Maine Lawyer: Tom Hallett, Michael Whipple, David Weyrens, Molly Butler Bailey

Tom Hallett, the senior member of The Hallett Law Firm, has been lead trial counsel in more than 150 trials over the course of his 25 years in practice. He has developed a reputation as one of the fiercest and most effective trial lawyers in Maine. As criminal defense counsel he has obtained not guilty verdicts in murder, rape and sexual assault, burglary, drug, kidnapping, criminal threatening, federal gun, fraud, white collar crime, and OUI cases for his clients.

Attorney Hallett has also acted as lead counsel in many high-profile cases over the years. Those cases have uniformly resulted in highly favorable dispositions for his client, including outright dismissal of all charges.

Attorney Hallett has also represented hundreds of individuals in civil matters over the years, again with dramatic success. He has won millions of dollars at trial and obtained millions more through settlement of claims.

Attorney Hallett is a graduate of the University of Maine, Orono, Maine, and Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts. He is admitted to practice law in Maine and Massachusetts State and Federal courts, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a member of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, American Trial Lawyers Association and Maine Trial Lawyers Association.

Michael Whipple has been an attorney at the Hallett Law Firm since 2003. Attorney Whipple focuses on trial work, emphasizing criminal defense. He is also an Executive Director of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) and a member of the National College for DUI Defense.

Prior to joining the Hallett Law Firm, Attorney Whipple was an Assistant District Attorney in Portland, Maine. Attorney Whipple handled all levels of felony and misdemeanor cases as a juvenile and adult prosecutor. He prosecuted many OUI cases and instructed cadets at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy on the proper protocols for handling OUI investigations. Attorney Whipple's experience is unparalleled, and he draws on this extensive background in the District Attorney's office each time he defends a client of The Hallett Law Firm.

A seasoned trial lawyer, Attorney Whipple aggressively pursues each case. He works closely with clients and their loved ones and devotes the time and energy necessary to construct an effective defense. Attorney Whipple has dedicated his practice to representing fellow citizens accused of committing crimes. He is committed to defending and protecting his clients throughout the criminal process.

Attorney Whipple graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.A. degree in Political Science and Philosophy in 1995. He obtained his Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School in 1998. He is admitted to Practice in the Maine Federal and State courts and the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

David Weyrens' practice focuses on the firm's civil and commercial litigation matters, as well as defense of the criminally accused. He joined The Hallett Law Firm in 2006 after relocating to Portland from Colorado. Prior to moving to Maine, Mr. Weyrens practiced law with a litigation firm near Denver, Colorado.

He has a broad range of trial experience, including personal injury matters, contract and commercial disputes, and criminal trials. In his civil practice, Mr. Weyrens has obtained settlements and verdicts totaling millions of dollars for his clients.

Mr. Weyrens received his J.D. in 2002 from the University of Colorado School of Law. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where he earned a B.A. in History, magna cum laude, in 1996. Mr. Weyrens is a member of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is admitted to practice in the State and Federal courts of both Maine and Colorado.

Molly Butler Bailey was born in New York City and grew up in Massachusetts. She graduated from Harvard University's Division of Continuing Education in 2003, after which she and her husband bought a house in Limington, Maine and she enrolled in The University of Maine School of Law.

As a law student, she worked at the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Lewiston District Attorney's Office, the Senate President's Office and the Maine Civil Liberties Union. She was a member of Maine Law's Moot Court Board and the Trial Team and was co-chairwoman of the American Constitutional Society.

Molly joined the Hallett Law Firm in 2009. Prior to that she managed her own law practice, where she concentrated on criminal law and Guardian ad litem work. She is a member of the Maine Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Maine Trial Lawyer's Association and the Maine Guardian ad litem Institute. Molly is also a member of the Maine Civil Liberties Union's legal panel.