The law firm of Shaheen & Gordon is proud to announce that it is opening its doors at a new location in Manchester at 80 Merrimack Street – a building directly across from the Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse, the Manchester Police Department and long known as a cornerstone of the Manchester legal community.

As part of Shaheen & Gordon’s Manchester expansion, Attorneys Fran Murphy and Ed Stewart have joined the Firm and will continue their work at the 80 Merrimack Street location.  For a quarter of a century, Attorney Murphy has been representing clients in a wide variety of litigation matters, focusing on plaintiff’s personal injury cases.  Attorney Stewart has been representing individuals in workers compensation and personal injury cases for over 30 years and has been recognized since 1995 for his outstanding advocacy by the Best Lawyers in America Workers’ Compensation Section.

The opening of the Firm’s Manchester office adds to its existing offices in Concord and Dover and reflects Shaheen &  Gordon’s growing reputation as Northern New England’s premiere law firm.  Shaheen & Gordon represents individual and institutional clients in a broad range of legal matters, including health care, business and corporate, litigation, criminal defense and DWI, plaintiffs personal injury and workers’ compensation, social security disability, family law and divorce, employment, estate planning, and probate.

Attorneys Christine Craig and Michael Noonan recently won another hard fought battle to protect New England consumers from the unfair and deceptive acts of big business.  This time, Shaheen & Gordon fought on behalf of Vermont consumers against Honeywell International, Inc. and for the first time in Vermont history obtained class certification in a contested case of this kind.

 In the case of Wright v. Honeywell, Craig and Noonan represent a class of Vermont consumers who paid inflated prices for the Honeywell Round Thermostat due to Honeywell’s unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive acts in violation of the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act.  Attorney Craig moved and argued for class certification in Orange County Superior Court.  Though the Superior Court suspected that Honeywell engaged in unfair acts, it denied class certification on the basis that consumers could not prove with common evidence that Honeywell’s acts impacted each consumer.  This ruling would have essentially ended the case if not for the successful appeal that followed.  Attorney Craig appealed the denial to the Vermont Supreme Court arguing that the lower court misapprehended the appropriate legal standards and burden of proof at the class certification stage of the litigation.  After extensive briefing and oral argument at the Vermont Supreme Court in Montpelier, the Court reversed the lower court’s decision and ruled that the consumer class be certified thus preserving the right of consumers to fight back against Honeywell.

Attorneys Craig and Noonan focus their practice of law on personal injury cases.  Shaheen & Gordon is a full service law firm helping individuals in the areas of family law, criminal defense, personal injury law, workers’ compensation, social security disability and business and institutional matters.

On November 18, 2009, Cinde Warmington participated as a speaker in a teleconference sponsored by the New Hampshire Health Privacy and Security Partnership.

The presentation reviewed the HIPAA changes arising out of the HITECH Act including the breach notification requirements. This information is of critical importance to both health care providers and their business associates as the deadline for compliance approaches.

Copies of the presentation materials can be obtained by clicking on the links below. Providers and business associates with questions may contact Cinde Warmington at cwarmington@shaheengordon.com.

HIPAA Changes [PPT]

HIPAA Decision Matrix [PDF]

Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. filed a Petition in Belknap County Superior Court on November 13, 2009 on behalf of investors of Financial Resources Mortgage, Inc. and C L and M, Inc.  The Petition which also named Scott Farah and Donald Dodge was granted by the Court.  As a result of the Temporary Order of the Court, the assets of Financial Resources Mortgage Inc., C L and M, Inc., Scott Farah, Donald Dodge and other related companies were frozen.  The Court also ordered that C L and M be removed as servicing agent for any loans where payments are due to the investors they represent.  Individuals with loans will be instructed to send payments to Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. and the money will be held in escrow until further order of the Court.  Upon being contacted by investors, Shaheen & Gordon, PA took immediate steps to protect investors’  assets.  Investors of Financial Resources Mortgage Inc. and C L and M may contact Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. with questions about how to protect their assets.

For the second year running, we are proud to announce that Attorneys Steven Gordon and Arpy Saunders were named to the New England Super Lawyers list while Attorney Jim Rosenberg was named to the New England Super Lawyers Rising Stars List.  Attorney Gordon and Attorney Rosenberg were honored for their accomplishments in the area of criminal defense and Attorney Saunders was recognized for his expertise in health care law.  Super Lawyers is a listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only 5% of lawyers from New Hampshire are eligible to be named to the Super Lawyers list and only 2.5% of lawyers from New Hampshire are eligible to be named to the Rising Stars list.

Shaheen & Gordon is pleased to announce that Mike Noonan, Steve Gordon and Arpy Saunders have been recognized once again by New Hampshire Magazine as Top Lawyers in their respective fields for 2009.

Mike Noonan was honored for Personal Injury Litigation, Steve Gordon for First Amendment and White Collar Crime and Arpy Saunders for Healthcare. Top Lawyers is based on an exhaustive search for the country’s top attorneys performed by the esteemed national polling firm of Woodward-White, who then publish it in their own comprehensive volume, The Best Lawyers in America.

Shaheen and Gordon is proud to congratulate our colleague, Nancy L. Ball, for receiving the 2009 NH Bar Association Family Law Section Civility and Courtesy Award.  This award was established to recognize a family law attorney who conducts herself with the civility and courtesy, which are the hallmarks of a professional and the standard to which all counsel should aspire.

One nominator in particular noted: “In both hotly contested and negotiated cases, Nancy has always been a professional in every sense of the word. She is a resource about family law and willing to share her knowledge, whether or not you are on the other side of the case.  She is polite, cooperative and respectful to both the opposing attorney and the opposing party while doing an outstanding job for her own client.”

On May 1, 2009, Bill Christie obtained a judgment in excess of $2 million dollars against the United States Government after proving the Federal Bureau of Investigation caused the murder of Brian Halloran. This is the second multi-million dollar judgment Bill Christie has obtained against the Government arising from the misconduct of Government agents.

Shaheen & Gordon, PA is proud to announce its Stimulus Opportunities Team to help public and private sector clients seize opportunities available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

New Hampshire is slated to receive $860 million in stimulus funds and the State is engaged in the difficult task of doling out these funds to worthy projects both public and private. Our Team stands ready to assist government and private entities apply for these funds and advance existing applications.

Meet our Team by visiting our new web site devoted to this effort — www.nhstimulushelp.com.

The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is pleased to announce that Attorney William E. Christie has been certified as a member. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts.