What Bernstein Shur does

Bernstein Shur is a full-service law firm headquartered in Portland, Maine, founded in 1915 by Israel Bernstein. The firm operates as Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A., a privately-held professional services corporation governed by a Board of Directors and led by CEO Kaveri Subbarao Nauhaus. It is one of northern New England's largest multi-service law firms, with more than 100 attorneys and 501-1,000 total employees across offices in Portland, Augusta, and Manchester, with a newly announced Concord, New Hampshire location opened in June 2026.

The firm's core offering is legal counsel across approximately 22-30 practice areas and 13-15 industries, including business law, business restructuring and insolvency, construction, real estate, litigation, labor and employment, government relations, energy and environmental, healthcare, trusts and estates, technology and data security, intellectual property, immigration, and title insurance. The underlying technology footprint is conventional for a law firm of this scale — standard case management, document management, and secure client communication systems — with no disclosed AI/ML, proprietary technology products, or software offerings. The firm is the exclusive Maine member of the Lex Mundi global network, providing access to vetted lawyers in 125+ countries for cross-border matters.

Bernstein Shur's revenue model is traditional professional services billing: hourly rates, fixed fees, and contingency arrangements, with rates that vary by practice area, matter complexity, and attorney level and are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, delivered through direct attorney-to-client engagement across regional offices, supplemented by content marketing (insights publications, seminars, speaking engagements) and community sponsorships. Customer segments are horizontally diversified across businesses, educational institutions, government entities, financially distressed companies, and real estate developers, with no disclosed anchor clients and no concentration in any single industry. The firm invests in talent through a formal Summer Associate Program and benefits from strong brand equity, including 110+ years of continuous operation, 23 Chambers USA-ranked attorneys, 47 Best Lawyers in America 2026 honorees, and 12 "Best Places to Work in Maine" recognitions.

Name

Bernstein Shur

Legal name

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P. A.

Website

https://bernsteinshur.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1915

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Bernstein Shur is a full-service law firm founded in 1915 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, with 100+ attorneys serving businesses, institutions, and government clients across New England through 22+ practice areas spanning corporate, litigation, restructuring, real estate, labor, and regulatory matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Direct Title Insurance Carriers (524127)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Legal services
• Business law counsel
• Commercial litigation
• Restructuring insolvency
• Government relations

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Traditional law firm revenue through billable hours, fixed fees, and contingency arrangements for legal services across multiple practice areas and industries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bernstein Shur is a full-service law firm delivering legal counsel and representation across 22 practice areas and 13 industry verticals, including business law, business restructuring and insolvency, construction, real estate, litigation and dispute resolution, labor and employment, government relations, energy and environmental, health care, trusts and estates, technology and data security, intellectual property, immigration, and title insurance. Services are provided through direct attorney-client engagements billed via hourly rates, fixed fees, or contingency arrangements, supported by a regional office network in Maine and New Hampshire.

Product overview

Bernstein Shur is a full-service law firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal services organized into 23 practice areas and 15 industry specializations. The firm operates as a single integrated platform delivering legal counsel rather than discrete software products. Core service offerings span business law (corporate governance, M&A, emerging companies), business restructuring and insolvency, construction law, real estate, litigation and dispute resolution, labor and employment, government relations, energy and environmental, health care, trusts and estates, technology and data security, intellectual property, immigration, and title insurance. The firm also provides strategic economic solutions consulting and maintains membership in Lex Mundi for global reach. Practice areas work collaboratively to deliver integrated legal solutions to clients across New England and nationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Law Services Comprehensive business law counsel covering corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, emerging companies, and international business matters. For companies ranging from startups to large enterprises.
• Business Restructuring and Insolvency
• Construction Law
• Real Estate
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
• Labor and Employment
• Government Relations
• Energy and Environmental
• Health Care
• Trusts and Estates
• Technology, Outsourcing and Data Security
• Strategic Economic Solutions
• Intellectual Property
• Title Insurance and Closing Services
• Immigration Law

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lex MundicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBernstein Shur is Maine's exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world's leading network of top-tier independent law firms across 125+ countries. This partnership provides seamless access to 22,000+ vetted lawyers worldwide through one trusted point of contact. Members benefit from responsive service held to elite peer-reviewed standards, real insight from firms embedded in their jurisdictions, and worldwide reach with zero compromise on quality.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Preti Flaherty: Portland, Maine-headquartered full-service firm with comparable New England footprint and practice breadth, often competing for the same corporate, real estate, and government affairs mandates.
• Pierce Atwood: Long-standing New England law firm with deep Maine and regional presence, full-service practice mix, and similar Chambers-ranked attorneys; competes head-to-head with Bernstein Shur for Maine-based corporate, litigation, and real estate work.
• Perkins Thompson: Maine-based full-service firm offering business, litigation, real estate, and family law services — comparable in regional positioning and client base to Bernstein Shur.
• Shaheen & Gordon: New Hampshire-based law firm with comparable civic/government affairs practice and litigation strength, a direct competitor for New Hampshire-based clients.
• Drummond Woodsum: Maine-based full-service law firm with strong government relations, education, and business practices — directly competes with Bernstein Shur in Augusta and Portland for institutional and public-sector work.
• McLane Middleton: Manchester, New Hampshire-based full-service firm sharing Bernstein Shur's NH office market and competing for corporate, real estate, and trusts/estates work in the Granite State.
• Verrill Dana: Portland, Maine-based full-service firm with comparable size and broad practice areas across business, litigation, real estate, and healthcare — a primary in-state competitor for Bernstein Shur.

Broad incumbents

• Holland & Knight: Large national full-service firm competing for the same New England-headquartered corporate clients seeking broader geographic capabilities than Bernstein Shur can offer.
• Jackson Lewis: National employment-law-focused firm with deep employer-side practice and broad geographic coverage, providing a direct big-firm alternative to Bernstein Shur's employment work.
• Ogletree Deakins: Largest U.S. labor and employment law firm with national footprint; competes with Bernstein Shur's Labor & Employment practice for multi-state employer mandates where regional firms lose on geographic coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bernsteinshur
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bernstein-shur

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bernstein Shur