Legal Briefs: News from Around NH

Robin Melone

Robin Melone joins Pastori | Krans

Pastori | Krans has welcomed Attorney Robin Melone to the firm, where she will focus on employment law, family law, civil litigtion, and Title IX and workplace investigations. Robin has been practicing since 2004, and is admitted in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. She received the 2020 Champion of Justice Award and the 2021 Marilla M. Ricker Award.

Shaheen & Gordon, PA, elects 5 new partners

Lauren Breda	Jim Callahan	Joseph Cherniske	Andrew Piela	Lyndsay Robinson

The shareholders of Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. elected five new partners to the firm: Lauren Breda, Jim Callahan, Joseph Cherniske, Andrew Piela and Lyndsay Robinson.

Attorney Breda has over a decade of court experience, including serving many years as a New Hampshire public defender. She represents clients in a range of criminal matters, from driving offenses to homicides.

Attorney Callahan built a successful practice in Peterborough before joining Shaheen & Gordon. He has been a member of the New Hampshire Bar for more than 35 years. He represents businesses, financial institutions, and real estate clients, leveraging a wealth of knowledge to advise them on planning, operational and transactional matters.

Attorney Cherniske spent a decade as a state prosecutor and built a strong reputation as an aggressive litigator. He focuses his practice on criminal and DUI defense, representing clients charged with serious misdemeanor and felony crimes.

Attorney Piela has nearly three decades of experience in private practice. He focuses on family law, civil litigation, and appellate work and brings an impressive depth of knowledge to bear for his clients to ensure their peace of mind.

Attorney Robinson focuses her practice on family law, estate planning, and probate administration. She is a compassionate advocate for her clients and was recognized by the New Hampshire Bar with the prestigious Robert E. Kirby Award and the Bruce Friedman Pro Bono Award in 2023.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with such an impressive roster of talent,” says Michael Noonan, managing partner of Shaheen & Gordon. “These five attorneys represent different backgrounds and areas of the law, but they have displayed a common commitment to our firm, our clients, and our communities. They’ll be passionate voices in our ongoing effort to do good work and make a difference.”

With this election, the Shaheen & Gordon partnership grows to 24 members, representing a firm of over 120 attorneys and staff.

NH man enters guilty plea for illegally collecting pandemic benefits

A Salem, New Hampshire, man pleaded guilty to fraud for collecting nearly $37,000 in unemployment compensation during the pandemic.

Angel Marcelino, 41, entered a plea deal on the felony and an attempted fraud charge.

Judge Andrew Schulman issued him an amended sentence in Rockingham County Superior Court on Jan. 18. N.H. Attorney General John Formella and N.H. Employment Security Commissioner George Copadis jointly announced the amended sentence on Tuesday.

He was sentenced to 12 months in Rockingham County jail, but 11 months of those months are suspended for five years and conditioned on good behavior. Out of the one month, nine days are also suspended for two years.

Marcelino will be released after 14 days on “good behavior,” Schulman said in the amended sentence form. This comes after Marcelino made a motion to reconsider, saying he would lose his job if he was in jail for longer than that amount of time.

“This order makes it possible for the defendant to both serve the sentence and keep his job,” according to the court document.

Marcelino was indicted for the crime last March.

He was convicted of failing to disclose he was employed and making money to the New Hampshire Employment Security so he could obtain or increase his unemployment benefits while also collecting for unemployment from April 2020 to April 2021.

During that time, Marcelino filed weekly claims for benefits and answered “no” when prompted if he had worked or earned an income the prior week.

Marcelino received $36,904 in unemployment compensation which he wasn’t entitled to get. The total included additional federal benefits because of COVID-19.

He also tried to receive additional benefits from April 2021 to September 2021, but he was unsuccessful. Marcelino failed to accurately report his hours and wages on his weekly continued claims.

Marcelino will have to pay $44,285 in restitution and penalties to the New Hampshire Department of Corrections as part of his plea deal. He also cannot receiving any unemployment benefits for one year. According to court documents, he must report to serve the sentence on Feb. 5. — Angelina Berube, Eagle Tribune

City solicitator James Kennedy

City attorney to become Superior Court judge, will depart after 14 years at City Hall

Longtime city attorney James Kennedy will leave his post next month to become a Superior Court judge following his approval from the New Hampshire Executive Council.

Kennedy worked for the City of Concord for more than 14 years, with 12 of them as the city solicitor. His successor has not yet been announced.

“I feel like I’ve worked hard here and had a satisfying experience with the city — and I think that goes both ways,” Kennedy said. 

Governor Chris Sununu nominated Kennedy to his new job on Nov. 8, and, after a December hearing, the Executive Council confirmed him unanimously on Jan. 10. 

Kennedy joined the city as deputy city solicitor in 2009, having worked for a private firm and as an assistant attorney general under then-Attorney General Kelly Ayotte. He was hired two years later to succeed Paul Cavanaugh. 

The city solicitor heads the city’s legal department and serves as counsel for Concord’s government and administration. That means a diverse range of responsibilities hitting his desk on any given day, Kennedy said. That gamut — everything from years-long litigation to drafting city ordinances — was among what he liked most about the job.

“When Paul Cavanaugh hired me back in 2009 he said, ‘You’re going to love this job. It’s something new and different every day,’” Kennedy recalled. “He was right.”

His most consequential undertaking during those fourteen years, Kennedy said, was overseeing the contractual agreements behind major city developments such as the revitalization of Main Street and the construction of the Sewalls Falls Bridge, the citywide Community Center on the Heights and the Market Basket complex in Penacook. That kind of legal work is a big part of what his department does, and those projects improved access to infrastructure and services for a wide range of residents, he emphasized. 

From across the spectrum of his duties, Kennedy also highlighted a dispute with a utility company about the city’s rules for digging up roads. 

Unfolding over more than half a decade and coming before the state Supreme Court twice, a natural gas company unsuccessfully challenged Concord’s ordinance regulating road excavation, which not only requires a permit to disturb a right-of-way but either bars or places increased fees on excavation of roads newer than five years.

When pavement is dug up and repaired, it nevertheless shortens the lifespan of the road, Kennedy explained. Those additional fees help compensate taxpayers for the loss and also incentivize companies to coordinate their construction with the city’s road improvement plans. 

While litigation is not the bulk of his work, the timespan of the case, its direct taxpayer savings and its educational components — he had to bring in experts in road construction and study up on the subject himself — made it a compelling and rewarding project, Kennedy said. 

As he moves on, Kennedy praised the staff at City Hall and said he is looking forward to his next venture. 

In his hearing with the Executive Council, Kennedy cited the range of experience he gained as city attorney as qualifying for the judicial post, and pledged to be “a judge who is open-minded, considerate, hardworking and respectful for all those who come before me.”

“While Attorney Kennedy’s departure will be a significant loss for the City, we are confident that his new role as a justice on the Superior Court will be a great gain for the State of New Hampshire,” City Manager Tom Aspell said in a statement about Kennedy’s departure.

Kennedy will formally leave the city sometime in the first half of February and start as a judge promptly thereafter, he said. The hiring process for who will take over his role is ongoing. — Catherine McLaughlin/Concord Monitor