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Saturday, August 17, 2019 @10am
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Our Guest:
 Nate Wildes
Executive Director
Live and Work in Maine
How Do We Bring 50,000 People to Maine? –
As Executive Director for Live and Work in Maine, Nate is focused on raising awareness about the career opportunities and world-class quality of life experienced by those of us who live and work in Maine.
A University of Maine graduate who followed employment to the mid-west only to come running back to the Way Life Should Be, Nate knows first-hand how under-appreciated life in Maine is – and how much opportunity there is for our future.
Nate is also co-founder of Flight Deck Brewing on Brunswick Landing (the re-developed Brunswick Naval Air Station). The production brewery is open 6 days a week, offering beer, food, and family-friendly events. Also look for cans of Flight Deck beer at your local Maine craft beer store!
Saturday, August 10, 2019 @10am
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Host:
 Tawny Alvarez
Partner
Verrill Dana
Tawny is a partner in Verrill Dana’s labor and employment practice group. She believes that a company’s culture defines its business and prides herself on assisting clients comply with the law, while simultaneously creating an amazing place to work.
Tawny centers her practice on the understanding that the employment landscape is ever-changing and that many organizations do not have the time or resources to keep abreast of all of these changes—from medical (and recreational) marijuana’s effect on drug testing, to the effect of social networking in the workplace and mobile devices’ effect on wage and hour issues. In this evolving landscape, she recognizes that for companies to remain profitable and successful they must be proactive, as opposed to reactive, to these employment issues.
Guest:
Christopher S. Lockman
Employee Benefits Attorney
Verrill Dana
Chris pursued a career in the law because he enjoys solving problems. Chris is an employee benefits and executive compensation “generalist” capable of advising clients on a range of legal issues affecting both the pension plans and welfare benefit plans. Chris has significant experience correcting retirement plan administrative errors, defending IRS audits and DOL investigations, and maintaining and terminating pension plans administered by bankrupt entities. As a member of the Firm’s ERISA Litigation practice group, Chris also defends fiduciary breach claims and claims for benefits under both pension and welfare benefit plans.
Problems and solutions come in many forms, and Chris assists plan fiduciaries, sponsors, and service providers with general ERISA compliance, fiduciary advice, and plan design. Specific to welfare benefit plans, Chris regularly assists clients with health care reform compliance, wellness programs, and consumer-driven health care arrangements such as health savings accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), a Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).
Chris understands the importance of developing and implementing efficient solutions to business problems. While his practice is focused exclusively on employee benefits and executive compensation, Chris’s clients benefit from his background in bankruptcy law and business. Prior to joining Verrill Dana, Chris served as a law clerk in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and, while in law school, worked at a multinational securities brokerage firm. These experiences helped to shape the business perspective Chris brings to his practice and to his clients.
A Maine native, Chris enjoys nature and the outdoors. He is co-chair of the Firm’s Sustainability Committee and during his time away from the office can be found exploring the wilds of Maine, hiking, canoeing, and paddle-boarding with his family.
Public Service
Board of Directors, Healthcare Purchaser Alliance of Maine (formerly the Maine Health Management Coalition)
Memberships
New England Employee Benefits Council
Maine Employee Benefits Council
Education
- Duquesne University Law School (J.D., 2009), cum laude
- Allegheny College (B.A., 2004), cum laude
Clerkships
- Honorable Jeffery A. Deller, U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Western District of Pennsylvania
Bar Admissions
- Maine, 2011
- Pennsylvania, 2009
Court and Other Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 2009
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, 2012
Honors
Gerald K. Gibson Memorial Award
Susan H. Wilkie Professional Responsibility and Ethics Award
Received Katahdin Counsel Recognition for Pro Bono efforts (2016)
Selected by peers for inclusion in New England Super Lawyers© under
Employee Benefits
Saturday, August 03, 2019 @10am
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Our Guest:
 Peter Lowe, Atty.
Brann & Isaacson
What Employers Reall Need to Know About the Maine Human Rights Commission –
Peter is a partner at Brann & Isaacson. He represents management on labor and employment matters. Peter serves as lead labor counsel for some of the premier employers in Maine including L.L. Bean, Inc.
Peter has a wealth of experience both advising clients on conducting internal investigations, and serving as an outside independent investigator for sensitive and high profile workplace issues.
Peter is a frequent presenter to local and national organizations giving workshops on best investigative practices, and he has spoken to many audiences on the lessons learned from the Penn State scandal.
In 2009, Peter was selected to edit the Maine Employment Law Letter, a monthly newsletter published by Business & Legal Resources. Peter has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best lawyers in America® (2013) (Employment-Law Management). He is current president of Maine Council of School Board Attorneys.
Saturday, July 27, 2019 @10am
Download the Show Audio Here
Guest Host:
Tawny Alvarez
Partner
Verrill Dana
Tawny is a partner in Verrill Dana’s labor and employment practice group. She believes that a company’s culture defines its business and prides herself on assisting clients comply with the law, while simultaneously creating an amazing place to work.
Tawny centers her practice on the understanding that the employment landscape is ever-changing and that many organizations do not have the time or resources to keep abreast of all of these changes—from medical (and recreational) marijuana’s effect on drug testing, to the effect of social networking in the workplace and mobile devices’ effect on wage and hour issues. In this evolving landscape, she recognizes that for companies to remain profitable and successful they must be proactive, as opposed to reactive, to these employment issues.
Guest:
Ben E. Ford, Partner
Arctic Practice Group
Verrill Dana
Ben helps his clients reach their full potential. Whether it was helping out in his parent’s flower shop in California or building retail stores in New York, Ben learned firsthand that the best product in the world means nothing unless you have the right people to make it and sell it. Indeed, in any competitive market, a company’s success depends on its ability to build multi-disciplinary teams. Companies that fall back on outdated assumptions risk being surpassed by those who recognize the potential in diverse workforces. When it comes to providing legal services, Ben puts these principles into practice. Whether it’s a Norwegian company looking for a foothold in the U.S. or an entrepreneur working in her basement to perfect seaweed harvesting techniques, clients benefit from Ben’s well rounded approach to problem solving.
Mindful of his pre-law experiences, Ben took to his legal studies with a unique sense of perspective. With the help of his professors at Vanderbilt University Law School, Ben crafted a course of study designed to explore specific business challenges from a legal perspective. The result of this intensive study was a series of articles discussing novel approaches to business problems by combining proven business principles with highly sophisticated legal tactics. Many of those articles have been published in leading trade publications and they form the basis of Ben’s practice today.
Whether it is to a jury or a group of concerned business owners, Ben loves speaking about the law. He is as comfortable in a courtroom as he is in a boardroom and his passion for good ideas pervades every case he argues, and every article he writes.
When not at work, Ben can be found on the water racing sailboats or cruising around in his vintage 1959 Lyman Sleeper. Yes, he restored it himself (ask him to show you a picture).
Public Service
Member, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project’s Pro Bono Panel
Memberships
Board Member, Maine Marine Trade Association University of New England North-Board of Advisors Arctic Economic Council-Shipping and Logistics Working Group
Portland, ME • Boston, MA •Augusta, ME •Westport, CT •Providence, RI•Washington, D.C. •White Plains, NY
Bar Admissions
Maine
Court and Other Admissions
U.S. District Court for the District of Maine
Honors
Selected by peers for inclusion in New England Super Lawyers© under Transportation/Maritime, Employment Litigation: Defense and Business Litigation
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