Joseph G. Donahue brings three decades of experience in all facets of utility law, including seven years as General Counsel to the Maine Public Utilities Commission, to his work as a senior Partner of the firm's Energy and Telecommunications Practice Group. Joe has developed the firm's strength in the area of telecommunications. He specializes in regulatory, transactional and business issues for both traditional telephone companies and emerging competitive telecommunications providers.

He represents Maine Independent Telephone Companies in regulatory and legislative matters and in dealing with the transition to a competitive environment. He served as regulatory counsel for the Telephone Association of Maine. As a practitioner of utility law, he has been involved in many significant telecommunications, energy, economic and environmental policy matters affecting Maine citizens and businesses. His successful litigation on behalf of clients such as the Industrial Energy Consumer Group (IECG) has resulted in substantial electric rate savings for member companies such as International Paper, Champion and Chinet.

Joe has spoken before the Maine State Bar Association, at the annual conferences of the Telephone Association of Maine and at annual IECG energy conferences. In addition, He is the author of an article titled "An Argument for a Prudent Approach to Alternative Forms of Regulation," published in the December 1993 issue of Maine Policy Review.

He is a member of the Maine State Bar Association, its Administrative Law Section and the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Joe graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College and cum laude from Boston University Law School in 1977. He served as law clerk to both the Honorable Charles A. Pomeroy and Honorable Edward S. Godfrey of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine before working ten years as an attorney for the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the last seven as General Counsel. He joined Preti Flaherty in 1989, and has been a Member of the firm since 1994. He was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in Woodward/White's The Best Lawyers in America 2008 edition.

He lives in Gardiner, Maine, with his wife, Rita Bouchard, and their children, Kathryn, Joseph and James.

Admissions
Massachusetts; Maine; U.S. District Court, District of Maine; U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Education
J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1977
A.B., Bowdoin College, 1974