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James L. Costello, Attorney

Jim Costello’s  practice focuses on real estate and commercial law, utility law and regulatory matters. Jim combines his experience as a former accountant and as a senior energy, regulatory and real estate attorney to represent businesses on a wide range of legal concerns. Jim regularly advises utilities on Maine PUC regulation, utility rights of way, substation and corridor development and site acquisition, operating agreements, and aerial license agreements.  He assists businesses on office acquisition and leasing, business structuring, mergers and land acquisition, conservation easements and property tax matters. Jim regularly represents clients on state contract matters and award appeals.

Before joining the firm, Jim served as a law clerk to United States District Judge D. Brock Hornby.

Jim also previously practiced as a Certified Public Accountant with the firm KPMG Peat Marwick, working in both the tax and audit fields, with an emphasis in financial institution audits. He taught accounting at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a course entitled “Accounting for Lawyers” at the University of Maine School of Law.

Jim is active in the community and currently serves on the Yarmouth Economic Development Board. He is a Maine Bar Fellow and has served on a number of non-profit boards and local school volunteer activities, including a past board and executive committee member of the Maine Bar Foundation, Common Good Ventures,  Lift 360 and the Maine Children’s Museum.

Jim Costello

Tyler C. Costello, Attorney

Tyler Costello is primarily dedicated to the practice of real estate and commercial law, corporate law and land use.  Tyler advises clients in the development, acquisition and sale of commercial real estate, with a particular emphasis on affordable housing projects.  He also represents youth summer camps in Maine and helps them navigate the various complex legal issues associated with operating a youth camp in Maine.

Prior to joining the firm, Tyler served as a law clerk in Portland for two Justices of the Maine Superior Court. Tyler earned his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law where he served as Case Note and Comment Editor for the Ocean and Coastal Law Journal and was the recipient of Maine Law’s Environmental Law Award.  In addition, Tyler completed a fellowship with Conservation Law Foundation, and during his final year of law school, served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Before becoming an attorney, Tyler worked as a marine biology and ecology instructor and at a local lobster distributor.  Tyler lives in Cumberland where he enjoys exploring New England with his wife, spending time with family, fishing, scuba diving, and anything else that may satisfy his curiosity for adventure.

Tyler Costello

Emily P. Crowley, Attorney

Emily is an experienced litigator focused on business disputes and employment matters. She has represented businesses, municipalities, and individuals in a wide variety of disputes before state and federal courts and government agencies. Her litigation practice concentrates on commercial contract disputes, business torts, restrictive covenant enforcement, employment discrimination claims, and wage and hour matters.

In addition to her litigation practice, Emily counsels employers on a variety of employment issues. She partners with clients to help minimize legal risk through sound, feasible employment practices, and offers practical advice on challenging personnel matters before litigation arises.

A native of mid-coast Maine, Emily earned her undergraduate degree from Bates College and her law degree from Boston College Law School. Prior to returning home to Maine and joining Curtis Thaxter, Emily was a litigator in Boston for nearly a decade.

Emily Crowley

Amy N. Devin, Attorney

Amy Devin focuses her practice on real estate and commercial transactions with an emphasis on affordable housing and community redevelopment.  Amy represents developers, lenders, buyers, and sellers in a variety of matters relating to real estate development.  She has significant experience in project development and construction, purchase and sale transactions, low-income tax credits, commercial leases, affordable housing and community redevelopment.  In her commercial transaction practice, Amy regularly advises individuals and business owners on issues relating to acquisitions, sales, leasing, business structuring, and corporate governance.

Amy lives in Portland and enjoys spending her free time with her family.

Amy Devin

John D. Gleason, Attorney

John Gleason chairs the firm’s Healthcare and Employment Practice Areas. His practice includes the representation of physicians and other health care providers in the organization and operation of their practices, the development of employment and recruitment agreements with practices and hospitals, the regulatory issues arising from the expansion of practices and their affiliations with other entities, and licensing issues affecting individual health care providers. His practice also includes counseling businesses on employment matters, addressing issues ranging from the impact of federal and state employment discrimination laws on operational decisions to compliance with wage and hour laws. He appears before Maine agencies on employment matters involving Maine businesses and licensing matters involving Maine physicians.  He also serves as local counsel on employment actions in federal and state court.

Prior to joining the firm, John served as a clerk with United States District Court Judge Edward T. Gignoux.

John is recognized as a 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” in the practice area of  Health Care Law in Portland, ME and was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2022 in the field of Health Care Law.

John Gleason

Maureen E. Keegan , Attorney

Maureen E. Keegan focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, family business transactions and taxation.  She previously practiced as a certified public accountant.  She also has experience as a CFO of various business organizations in the commercial real estate, hospitality and retail industries.  She remains licensed as a CPA.

Maureen is a member of the Maine Estate Planning Council, the Trusts and Estates and Federal and State Taxation sections of the Maine State Bar Association, the pro bono panel of the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project in Maine, and the Katahdin Counsel Recognition Program.

Maureen Keegan

Nancy Savage Marcus, Attorney

Nancy Savage Marcus specializes in real estate, title issues, non-profit and corporate governance, land use, commercial, and transactional law.  She also has experience in contract and loan negotiation and documentation.  Nancy enjoys using her skills and training to help clients solve their legal problems.  She also represents youth summer camps in Maine and counsels them on a wide range of complex issues and problems unique to them.

Nancy brings wide commercial experience to the practice of law.  She was an associate at Pierce Atwood, Maine’s largest law firm, working in its Corporate/Commercial, IP and Real Estate Groups.  Following her work at Pierce, Atwood, Nancy served as the first Executive Director of the Portland Ronald McDonald House.  After that, Nancy became in-house counsel for American Skiing Company.  Prior to joining Curtis, Thaxter, Nancy was associated with Attorney David Perkins, assisting him with his wide-ranging corporate practice.  Drawing on her varied experience, today Nancy specializes in  real estate, corporate governance and transactional law as well as all areas of the law affecting Maine summer camps.  She enjoys using her skills and training to help clients solve their legal problems.

In addition to her activities in business and the legal profession, Nancy has served on numerous non-profit boards, including Goodwill of Northern New England, the Cancer Community Center, the Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust and Ronald McDonald House Charities as well as her church council and several homeowners’ association boards.  She currently serves as Treasurer of her neighborhood association. Nancy also volunteers as Trustee for a special needs trust for a disabled individual.

Nancy resides in Cumberland, Maine with her husband George and their teenaged son.  She is outside as often as possible hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in Maine.

Nancy Savage Marcus

Richard P. Olson, Attorney

Richard Olson is the managing member of the firm.  Richard helps clients solve problems and build successful businesses. Richard has successfully counseled companies in nearly every industry through every stage of their development from the kitchen table where an idea was born to successful mergers and acquisitions—and everything in between.

Richard has also led successful bankruptcies, workouts and reorganizations for clients ranging from publicly traded companies to individual entrepreneurs.

In addition to his successes as a business and bankruptcy lawyer, Richard is also a well-regarded litigator who has tried cases at all levels in Maine and Massachusetts. While Richard is an especially skilled negotiator and trained mediator, he is never hesitant to fight for his clients.

Richard serves as a trustee for private clients with complex family businesses and serves on municipal boards and the boards of for profit and non-profit companies. He was twice elected to the Falmouth Town Council and served as its chairman. Richard was President of the Falmouth Conservation Trust and led preservation efforts that preserved hundreds of acres of land for multiple uses.

Born in Biddeford, son of a Portland fire captain, Richard grew up in Portland. He left Maine for New York University to earn his BA in English and Economics. After college Richard joined the United States Navy and spent four years at sea as a deck and engineering officer.

Richard earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and worked at Ropes & Gray’s Boston office before returning home to Maine. Richard completed the “gold standard” forty hour mediation program sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute and St. John’s University and he is available for engagements as a mediator.

Richard Olson

Robert J. Papazian, Attorney

Bobby advises individuals and businesses on a variety of complex legal and regulatory issues.  His practice focuses on commercial law, healthcare and employment, and civil litigation.

Before joining Curtis Thaxter, Bobby was an associate at an international law firm in New York where he represented major sports leagues, financial institutions, manufacturers, retailers, and charitable organizations.  He also served as a law clerk to Judge Jane Richards Roth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and to Justice Barry T. Albin of the New Jersey Supreme Court.  Bobby earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School, where he served as Senior Notes & Comments Editor for the Rutgers University Law Review.

Bobby lives in Lyman, Maine, where he enjoys spending time with his dogs, running, cycling, and gardening.

Bobby Papazian

Michael B. Peisner, Attorney

Mike Peisner represents clients of all sizes in general business planning law, financing, real estate, and related matters.  Mike has represented clients in large and small financings, including SEC stock registrations and tax-driven transactions, with a non-exclusive focus on the energy industry.  He has engineered sophisticated corporate reorganizations (including for non-profits), handled numerous mergers and asset and equity acquisitions, and advised clients of various sizes on business planning matters, including tax and securities issues.  He is a licensed title agent, and supervises the firm’s trademark and copyright registration services.

Mike chaired the Maine State Bar Association task force on LLCs, which was instrumental in the passage of the original enabling legislation, and in the passage of subsequent amendments, including inter-species merger and conversion legislation. Before attending law school, he worked as a management auditor for what is now known as the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Mike has served as President of the Jewish Federation of Southern Maine, and presided over its merger with the Jewish Community Center to become the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, and as Board President of WinterKids, which helps Maine children develop healthy lifelong habits through fun, outdoor winter activity.

Mike was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2022 in the field of Corporate Law.

Mike Peisner

David J. Perkins, Attorney

Dave works with clients on business startups, reorganizations and workouts for distressed businesses, complex construction and land use issues, commercial litigation and solving problems or realizing opportunities that arise in commercial or real estate ventures.

Dave serves as a mediator on complex business and land use disputes. He has been certified in mediation at the Harvard Mediation Program.

Dave received his B.A from Dartmouth College in 1981, his law degree from Boston College in 1985, and he was a special student in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. He served as a Maine assistant attorney general prior to joining private practice.

Dave serves as a director with Reed & Reed, Inc.

Dave splits his time between Portland and his farm in Lincolnville, so he works with many clients in mid-coast Maine.

Dave has provided a range of community service, including serving as a co-founder of Friends of Casco Bay, chairing the Hospice of Southern Maine Board, chairing the MSAD 51 School District Board (Cumberland, North Yarmouth), chairing the Five Town School Board (Camden, Appleton, Lincolnville, Hope and Rockport), chairing the North Yarmouth Board of Selectmen, and as a director on the Preble Street Resource Center board.   Dave and his family have been active with the Rift Valley Children’s Village in Tanzania where he has volunteered on three visits.  He also served as an instructor for the AMC Wilderness Leadership School. At present, He is working with the Teens for Trails youth outdoor club program and he clears hiking trails with the Georges River Land Trust.

Cell: 207.415.0680

Dave Perkins

Maurice A. Selinger, III, Attorney

For more than 30 years, Cito Selinger has been a leader in helping clients envision, develop, finance and operate affordable housing and community redevelopment projects throughout Maine.  Cito represents developers, lenders and investors and is lead counsel in multimillion dollar projects using a combination of financing vehicles such as the low income housing tax credit, historic tax credit (federal and state) and conventional commercial financing.  He is a licensed title agent with several national title insurers.

Prior to joining the firm, Cito worked at another large firm in Portland and served as law clerk to former Chief Justice Daniel E. Wathen and the late Justice David A. Nichols of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Cito’s community activities generally relate to housing and social services. He is a member and past President of the Board of Directors of Preble Street, currently chairing its Investment Committee.  He received Preble Street’s “Board Member of the Year” award several years ago.  Cito served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, was President and Secretary-Treasurer and remains active in that organization.  Cito has received numerous Preservation Honor Awards from Maine Preservation and Greater Portland Landmarks for his role as counsel in landmark redevelopment projects throughout Maine.  In 2003, Cito received the Hope Award from Shalom House, in recognition of his community service in affordable housing for mental health consumers. Cito also served for nine years as a Trustee of the Freeport Historical Society.

Cito was named the Best Lawyers® 2015 Real Estate Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Portland, ME and was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers In America 2022 in the fields of Real Estate and Project Finance Law.

In his spare time, Cito heads off on hiking expeditions or works on restoring a camp originally built in 1909 on the shores of a lake in western Maine.

Cito Selinger

David P. Silk, Attorney

David Silk regularly represents clients before municipal, state and federal agencies on land use, zoning, and environmental matters. He has over 35 years of experience on property taxation appeals representing both taxpayers and municipalities with regard to commercial, industrial and exempt properties. David represents individuals and entities on property, probate and estate related matters, including issues arising out of the joint ownership of property, boundary disputes, constructions, easements, adverse possession, title, zoning and riparian access issues (docks, moorings and navigation) arising out of ownership of waterfront property. He assists clients with respect to issues arising out of the common ownership of property.

David also provides alternative dispute resolution services, including mediation to individuals and businesses on a wide range of matters and, in particular, property disputes, land and water use related matters and property tax disputes. He serves on several rosters of the Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (CADRES).

Prior to entering private practice in 1986, he served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Louis Scolnik of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He is peer review rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell for ethical standards and legal ability.

From 1987 until 2004, David served on the City of Portland Board of Assessment Review. From 2004 until 2013, he served on the City of Portland Planning Board.  In 2018, the Portland City Council reappointed David to the Planning Board.  He also serves on the Cumberland County Board of Assessment Review.  He is a past director of the University of Maine School of Law Alumni Association. He also serves or has served as an officer and director of several non-profit organizations including Housing Initiatives of New England.  He has coached youth soccer, youth baseball and high school swimming.

Prior to law school, David was an instructor at the Dartmouth Outward Bound Center and the Appalachian School of Experience.

Dave Silk

Sidney St. F. Thaxter, Of Counsel

After 48 years as a litigator, estate planner and counselor, Pete Thaxter has now become Of Counsel to the firm. Pete has worked with multiple generations of the firm’s clients and their families to help them with family business issues, succession planning, and their estates. While he is still available to help clients on a limited basis, he is not in the office daily.

For more than 40 years, Pete led the estate planning group and had focused on business succession and traditional estate planning.  He also for the past 40 years represented beachfront and other property owners in protecting their rights.  In the landmark Moody Beach and Goose Rocks Beach cases, he helped protect the landowners from claims by the towns and neighbors.

Pete has served on the Portland School Committee, Portland Charter Commission, the Maine Community Foundation, the Greater Portland Chambers of Commerce as Chair, the Portland Historical Preservation Committee, as Chairman & Vice Chair, the Board Network, and Lift 360 as Chair (formerly the Institute for Civic Leadership).

The best way to reach Pete is to contact him care of Rebecca Kinney through email or the phone number below.

Pete Thaxter

Jason J. Theobald, Attorney

Jason is a litigation attorney representing individuals and businesses in a variety of civil matters.  Jason enjoys helping clients navigate complex legal issues and achieve their goals.

Jason’s practice focuses on business and commercial disputes, property disputes, land use and zoning matters, discrimination claims, and administrative proceedings.  Jason is particularly interested in appellate litigation, representing clients in appeals of administrative decisions and before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Jason graduated cum laude from Villanova University School of Law.  Jason began his legal career as a law clerk, first with the Maine Superior Court in Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and then with the Maine Business and Consumer Docket, Maine’s specialized court for complex business litigation.  Prior to joining Curtis Thaxter, Jason was an Assistant Attorney General in the Litigation Division of the Office of the Maine Attorney General, where he represented a State agency and its employees in civil matters before both State and federal courts.

Before law school, Jason earned his undergraduate degree from Elizabethtown College, where he was a member of the cross country and track and field teams.  Jason also earned a master’s degree from the Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Jason lives in North Yarmouth with his wife and two daughters, which serves as their basecamp for enjoying outdoor activities throughout northern New England.

Jason Theobald