Our timberlands are rightly considered one of the region’s most important resources. In Maine, forests cover 89 percent of the state and contribute approximately $8.5 billion to the economy annually. Preti Flaherty has built a reputation successfully representing paper mills, saw mills, lumber companies, land management companies and industrial land owners with legal issues that are unique to the region we call home and its forest products and timberlands industries.

Leaders in Land Use

Our forest products attorneys orchestrate complex forest products and timberlands transactions and help clients secure state and federal funding. Our clients turn to us for assistance navigating a variety of issues, including:

  • Forest products and timberlands transactions including operating agreements, wood supply agreements and underwriting of timberland titles
  • Acquisitions or dispositions of mills and processing facilities, as well as timberlands in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Permitting of pulp and paper mills and associated energy assets as well as assistance in navigating state, regional and federal regulatory systems
  • Environmental permits related to air and water emissions, solid and hazardous waste issues and site law
  • Management of client energy needs and opportunities, including connecting clients with grants and incentive funding for energy projects
  • Immigration applications and appeals, Canadian work visas, H2A/H2B issues
  • Securing of financing, representation of borrowers in lending transactions, and assistance with bankruptcy and collection matters
  • Legislative and agency lobbying, campaign and strategic government relations management

Standing Side by Side in Growth

Despite the recent closure of several paper mills, the forest products industry is expanding – investments are being made in facilities, the housing market is growing, and lawmakers and large landowners are working with the industry to ensure its continued growth. At a time that is ripe with possibility, our forest products attorneys serve as a strategic partner ready to leverage opportunity and propel growth. One recent example includes working with a locally owned lumber mill and assisting with securing grants to both develop a highly-efficient, cost-cutting biomass-fueled cogeneration plant and begin a $20 million facilities expansion. We also recently assisted a paper company client in successfully overcoming the challenges of acquisition, permitting and start-up of an idled paper mill in Maine.

From mill or timberland sales and acquisitions to energy or permitting issues, Preti Flaherty attorneys fully understand the current trends in the forest products industry and work together to provide legal services reflecting that which makes this industry, these natural resources, and this region, so unique.

Firm Highlights

Press Coverage

What’s Inside Maine Freight Trains? Public Can Only Hazard a Guess

Due to an exemption from the state's Freedom of Access Act, Maine residents are prevented from reviewing information regarding the transportation through their communities via freight trains of potentially hazardous materials. Rail industry officials...

Event

Bodie Colwell will be a Featured Panelist at ABI Annual Spring Meeting

Bodie Colwell will be a featured panelist on "Danger Ahead! Avoiding and Addressing Ethical Landmines in Attorney Engagement and Compensation" at the American Bankruptcy Institute's Annual Spring Meeting. The panel focuses on disputes regarding engagement...

Publication

Maine Workers’ Compensation New Year Update 2023

The new year brings proposed legislation, an update to the Medical Fee Schedule, and two recent decisions from the Appellate Division. Proposed Legislation Workers’ compensation bill LD 53 (HP 28) would amend 39-A M.R.S.A...

Publication

Enforcers Make It Easy to Report Cartels

This article was originally published in the American Bar Association  Antitrust Newsletter  on February 8, 2023.  Did you know that global competition enforcers have easy-to-find websites to encourage reporting of anticompetitive conduct? Not only...

News

Attorney Jeffrey Thaler Named to 2023 Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Energy Law

For the second time, Preti Flaherty attorney Jeffrey Thaler has been recognized by the esteemed legal publication Lawdragon as an elite practitioner in the field of energy law. Jeff is the only Maine-base lawyer...

Press Coverage

Authorities Refuse to Release Records for Maine School Shooter Hoax Calls

On November 15, 2022, multiple law enforcement agencies in Maine received false calls alerting police to active shooter situations at several high schools throughout the state. In the wake of this widespread hoax, the Kennebec...

Publication

FY2024 H-1B Registration Fact Sheet for Employers

Registration Process To file H-1B petitions subject to the FY2024 cap for an employee, you must first electronically register and pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration. The electronic registration includes basic information about...

News

Maine Lawyers and Judges Once Again Show Overwhelming Support of Campaign for Justice

2022 proved to be another challenging year for Mainers. Skyrocketing inflation, an uncertain economic future, an ongoing housing crisis and more factors continue to push more at-risk individuals into a tight spot. Maine’s civil...

Event

Jeff Talbert to Moderate Panel on PFAS Regulatory Action at ABA Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Conference

Jeff Talbert, Chair of Preti Flaherty's Environmental Law Group, will moderate "Regulatory Action: History & Horizon" at the ABA Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Conference. This panel will discuss the 2016 EPA health advisory, the...

News

Benchmark Litigation Names Preti Flaherty 2023 “Maine Firm of the Year”

Benchmark Litigation has named Preti Flaherty as 2023 Litigation Firm of the Year in the State of Maine. The Benchmark Awards honor distinguished litigators and law firms in all 50 states and 10 practice...