Steve is one of the founders of the firm having first come to New Hampshire as a law clerk to Federal Judge Hugh H. Bownes and then working as a federal prosecutor when Bill Shaheen was U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. He has an active and extensive trial practice, representing individuals and businesses in complex litigation in both state and federal courts. He has also been chosen to conduct internal investigations for various companies due to his experience as a federal prosecutor. Steve has been recognized as the “ideal” New Hampshire attorney, as voted by lawyers throughout the state for his work in complex litigation, criminal law, First Amendment litigation, and “Bet the Company Litigation”. He has been recognized for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers’ listings. The emphasis of his practice has been in the area of white-collar criminal defense, business litigation, and First Amendment defense.
Most recently, Steve successfully represented the New Hampshire woman who won the January 2018 Powerball Lottery worth $560 million in her lawsuit to remain anonymous. In writing about the litigation, the New York Times described Steve and Bill Shaheen as New Hampshire’s “high-powered” attorneys.
In September 2017, Steve successfully obtained a record-breaking $275 million jury verdict on behalf of three businessmen in a New Hampshire defamation lawsuit. It was the largest civil judgment in New Hampshire’s history and nationally the sixth-largest civil verdict for 2017. He earlier obtained a precedent-breaking victory against mobster Whitey Bulger and the FBI resulting in a Massachusetts Federal District Court finding the FBI legally responsible for the wrongful death of one of its top echelon confidential informants, literally at the hands of Bulger.
Over the course of his career, Steve has represented a range of individuals and businesses in the Federal District Courts of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts in federal criminal investigations. He also has a vigorous New Hampshire state court practice, representing corporations and individuals involved in corporate disputes related to breaches of fiduciary duties, contract disputes, and shareholder disputes. In addition, he counsels and represents financial institutions and brokers in regulatory matters. Steve has also represented a number of corporations in conducting internal investigations as part of the law firm’s corporate governance practice. He has advised and assisted corporate boards of directors in exercising their duties and responsibilities under the Sarbanes-Oxley statute, and has lectured on the subject. He also has an active practice representing lawyers before New Hampshire’s Professional Conduct Committee and was successful in challenging the process by which the New Hampshire Bar Association summarily suspends attorneys who are charged with criminal offenses.
