Photo / Courtesy of Viridian Law
Jeff Spaulding
February 26, 2025
Eaton Peabody startup team leaves to start own law firm
Photo / Provided
Viridian is a new law firm in Maine, with an office at 204 Main St. in Ellsworth.
All seven attorneys formerly in Eaton Peabody's startup practice have left the Bangor-based law firm to start a firm of their own called Viridian Law.
The 13-member team, led by Jeff Spaulding as managing director, also includes a corporate and securities analyst, four paralegals and an additional staff member, all of whom have also left Eaton Peabody.
"Our practice is very much statewide and beyond the state, too, so we wanted our firm to reflect that area of focus and continue working with those clients but do it on our own terms," Spaulding told Mainebiz in a phone interview.
"One of the benefits of being on our own is that we have more flexibility with pricing and being able to control rates," he said.
While four team members are focused on startups, Viridian is also a general practice firm with the rest of the professionals focused on litigation, real estate, municipal and employment matters, Spaulding noted.
Viiridian, which has an office at 204 Main St. in Ellsworth where Spaulding is based, aims to establish a presence at Cloudport CoWorking in Portland over the next month though the amount of space depends on what is available.
Photo / Courtesy of Viridian Law
Jeff Joyce
"Over the past year we worked a lot with the Roux Institute, and it still feels like we're based there," said Jeff Joyce, who chairs Viridian's intellectual property group from Portland. The Roux Institute, part of Northeastern University, is based on Portland's East End.
Viridian's name, chosen from an internal contest, comes from the Latin for both “truth,” and "green," to reflect growth.
"We didn't want to go with the classic list of last names," Spaulding said.
The move comes amid Maine's wider boom in new law-related businesses ranging from niche practices with clients in multiple states to disruptive technology startups.
Viridian's founding also comes less than five months after a management shakeup at Eaton Peabody, with Michael A. Hodgkins succeeding David M. Austin as managing partner last October.
Austin left Eaton Peabody after more than 25 years with the firm. In January, he joined Portland-based law firm Verrill as a partner.
Eaton Peabody was ranked No . 6 among Maine-based law firms in the 2025 Mainebiz Book of Lists based on 42 attorneys in Maine at the time of the survey.
Today, Eaton Peabody employs 30 attorneys, according to COO Veronica Lachapelle, who declined further comment.
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