Since he began practicing law more than 30 years ago with Verrill, Doug has earned high regard in the region for his litigation skills and proactive counsel to management on employment issues such as discrimination suits and traditional labor law issues like collective bargaining agreements, union grievances, and elections.

Doug represents companies in diverse industries such as health care, higher education, manufacturing, professional services, banking and finance, and agriculture. His clients are equally comfortable talking to him about strategies to improve their businesses as they are seeking his advice in moments of crisis. Doug can always be depended upon to provide clients with practical recommendations on the best way to achieve their business goals.

In the employment arena, Doug works with clients to develop workplace strategies that achieve objectives and navigate an intelligent path through complex personnel issues while maintaining compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and other relevant laws. He advises on issues ranging from drug testing, whistleblowers, and workplace investigations to compensation and exit strategies, succession planning, and class actions. He has also served as a mediator for employment-related disputes.

Representative employment matters include:

• Negotiating and drafting employment and other business contracts including restrictive covenant, professional services, consulting, and other services agreements
• Counseling on human resources, personnel relations, business regulation, and legal compliance
• Representing employers in state and federal court litigation on virtually every aspect of employment law including breach of contract, promissory estoppel, employment discrimination, unpaid wages, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations, and non-competition covenants in addition to immigration matters
• Successfully representing employers before the Maine Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and other state administrative agencies
• Defending property owners, operators of housing projects, and landlords against state and federal (HUD) housing discrimination claims

Doug is also litigation counsel for businesses facing legal challenges arising from traditional labor issues such as union campaigns, labor arbitrations, wrongful discharge, OSHA citations, and discrimination claims.

His representative labor matters include:

• Designing and coordinating an extensive mandated self-audit in response to the federal Department of Labor's wage and hour investigation of one of Maine's largest employers
• Implementing mass layoffs and plant closings in compliance with the WARN Act, Maine's Severance Pay Act, and other applicable laws
• Representing one of Maine's largest agricultural employers in connection with a Department of Labor investigation, as well as FLSA class actions
• Successfully negotiating a concession contract allowing for the sale of a business necessary to avoid a plant closure
• Responding to a comprehensive I-9 audit initiated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a large corporation involving proposed fines exceeding $250,000

Doug is especially proud of his six years serving on Verrill's Executive Board, including three years as Board Chair. During that time he spearheaded the firm's expansion while maintaining the core values that drew him to Verrill in the first place.

When not practicing law, Doug actively pursues outdoor passions, usually in the mountains or in or on the water. His most recent life adventure: kite-boarding off the coast of Maine or wherever else he can find a lot of wind.