Verrill Welcomes Team of Highly Skilled Litigators to Maine Office

(August 3, 2022) – Verrill is pleased to welcome experienced trial attorneys Philip Coffin, Jeffrey Russell, and Cyrus Cheslak, all resident in the firm’s Portland, Maine office. All three attorneys, in addition to two staff members join Verrill from Portland-based firm Lambert Coffin.

“The opportunity to add talented lawyers like Phil, Jeff and Cyrus only comes along once in a great while. We are thrilled to add even more depth to Verrill’s already deep litigation and trial bench,” said John Giffune, Co-Chair of Verrill’s Litigation & Trial Group.

Coffin, Verrill Partner, is a seasoned trial attorney, having brought numerous cases to successful verdicts in both federal and state courts throughout Maine for nearly forty years. His practice focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on the defense of physicians, hospitals, nurses, and allied healthcare providers. He also has an active products liability defense practice and has successfully defended national companies and local retailers. Coffin is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, and Litigation Counsel of America. He earned his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, cum laude, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, summa cum laude.

Russell, Verrill Partner, is a highly skilled civil litigator serving as counsel for a wide variety of clients, from individuals to large national companies, in many different capacities across numerous industries. His wide-ranging practice includes business and commercial litigation; product liability; insurance coverage; construction law, dispute resolution, and litigation; professional liability and medical malpractice; general liability insurance defense; labor and employment litigation; trademark registration and litigation; and other areas. Russell is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and the Maine President of the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association. He earned his law degree from the Boston University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Johns Hopkins University.

Cheslak, Verrill Associate, serves clients in a wide range of civil litigation and professional liability matters. He leverages his background in politics to advocate for clients in state and federal court, from pre-trial through appellate stages, as well as before state commissions, boards, and panels. During law school, he was a student attorney for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office and Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, and a judicial expert to the Honorable Kermit V. Lipez of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Prior to law school, Cheslak was an aide to United States Senator Susan M. Collins in Washington, D.C. He earned his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, magna cum laude and his bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College.

Verrill’s growing Litigation & Trial Group consists of more than 50 professionals handling complex matters across a broad range of industries and throughout the country. At last count, the team had tried more than 600 jury and non-jury cases, in addition to handling several hundred arbitrations and thousands of mediations and administrative proceedings.