale and Columbia. National eCommerce & State Tax Experts While offering services in various practice areas, Brann & Isaacson has elevated itself above its peers in National eCommerce and State Tax Litigation. In the 1960s, Brann & Isaacson began to work with L.L.Bean, a pioneer in the mail order and direct marketing industry. e partnership resulted in the firm, despite its small size, developing into a national leader in what has transformed into the e-commerce sector with decades of experience representing online and multi- channel retailers. Today, its nationally recognized team of attorneys navigate the complexities of taxation, privacy, intellectual property, and product safety issues, ensuring clients thrive in an ever-evolving e-commerce landscape — all the while defending clients against "patent trolls" and privacy shakedowns — making it the go-to firm for online sellers seeking to optimize compliance and mitigate risks. e firm's success in e-commerce led naturally to becoming trailblazers in State Tax Litigation with Brann & Isaacson attor- neys directly involved in some of the country's most influential pieces of state tax litigation, including representing Wayfair, Overstock, and Newegg before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S.Ct. 2080 (2018), among the most important state and local tax decisions issued by the nation's highest court in the last 30 years. Following the decision, states across the U.S. went after out-of-state companies for tax compliance with sales, use, and other business taxes. Brann & Isaacson has remained at the top of its game thanks to its longstanding skill in reading situations and responding effectively. "Our ability to look for the next opportunity, to see where the industry is going, where their needs are going, has been cru- cial to our success," Stitham explained. "It goes back to our size and our ability to pivot and priding ourselves on seeing where the industry is going. We're always looking for opportunities to develop the next practice area." Maintaining Maine Roots roughout its history, Brann & Isaacson has remained true to its roots, providing expert council in Local Business Litigation and Advising. Brann & Isaacson advises some of Maine's largest businesses on trademarks and other intellectual property matters, and serves Maine businesses (private and public, for profit and nonprofit) as general counsel for their legal needs. When the Maine Chamber of Commerce needed expertise on proposed legislation concern- ing consumer privacy, it turned to Brann & Isaacson. e firm has secured litigation successes for local employers in business and shareholder disputes. Brann & Isaacson played a key role in negotiating long-term, nine-figure deal leases for Maine's largest hospital network, and in the conservation easement protecting Katahdin Forest. Every person who has enjoyed shopping in Freeport village has benefited from Brann & Isaacson's role in negotiating the ground leases for the outlet village, as well as the nationwide LEED-certified leasing and construction for one of Maine's major multichannel retailers. And through it all, Brann & Isaacson has also supported Maine's schools as they navigate some of the thorniest challenges to education — from pandemics to protests — in recent years. Many of its relationships with Maine-based clients go back generations, cementing the firm's reputation within the state it calls home. "I think a lawyer is really a part of the community," said Stitham. "We're a strong part of the Lewiston-Auburn area where we represent municipalities and school districts and local businesses. We're also a part of the Portland community. We have, for the last 10 years, had a burgeoning Portland office that has created great relationships with local businesses in the city there. Certainly, we don't want to be the folks who only represent clients out of state via Zoom calls. We also represent our main street businesses in Maine, and that's very important to who we are." Brann & Isaacson combines deep local roots in Maine with nationally recognized expertise, particularly in e-commerce, tax, intellectual property, and privacy. Its boutique size ensures personalized client service, while its strong credentials reflect its impressive professional depth, setting the firm up for a successful future as it looks forward to another 100 years. l S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E " Our ability to look for the next opportunity, to see where the industr y is going, where their needs are going, has been crucial to our success. It goes back to our size and our ability to pivot and priding ourselves on seeing where the industr y is going. We're always looking for opportunities to develop the next practice area. " — Stacy Stitham, Managing Partner P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F B R A N N & I S A A C S O N P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F B R A N N & I S A A C S O N

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