At Shaheen & Gordon, We Thrive on Winning.

Whether doing battle in court or working quietly behind the scenes, we stand up to protect you and your rights and provide you with the support and guidance you need.

Shaheen & Gordon founders, William H. Shaheen and Steven M. Gordon, served together as the United States Attorney and Assistant United States Attorney for New Hampshire from 1976 through 1981. When they left the U.S. Attorney’s Office, they went into private practice together. Their background in criminal prosecution formed the cornerstone of their criminal defense team in private practice.

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William E. Christie

Partner

wchristie@shaheengordon.com
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Million Dollar Advocates

Bill is the Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and concentrates in the areas of federal and state criminal defense, complex civil litigation, health care law, and election law.

He has been recognized for his creative legal work and accomplishments by various groups. Bill has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in criminal defense and is serving a third term as District Representative under the Criminal Justice Act for the Federal District Court of New Hampshire. In the civil realm, he is a recipient of the Bill of Rights Award from The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union and the Granite Justice Award from the New Hampshire Democratic Party. He serves as an officer and legal counsel for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

Bill has successfully litigated claims against the State of New Hampshire in the areas of Election Law and First Amendment Law. In Guare v. State, Bill convinced the New Hampshire Supreme Court that newly adopted language on the New Hampshire voter registration form was unconstitutional. In Rideout v. Gardner, the First Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the New Hampshire “ballot selfie” law. On Election Day in 2014 and 2016, Bill convinced the New Hampshire Superior Court to extend polling hours in order to protect the right to vote. Bill has successfully represented numerous elected officials and political organizations in a variety of legal matters.

In the early 2000s, Bill was appointed by a federal judge to serve as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in seven consolidated wrongful death lawsuits pending against the U.S. government in Federal Court in Boston arising from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s relationship with longtime Boston criminals and FBI informants James “Whitey” Bulger and Stephen “the Rifleman” Flemmi. After a six-year legal battle, Bill obtained a $3.1 million judgment against the government that was described by the Boston Herald as “justice at last” for the plaintiffs’ families and the community. In October 2010, Bill obtained a $925,000 award of attorneys’ fees against the United States after proving that government attorneys acted in bad faith when defending the lawsuit.

Bill also focuses on federal criminal defense and has obtained not guilty verdicts for clients charged with numerous offenses, including fraud, tax evasion, embezzlement, aggravated sexual assault, first- and second-degree assault, and music bootlegging offenses. By employing a creative pretrial strategy, Bill has convinced prosecutors in many cases not to charge clients under investigation or to dismiss charges prior to trial based upon legal or factual defenses brought to the government’s attention.

Bill represents health care practices and other businesses involved in regulatory or commercial disputes. This representation includes conducting internal investigations and interacting with government regulators.

Additionally, he represents students and entities in Title IX matters.

From 2014 to 2018, Bill was a member of the firm’s Management Committee. He is currently on the Board of the Friendly Kitchen in Concord, New Hampshire. In 2012, Bill was inducted into the Rockland High School Hall of Fame.

Admissions

  • Member of the Bar – New Hampshire
  • Member of the Bar – Massachusetts
  • United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
  • United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • First Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States Supreme Court

Education and Career

  • B.A., Boston College, 19898 (Gasson Scholar Phi Beta Kappa)
  • J.D., Boston College Law School, 1994
  • Shaheen & Gordon, P.A., 1995-Present

Professional and Community Involvement

  • New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • Board of the Friendly Kitchen, Concord, New Hampshire
  • Former Board Member of the Concord Family YMCA

Recognition and Honors

  • Recipient of the 2020 Dunfey-Kanteres Award from the New Hampshire Democratic Party
  • Inducted into the Rockland High School Hall of Fame in June 2012 based upon academic and career achievements
  • Recipient of The 2014 Bill of Rights Award from The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union
  • Named in Super Lawyers from 2016-2018
  • Granite State Justice Award from the New Hampshire Democratic Party
  • Member of the Merit Selection Panel for the selection of the Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire
  • Unanimously elected as Officer and Legal Counsel to the New Hampshire Democratic Party​
  • AV Peer Rating™ from Martindale-Hubbell®

Representative Cases

  • McIntyre v. United States, 447 F.Supp.2d 54 (D. Mass. 2006)
    Obtained a $3.1 million judgment after a four-week trial by proving the Federal Bureau of Investigation caused the murder of John McIntyre by leaking to longtime Boston area criminals and FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "the Rifleman" Flemmi the fact that McIntyre was cooperating with the government against Bulger and Flemmi. Both the four-week trial and the judgment received extensive publicity in the local, national and international media. The First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this $3.1 million judgment on October 16, 2008.
  • Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault Charges Dropped - Merrimack County Superior Court

    June 2010, client charged with multiple counts of Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault in the Merrimack County Superior Court. After a three-day trial, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all charges.

    At trial, the State presented as witnesses the complaining witness and four family members and friends to corroborate her testimony. Bill's client testified in his own defense. Through cross-examination of the State's witnesses, Bill established several significant inconsistencies in the complaining witness' story. The jury returned not guilty verdicts on all charges, exonerating the client of the allegations against him.

  • Felony Charges Dropped - Grafton County Superior Court

    December 2010, client charged with Aggravated Felonious Sexual Assault, Felonious Sexual Assault, Attempted Felonious Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault in the Grafton County Superior Court. After a four-day trial, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all felony charges.

    Through aggressive pre-trial motion practice, Bill limited the State's evidence at trial by excluding expert testimony and evidence of other alleged acts by the defendant. Through cross examination of the State's witnesses, Bill established several significant inconsistencies in the complaining witness' story. The jury returned not guilty verdicts on all felony charges.

  • $175,000 Tortuous Interference
    United States District Court – May 2011    . Obtained $175,000 judgment on behalf of a commercial client who sued parent company of competitor in a tortuous interference with contract case.
  • Not Guilty Verdict in Second Degree Assault Case
    Rockingham County Superior Court – September 2011.     Obtained not guilty verdicts on behalf of client charged with second degree assault in a shaken baby case. Through the use of cutting edge scientific and forensic evidence, we successfully challenged the opinion of three physicians from a leading Boston hospital regarding the cause of injuries. Through cross examination of the State's witnesses and the presentation of an expert pathologist, the firm obtained not guilty verdicts after an eight-day trial.
  • Merrimack County Superior Court – August 2013
    Not guilty verdict. Client charged with criminal threatening. Witness alleges client pointed a loaded firearm at him from window of a pickup truck. During an aggressive cross examination of the witness, Bill exposed the witness had provided a false statement to law enforcement regarding the incident during the investigation. After a two-day trial, the client was found not guilty of criminal threatening.
  • Guare v. State,
    167 N.H. 658 (2015). New Hampshire Supreme Court finds that voter registration form is unconstitutional.
  • Rideout v. Gardner,
    838 F.3d 65 (1st Cir. 2016). First Circuit Court of Appeals determined that New Hampshire “ballot selfie” statute is unconstitutional.
  • New Hampshire Democratic Party v. Gardner
    New Hampshire Superior Court holds that Senate Bill 3, which amended the New Hampshire voter registration process, is unconstitutional.
  • Jury Verdict on All Counts.
    Represented physician practice group that was sued by terminated physician. After a two-week trial, jury returns a verdict in favor of client on all claims brought by terminated physician and on counter claims brought by client against terminated physician.
  • Health Care Fraud Case.
    Client indicted for defrauding Medicare of tens of thousands of dollars. After extensive pretrial negotiations, case resolved for a sentence of probation.
  • McIntyre v. United States - United District Court District of Massachusetts
    In McIntyre v. United States, obtained an order requiring the United States to pay $925,000 in attorneys' fees by proving that government attorneys acted in bad faith by "lying" to the district court about the state of the evidence prior to trial.
  • No Jail Time for Client Charged With Motor Vehicle Homicide
    Client charged in Massachusetts with Motor Vehicle Homicide within days of newly enacted "Melanie's Law" requiring mandatory prison sentences for certain drinking-related motor vehicle offenses. Despite the new law, Bill successfully negotiated a plea agreement where the defendant received a suspended sentence and did not go to jail.
  • Not Guilty Verdict in Music Piracy Case
    Client charged under State of New Hampshire's music "bootlegging" law. After extensive pretrial motion practice, Bill obtained a directed verdict in favor of the defendant after the close of the State's evidence resulting in not guilty verdict for defendant.
  • Computer Fraud and Abuse Lawsuit
    Corporate client discovers that former independent contractors have downloaded electronic data and deleted data from company computers. After former independent contractors refuse to return data, Bill files suit under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and successfully negotiates the return of the data.
  • United States v. Mealey, Cr. 07-80-02-SM
    Client charged with a conspiracy to defraud the IRS by evading collection and payment of employment taxes. Client was involved with three temporary employment agencies during the years 2000-2004. The agencies treated workers as independent contractors, paid workers in cash and did not withhold employment taxes from their wages. The United States Government brought charges alleging the workers were employees of the agencies and the cash payments were part of a conspiracy to avoid the agencies' obligation to withhold and pay employment taxes. The defense at trial was: 1) the government could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the workers were employees and not independent contractors; and 2) the government could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that client did not have a good faith belief that workers were independent contractors. On Day 2 of the trial, after cross examination of government witnesses in which the defense established the client's good faith belief that the workers were independent contractors, the United States dismissed the indictment and all charges against the client were dismissed.
  • Embezzling Charges Dropped - Probation and No Incarceration
    Client, a Chief Financial Officer of a prestigious private school, is charged with embezzling over $80,000.00 and creating false entries in corporate records. After extensive negotiation with the State and presentation of mitigating facts at sentencing, client receives a sentence of Probation and no incarceration.

Our Distinguishing Awards & Honors