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V O L . X X X I N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 2 5 18 L AW / P O L I C Y F O C U S Office move Skelton Taintor & Abbott bought 491 Lisbon St. in downtown Lewiston and says it has renovations underway for a move from its current location at nearby 500 Canal St. Josh Soley and Charlie Hippler of CORE, a commercial real estate firm in Portland, brokered the transaction. Built in 2004, the building at 491 Lisbon St. encompasses 18,000 square feet of Class A office space on three stories and was vacant when it was sold. e sale was several months in the making. In 2024, CORE brokered the sale of 491 Lisbon St. to Lisbon Street Leasing LLC and then managed the lease listing. Skelton Taintor & Abbott, No. 15 among law firm rankings, approached CORE with an interest in leasing the space. As conversations progressed, the firm decided to buy the building and transform it into a state-of-the- art office space. "is is a prime site and the perfect location for one of Lewiston's most important law firms," Soley said in a press release. "It offers Skelton Taintor & Abbott a chance to expand and fur- ther build on its storied, 172-year history in Lewiston." Founded in 1853, Skelton Taintor & Abbott said the plan is to move after it completes extensive interior renovations "to create a modern, collaborative work- space designed to support our attorneys, staff and clients for years to come," according to a separate release. e firm said it expects to move in the late spring of 2026. Client uptick Earlier this year, Viridian Law started in Ellsworth and Portland with 13 employees, many of whom formerly comprised Eaton Peabody's startup practice: seven attorneys led by Jeff Spaulding as managing director and Jen Baroletti as CFO, and a number of additional professionals. Most are at the downtown Ellsworth office at 204 Main St. One attorney and a staffer are at Cloudport CoWorking at 63 Federal St. in Portland. e group's clients at Eaton Peabody followed their lawyers and professionals to the new firm, which has evolved into a solid general prac- tice, says Spaulding. "It's exceeded all expectations," he says. Viridian is intentional about not growing headcount too quickly. "We're certainly open to growing, but it's got to be a very good fit with what we're focused on," says Baroletti. She adds, "We've had a lot of former colleagues and others reach out about joining us." An unexpected outcome of public- ity around the firm's formation was the gain of new clients, representing at least a 30% uptick. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E EVENT NAMING CONVENTION 24 MONTH 2020 I LOCATION Local. National. Global. Wherever you need us. Dentons celebrates continued growth of its Portland office. dentons.com P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F V I R I D I A N L AW P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F V I R I D I A N L AW Jeff Spaulding at Viridian Law says an unexpected outcome of publicity around the firm's formation earlier this year was the gain of new clients. Jen Baroletti of Viridian says the firm is intentional about not growing headcount too quickly. We've had a lot of former colleagues and others reach out about joining us. — Jen Baroletti Viridian Law

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