Eaton Peabody exit casts light on legal market in flux

Image/AI-generated Adobe Stock Maine's legal landscape is in a state of disruption as Eaton Peabody prepares to wind down and new business models sprout up.

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By Renee Cordes

The times they are-a-changin’ in a legal landscape still digesting the news of Eaton Peabody's imminent exit amid a growing crop of new business models.

Experts expect the shakeup to continue as some lawyers shed the law firm life for higher risk and greater independence as entrepreneurs and business owners. Viridian Law and Aleta Law are among startups leading the charge.

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Jeff Spaulding, Viridian Law

“There was always a sense that working at a bigger firm was the ‘safe’ play,” Jeff Spaulding, managing partner of Viridian, told Mainebiz. "As that shifts for the next generation, I think we will see more disruptive changes in the legal market.”

Spaulding has a front-row seat to the changes after teaming with several former colleagues of Eaton Peabody to start Viridian. He said that while the traditional law firm model offers some advantages, downsides include high overhead costs and a slower ability to shift gears to meet changing market needs.

"Bigger is not always better," he said, "and there is room for multiple models and niches in a market."

Spaulding and his former colleagues at Eaton Peabody weren’t the only ones to leave the Bangor-based firm, which is set to close its three remaining offices by the end of this month.

Other attorneys, including former Eaton Peabody Managing Partner David Austin, have joined Verrill, a Portland-based firm on the verge of expanding to Bangor.

Another newcomer is Aleta Law, launched last year by Kai McGintee and Amanda Norris Ames, the former co-chairs of Bernstein Shur’s investigations and resolutions practice group.

File Photo / Tim Greenway

Kai McGintee of Aleta Law

The boutique firm is staffed by attorneys working remotely to provide investigation and adjudication services for higher education institutions, K-12 schools, athletic organizations, nonprofits and companies nationwide.

"Many lawyers are realizing they can deliver high-quality legal services with a leaner, more efficient model than a traditional law firm model," McGintee said. "I also think there’s a growing desire to build something meaningful. Lawyers are prioritizing work-life balance, niche specialization and the ability to shape firm culture. They want to serve clients on their own terms and align their work with personal values."

File photo / Tim Greenway

Krystal Williams

Krystal Williams, also formerly with Bernstein Shur, has also opted to go independent, as the founder of the Providentia Group law firm in Portland.

“We are seeing a fundamental shift in how legal services are provided, and I believe that over the long term, the shakeout will benefit clients and lawyers,” she said.

Global footprint

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Andrew Helman of Dentons

At the other end of the size spectrum is Dentons, a global law firm founded in 2013 with 6,000 lawyers in 160 offices around the globe.

Its Portland office is staffed by a dozen attorneys led by Managing Partner Andrew Helman, who highlights the firm's combination of local talent committed to the community with national and global resources.

“Dentons has an aspirational culture that is always focused on where our clients and our profession are headed, not where they have been,” he said. "Lawyers gravitate toward Dentons to provide their clients with forward-looking local, national and global reach.”

'Hollowing out of the middle'

Looking at the wider landscape, Yale Law School Professor John Morley told Mainebiz that while so-called Big Law is thriving, he’s less certain about smaller, regional firms like those found in Maine.

“The one thing we are seeing for sure is tremendous pressure on mid-sized regional firms,” he said by phone on Monday.

Drawing a comparison to the grocery industry, he said, “There’s growth at the high end and at the low end, but this is what labor economists refer to as the hollowing out of the middle.”

Among other things, he said that smaller firms are less nimble than larger enterprises.

Morley also noted that when partners start to leave a firm, that often sparks a domino effect of further departures not just because there’s less money coming in but also because remaining partners may face personal liability when a firm finally dissolves.

“It’s a terrifying phenomenon, and at some point you can’t stop it,” he said.