Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman Attorneys Lauri Boxer-Macomber and Terry Duddy were recently invited to guest lecture at the University of New England. On January 15, Attorney Boxer-Macomber spoke on legal and social reform within the fields of transportation and traffic law. She touched on topics such as the evolution of bicycle laws, recent vulnerable road user legislation, the history of the term “jaywalking,” speed cameras, distracted driving, trends in crash reporting, autonomous vehicles, and micromobility. The following week, on January 22, Attorney Duddy spoke on maritime law and the historical interplay between social and legal reform in that area of law.

Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman is pleased to announce Attorney Erik Peters has joined the firm.

Erik resides in Freeport, Maine with his family and has been practicing law for over two decades. He enjoys both plaintiff and defense work and advocating for clients inside and outside of the courtroom. Erik primarily practices in the fields of employment, commercial, and personal injury law.  He is also known for his strong civil litigation skills.

Erik’s prior legal experience includes serving as counsel for one of the country’s largest insurance companies, working for the State of Texas, and practicing at another well-respected Maine law firm.  He has successfully run his own business and represented clients in multi-million dollar personal injury cases throughout New England. Erik has also represented people and companies in labor and employment law matters in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He holds the highest rating of “AV® Preeminent™” from the Martindale-Hubble lawyer rating firm.

With Uber, Lyft, and other ride share and ride hail companies increasingly operating on Maine’s roadways, Maine bicyclists need to know what to do if they are “doored” by an Uber or Lyft passenger, hit by a ride hail/share operator, or involved in a bike crash, bike collision or bike “accident” caused by someone working for one of these companies.  In this recent piece published in Velo News, KRZ’s Lauri Boxer-Macomber and other members of the National Bike Law Netwok discuss insurance and liability issues and offer some helpful tips for bicyclists.  Read more here:

https://www.velonews.com/2019/12/news/legally-speaking-what-to-do-if-an-uber-driver-hits-you_503347

KRZ is included in the 2020 rankings of “Best Law Firms” released annually by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®.  Firms included in the 2020 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

KRZ is regionally ranked in six separate practice areas including: Admiralty & Maritime Law, Family Law, Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiffs Medical Malpractice Law, Real Estate Litigation and Real Estate Law.

Additionally, five KRZ attorneys are individually recognized by Best Lawyers® including: Barry Zimmerman (recognized since 1989), John N. Kelly (recognized since 1999), R. Terrance Duddy (recognized since 2006), Timothy H. Norton (recognized since 2008), and U. Charles Remmel, II (recognized since 2011).

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in the field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.   The 2020 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and client votes received on record. Almost 16,000 lawyers provided more than 1,229,000 law firm assessments, and more than 12,000 clients participated providing 107,000 evaluations.

Chuck Remmel has been selected as a Super Lawyer honoree in the area of Business Litigation and Lauri Boxer-Macomber has been selected as a Super Lawyer honoree in the area of General Personal Injury. Each year, no more than 5% of lawyers in New England are selected as Super Lawyers.

Additionally, Stephen Koerting has been recognized as a Rising Star honoree in the areas of Transportation/Maritime. Rising Stars recognizes attorneys who are either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. Each year, no more than 2.5% of the lawyers in New England are selected as Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

KRZ Attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber joined Bob O’Brien, the Vice President of Noyes, Hall and Allen Insurance, to discuss e-bikes and insurance. Lauri’s highly informative blog post on Bike Law USA can be found here. Read on for Lauri’s full interview with Bob. (more…)

The Maine State Bar Association recently awarded Chuck Remmel its Lifetime Membership Award, an award given to attorneys who have practiced in Maine for fifty years or more.  Congratulations, Chuck!  Thank you for the many ways you have served and continue to serve the Maine bar, KRZ clients, and our firm.  We are proud do be practicing alongside you.

Maine recently enacted 7 MRSA §3955:  An Act Regarding Actions of the Owner or Keeper of a Dog That Assaults a
Person and Causes an Injury That Requires Medical Attention.  The new law details the legal obligations of owners and keepers of dogs that injure bicyclists, pedestrians and others.   Among other things, the law requires owners and keepers to contact law enforcement following a dog versus person attack, incident, or collision that results in a victim needing medical attention.  In addition, the law requires owners and keepers to help secure medical assistance for victims, contain their dogs, and provide contact and other information to injured persons or their representatives at the scene of an attack, incident or collision.  The new  law also makes it a Class D crime for people to disregard these new legal responsibilities.

Several months ago, KRZ Attorney Boxer-Macomber’s testimony to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on the proposed bill was quoted in this story in the  Lewiston Sun Journal.  Attorney Boxer-Macomber underscored that the proposed law, with amendments, would offer “valuable protections for users of public parks, multi-use trails and roadways” because it would help ensure the necessary information is available to victims and official agencies.   Several of the suggestions made by Attorney Boxer-Macomber in her testimony appear to have been taken into account by the Legislature and included in the final version of the law.

Governor Janet Mills recently appointed John Kelly, Esq. to her Executive Clemency Board. John is a founding partner of Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman and is presently “of counsel” at KRZ.

On May 17, 2019, Tim Norton and Jen Archer obtained an award of over $1.8 million for their client in a hotly contested arbitration claim related to a “Take or Pay” commodity contract. After a lengthy discovery phase and a three day trial, the arbitrator rejected the opposing party’s substantial claims and awarded $1,870,099.45 to KRZ’s client.