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I'm wondering if anyone can tell me about the Portland Maine Market. There are a couple firms that seem like good places to work (Pierce Atwood, Verrill Dana). What kind of ties are they usually looking for? Would I be wasting my time with strong ties to Boston? I've been to Portland and I genuinely would consider living there, it seems like a nice place to me. But I don't know if I can convince them of that having lived in Boston my whole life. Pierce Atwood has a Boston office but it looks like they only hire SAs in Portland (I could be wrong). They also have a very small class size and only go to OCI in Maine and NH.

Any info (or direction to another thread) would be helpful.

Maine is pretty insular. i grew up in maine and know most of the partners at these firms just from life. so its certainly a small community. but i think people in maine see it as a destination place and a lot of people are first generation mainers. sell any connection and desire to be there hard

I've poked around Portland a little bit and it's a very small market. The firms up there don't pay Boston market and most hire only 2-3 summers at most and definitely do not guarantee permanent offers to all of their summers. You're better off targeting Boston and then trying to lateral later to fill a need. That seems to be where many people come from at those firms.

Portland's beautiful, but definitely a small market. Quite a few BU/BC people on their attorneys list. Maybe contact an alum?

Visited Portland during 2L, definitely an awesome city. No harm taking a crack at the handful of firms there but certainly have a backup plan. It's tiny.

Pierce Atwood - while having a very small SA class - gives 100% offers. So just do your research but its also an attractive destination for natives so you'll have them to compete with.

On the other hand, if you want to be a federal judge on the District of Maine some day, Pierce Atwood seems to be a good way to go. With such a small market, they have a pretty good elevation rate.

On a more serious note, get in touch with people there. Look for clerkship opportunities there, if your grades permit. Find a way to spend a week volunteering at some Portland non-profit, or something. Get drunk at Rí Rá's. Have something that allows you to go into an interview and demonstrate that you aren't going to yearn for the big city life and leave after a year. Small SA classes mean that they can't afford people who can't demonstrate commitment to stay there for several years.

OP here, thanks for the advice!

Anonymous User wrote:On the other hand, if you want to be a federal judge on the District of Maine some day, Pierce Atwood seems to be a good way to go. With such a small market, they have a pretty good elevation rate.

On a more serious note, get in touch with people there. Look for clerkship opportunities there, if your grades permit. Find a way to spend a week volunteering at some Portland non-profit, or something. Get drunk at Rí Rá's. Have something that allows you to go into an interview and demonstrate that you aren't going to yearn for the big city life and leave after a year. Small SA classes mean that they can't afford people who can't demonstrate commitment to stay there for several years.

its where you wanna be if you want BigCircuit lawl

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:On the other hand, if you want to be a federal judge on the District of Maine some day, Pierce Atwood seems to be a good way to go. With such a small market, they have a pretty good elevation rate.

On a more serious note, get in touch with people there. Look for clerkship opportunities there, if your grades permit. Find a way to spend a week volunteering at some Portland non-profit, or something. Get drunk at Rí Rá's. Have something that allows you to go into an interview and demonstrate that you aren't going to yearn for the big city life and leave after a year. Small SA classes mean that they can't afford people who can't demonstrate commitment to stay there for several years.

its where you wanna be if you want BigCircuit lawl

I had a callback at Bernstein Shur from BU's OCI, but turned it down for a Boston offer. It's possible to get up there, just be prepared to say why you want to be in Maine/Portland.