As trade routes continue to expand in the Arctic and North Atlantic, so do the opportunities for commercial and economic development between the U.S. and the countries that make up the North Atlantic Rim. The lawyers of Pierce Atwood’s Arctic & North Atlantic Practice are well-positioned to help established and emerging businesses capitalize on these opportunities by providing clients with integrated, experienced legal and business counsel.

Pierce Atwood has a longstanding history working with clients from the countries and communities of the North Atlantic. We work with clients located in, or doing business with, nations in the Arctic region, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Scotland, and Atlantic Canada.

For clients looking to do business in the North Atlantic region, Pierce Atwood attorneys provide broad-based expertise in areas including:

  • Business
  • Employment
  • Energy
  • Environmental
  • Immigration
  • Intellectual Property & Technology
  • International Trade
  • Maritime

With our birds-eye view of Portland, Maine’s working waterfront, and offices along the New England seaboard from Portland to Portsmouth NH, Boston and Providence RI, we have seen first-hand the increase in commercial traffic carrying an expanding variety of goods and services in and out of the region.

Pierce Atwood stands ready to help businesses and entrepreneurs capitalize on natural and human resources to keep goods – and good ideas – flowing throughout the North Atlantic.

Pierce Atwood lawyer Chris Howard served on the Advisory Committee of the Maine International Trade Center’s North Atlantic initiative, which was formed in 2013 as the Maine North Atlantic Development Office (MENADO), giving us a literal seat at the table in helping to develop and coordinate partnerships and joint ventures across industries and continents.

We are proud to serve as lawyers for the New England Ocean Cluster House, an “innovation hub” and incubator for companies that draw on the ocean as a resource for their products, services, and ideas. Key to Cluster House’s mission is helping to facilitate collaboration among businesses, individuals, and entrepreneurs interested in successfully growing and commercializing their ideas.

Representative Experience

When a Pierce Atwood client became concerned about collecting payment for fuel delivered to a troubled cruise ship/ferry owner trading between Maine and Nova Scotia, Pierce Atwood came up with a strategy for intervening in the case to assert a maritime lien based on a newly developed line of maritime case law – and within a week, the vessel owner settled the claim for nearly the full amount due.

Asserting Maritime Law to Collect Payment from Troubled Cruise Ship Owner

We are assisting Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy), a Danish energy company and one of the world's leading developers of off-shore wind generation facilities, in connection with the development of Bay State Wind, its proposed off-shore wind farm southwest of Martha's Vineyard.

Development of Offshore Wind Farm

We represent Icelandic shipping company Eimskip in its US trade and related matters.

Icelandic Shipping Company in U.S. Trade Matters

When our client, BTS, an international management consulting and business training firm based in Stockholm, acquired Wizerize, a leading technology and consulting company based in Copenhagen, BTS turned to the Pierce Atwood immigration team for assistance with the design and implementation of cost-effective immigration strategies that would allow key Wizerize talent from Copenhagen to work collaboratively in the United States with the BTS Digital Services Division on the business integration of the Web 2.0 technology platform – Wizer® – developed and built by Wizerize.

Post-Acquisition Integration of International Talent

Pierce Atwood serves as counsel for the New England Ocean Cluster House - a place for entrepreneurs to come together, collaborate, and grow their businesses, which are all focused on the commercialization of new ocean-related products. Located in Portland, Maine, the New England Cluster House is the result of a combined effort between The Icelandic Ocean Cluster, North Atlantic Assets & Soli DG, Inc. of Maine and MENADO, an initiative of the Maine International Trade Center.

Supporting New Businesses: The New England Ocean Cluster House