The Portland Press Herald today reported that a jury has awarded a $7.3 million verdict against the law firm of Bernstein Shur Sawyer & Nelson after finding it was negligent in its representation of a client in a case.
I was out of town all last week and had no knowledge about this trial or the facts of the case. Unfortunately, the Press Herald article about the trial is less than clear.
From the newspaper article, it appears that Bernstein Shur, one of Maine’s largest law firms with around 85 lawyers, represented Peter Redman in a dispute with his brother Mark Redman over control of a mattress and furniture business.
Peter Redman’s lawyer alleged that a complaint of sexual harassment against his client was not adequately investigated or defended by Bernstein Shur. It appears from the Press Herald article that the jury agreed. Bernstein Shur vows to seek a new trial or appeal and states that they don’t believe they were negligent and expect to ultimately prevail.
Hopefully, the Press Herald will do a follow up story that better explains each side’s position in this case.
Regardless of the final outcome, this is a black eye on this major Portland law firm and is not the type of publicity any firm wants to have reported in the newspaper.
