For Immediate Release
September 22, 2000

Contact:
Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115
E-mail: info@mainelaw.com
Web Site: http://www.mainelaw.com

PORTLAND, Maine - The Consul General of the Republic of Estonia will visit Maine next week, meeting with area businesses and touring Portland and coastal Maine on Thursday, Sept. 28. The Portland law firm of Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, which has been active in fostering trade between Maine and Estonia, will also host an event that morning at the firm in honor of Consul General Reimo Pettai's visit.

[Media interested in covering the Consul General's visit, either by attending the law firm's event on 9/28 from 9 to 10 a.m. (Sixth Floor, 100 Middle Street) or meeting with Mr. Pettai in person during the day or on his tour, may call Beryl Wolfe at 775-5115 or Scott Schul at 774-1200.]

"It's a vibrant and growing country with an enormous amount of economic promise and opportunity," said Scott Schul, the attorney from BSSN who last March was invited by the Estonian government on a trade mission to the country. During his nine-day trip, Schul met with numerous officials and began a dialogue with the small Northern European country. The Consul General's visit Thursday is the result of Schul's grassroots effort to open economic doors in Estonia to the business community in Maine and throughout New England.

Both Schul and the Estonian government are very optimistic about the prospect of fostering economic partnerships between Estonia and Maine due to striking similarities of geography and culture between the two regions.

Estonia, located on the Baltic Sea along the northern coast of Europe, has experienced rapid economic growth since regaining its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. With a stable economy, democratically elected government, flat tax rate and balanced budget, Estonia is attractive to foreign investors in search of business opportunities. With a deep water port and an efficient transportation system, the country also provides a safe and effective distribution gateway into Russia, Schul said.

Schul urges interested parties to log on to www.estemb.org, the Estonian embassy's official web site in Washington D.C., for more information about the country and its economic opportunities.

Schul is a member of Bernstein, Shur's growing International Law and Trade Practice Group. Attorneys in the group advise Maine companies on doing business overseas, and also are active in assisting foreign nationals in the purchase and development of businesses in the U.S. The firm also has translated its award-winning web site, www.mainelaw.com, into six languages.

Schul regularly assists the firm's clients with matters involving domestic and international taxation. He also practices in the areas of executive compensation, employee benefits, intellectual property and general business law.

Schul, a Portland resident, earned an L.L.M. in taxation from Boston University in 1997 and is a 1991 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law in Morgantown, W. Va., and a 1988 graduate of Clarion University of Pennsylvania in Clarion, Pa.

BSSN is the only Maine law firm that is a member of Lex Mundi, an international association of 151 law firms that exchange resources, legal counsel, research, office space and libraries. Through its Lex Mundi affiliation, the firm regularly acts as local counsel for the clients of foreign law firms.

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson is one of northern New England's largest law firms with more than 60 attorneys in offices in Portland and Augusta. The firm provides legal services in all major subject areas, including corporate and commercial law, litigation and trials, municipal and governmental affairs, and tax and estate planning. In addition to international law, BSSN also has an active practice in health law, environmental law, technology and e-commerce, employment law, legislative law, intellectual property, electric utilities and other regulated industries. For more information, log on to the firm's web site at www.mainelaw.com.

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