Gordon R. Smith

Gordon Smith is a trusted advisor and advocate for clients navigating complex environmental, land use, and real estate challenges. With a reputation for strategic thinking and practical solutions, Gordon partners with property owners, developers, and renewable energy companies to achieve their goals—whether that means securing critical permits, resolving disputes, or advancing innovative projects. As the head of the firm’s Coastal and Shoreland Group and co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group, Gordon is recognized for delivering results in high-stakes matters, combining deep legal knowledge with a commonsense approach that puts clients first. Whether in the courtroom, before local, state, and federal regulatory agencies, or at the negotiating table, Gordon fights to achieve sane and beneficial outcomes for his clients, allowing them to do what they want on their property.

His practice includes particular experience in:

• Permitting and litigation related to environmental, land use, and real estate issues
• Resolution of disputes through civil, administrative, and appellate litigation in state and federal courts, and before local, state, and federal agencies and boards
• Shoreland and coastal land use issues
• Property rights related to easements, adverse possession, paper streets, prescriptive rights, and deed interpretation
• Renewable energy development
• Wireless telecommunications development
• Airport permitting and regulation
• Residential and commercial permitting
• Federal and state wildlife protection statutes

Clients value Gordon’s ability to manage the most challenging cases with integrity, intelligence, and efficiency. One litigation client reflects:

“I worked with Gordon Smith on a landmark case involving property rights. This case was 15 years in the making and quite complex, involving science, history, property law, economics, and very old legal cases. I have worked with other lawyers in the past, and my stomach would be in a knot walking into their office. Working with Gordon, on the other hand, has been a great experience. He is patient, compassionate, incredibly smart (he quickly picks up on information outside his own field), and he is a great listener. He works efficiently, not wasting time or money, but thoroughly. He sees a path to the correct strategy and pursues it with integrity. If I ever have another legal matter for which I need help, I will run, not walk, to his office and hope he has time to take it on.

Gordon also counsels developers on the best ways to navigate the regulatory process in order to get projects built. In particular, Gordon has represented wind power, solar power, and telecommunications developers in all phases of project development, from acquisition of property rights to obtaining local, state, and federal permits, to supporting project finance and successfully defending projects against litigation before administrative tribunals and in state and federal courts.

In the words of one wind power client:

“Gordy has helped us develop multiple grid-scale wind energy projects over the course of almost a decade. I always appreciate Gordy’s counsel. Permitting strategy can be tricky, and he has continually guided us in the right direction, time and time again. Legal experience aside, Gordy is naturally very intelligent and pragmatic. He often points out nuances that would probably be overlooked by most people, and this talent is especially useful when it comes to strategic planning. In addition, when a project has not been getting the attention it needed, Gordy has jumped in and acted as a de facto project manager. Gordy’s great on the ground, too—I have seen him calmly diffuse irate opponents at public meetings on multiple occasions. The bottom line: Gordy has played a crucial role in getting our projects built and operational and has been an essential member of our permitting team for years.”

Outside the office, Gordon enjoys house carpentry, landscaping, tennis, hiking, biking, skiing, canoeing, and grilling. He is grateful to share life’s adventures with his wonderful wife, daughter, and son.

Services/Industries

• Environmental & Land Use
• Energy
• Judicial Appeals—Energy
• Wind
• Real Estate Litigation
• Coastal & Shoreland
• Appellate
• Solar
• Telecommunications
• Cannabis

Education

• Georgetown University (J.D.)
• University of California, Berkeley (B.A.)

Public Service

• Volunteer Attorney, Maine Homeless Legal Project
• Pro Bono Legal Counsel Provider, The Nature Conservancy

Bar Admissions

• Maine

Court and Other Admissions

• U.S. District Court for the District of Maine
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Honors

• Recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business under Environment
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America^® under Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Environmental in Portland, Maine
• Selected by peers for inclusion in New England Rising Stars under Environmental and Land Use/Zoning

Learn more about the third-party ratings, rankings, and selection processes used for inclusion.