Eaton Peabody

The legal industry across Maine is seeing changes in recent years, including growing staff, migrations between firms, new service models and the entry of a New Hampshire practice.

"You have to make sure you are growing," Verill's managing partner told Mainebiz as the Portland-based law firm seeks a permanent home in the Queen City.

As Maine's legal community digests the news of Eaton Peabody closing, new business models are sprouting up.

The law firm, led by Managing Partner Michael A. Hodgins, was ranked Maine's sixth-largest in the 2025 Mainebiz Book of Lists.

Viridian Law, led by Jeff Spaulding, has an office at 204 Main St. in Ellsworth.

After 12 years as president and managing partner of Maine law firm Eaton Peabody, David M. Austin turns its leadership over to Michael A. Hodgins.

To kick off the new year, Mainebiz asked more than a dozen movers and shakers from different sectors for their 2024 business predictions. The prognostications offer much food for thought.

Over half of Maine’s population lives in a rural area, but over half of Maine’s lawyers are in Cumberland County. Maine Law’s Rural Practice Clinic, one of only a few rural clinics in the country, meets a pressing need.

The Dirigo Angel Fund II raised $2.03 million for a new round of early-stage investments.

While incidents of racism were on display across the U.S. this year, they spurred the Maine Justice Foundation and a variety of corporate and philanthropic leaders to create a program combating the problem in the state.