Israel, Welch, Adams Named Shareholders at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson attorneys Glenn Israel, William M. Welch and Kurt W. Adams have been named shareholders at the statewide firm, one of the largest in Northern New England.

Glenn Israel, a member of the firm's Employment Law Practice Group, concentrates on employment, labor and business-related litigation before state and federal courts and agencies. He also advises a number of companies and employers on a variety of employment and labor-related issues. Israel joined Bernstein, Shur in 1993.

A resident of Cape Elizabeth, Israel serves on the Fort Williams Park Advisory Commission. He is a member of the labor and employment section of the American Bar Association, a member of the Maine State Bar Association and a member of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association.

Israel is a 1993 magna cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School, a member of The Order of The Coif and a recipient of the Cornelius J. Monaghan award for scholarship and leadership. He also served as executive editor of the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review. Israel earned his bachelor of science degree from Syracuse University in 1980.

William M. Welch concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate and commercial transactions involving business formations, sales and acquisitions, financing and general corporate matters. He joined Bernstein, Shur in 1994 and is a member of the firm's Real Estate, Business Law and Finance Practice Groups. He is also a vice president of Monument Title Company, the firm's in-house title insurance company.

A resident of Falmouth, Welch serves as an officer and director of the World Affairs Council of Maine and the Falmouth Little League. He also is a classroom volunteer with Junior Achievement. Welch is a member of the Real Property and Probate section of the American Bar Association, and a member of the bar associations in Cumberland County, Maine and Texas.

Prior to joining Bernstein, Shur, Welch served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and worked for Grumman Aerospace in Houston, Texas as a business planner and cost analyst on various NASA contracts. Welch is a 1994 cum laude graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. He received a master's in business administration from Tulane University School of Business in 1983 and his undergraduate degree from Tulane in 1982.

Kurt W. Adams concentrates his practice in energy law and general commercial law, assisting clients in adapting to the deregulation of Maine's electric utility industry and refinancing and restructuring power purchase agreements. In addition, Adams has advised developing countries on the methods of fostering a competitive power industry and on independent power projects. He also represents energy sector clients in managing relationships with fuel suppliers. A member of the firm's Energy Law Practice Group, Adams joined Bernstein, Shur in 1997.

Formerly a consultant for Price Waterhouse, Adams served as the campaign manager for Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine) in his 1994 gubernatorial bid. A resident of Falmouth, he is a member of the Falmouth Conservation Commission, the Maine State and American Bar Associations, and is the acting chair of the Falmouth Democratic Committee.

Adams is a 1997 graduate of the University of Maine School of Law in Portland. He received a master's in International Affairs in 1990 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and his undergraduate degree in 1988 from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He is originally from Kittery, Maine.

Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson is one of northern New England's largest law firms with more than 65 attorneys in offices in Portland and Augusta. The firm practices in a number of areas, including corporate and commercial law, litigation and trials, municipal and governmental affairs, tax and estate planning, international and immigration matters, health law, employment and labor law, legislative representation and intellectual property, construction law, high technology and e-commerce practice.

Its web site at www.mainelaw.com was the first of its kind when launched in 1995, and is now available in six languages for the convenience of its many foreign clients. Bernstein, Shur also is the only Maine law firm that is a member of Lex Mundi, an international association of 151 law firms located in all major economic centers in the world.

# # #