Our Legacy

The Victorian building at 1838 Elm Street became home to the firm during its first years as Devine, Millimet & McDonough and later as Devine, Millimet, Stahl & Branch. With oak paneling, built-in cabinetry, fireplaces, and turrets, it was an elegant setting for the firm for twenty years until the firm’s continued growth resulted in the attic and closets becoming office space.

Joe Millimet served as counsel to Governor John King. In that capacity, he was the lead lawyer in creating the New Hampshire sweepstakes, the first modern lottery. Joe made many trips to Washington, DC to negotiate with the United States Department of Justice. He was successful, and the first New Hampshire sweepstakes race was run at Rockingham Park in 1964. He defended the legality of the New Hampshire sweepstakes before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966.

The firm, now named Devine, Millimet, Stahl & Branch, P.A., had grown to 21 attorneys, with a general practice in all New Hampshire state and federal courts.

Devine Millimet successfully represented Sanders Associates, a New Hampshire-based computer firm and defense contractor, in its legally and technically complicated antitrust case against IBM.

The firm built its new office building at 1850 Elm Street to house its 37 attorneys plus staff.

The firm’s current headquarters at 111 Amherst Street previously served as Manchester’s U.S. Post Office. Declared surplus property and up for auction, Devine Millimet submitted the winning $2M bid of the building at a contested auction. The firm then performed a complete rehab to create a new home for its then-38 attorneys and growing staff.

The granite building, now facing Victory Park in the center of Manchester, symbolizes the firm’s strong commitment to New Hampshire’s progress and the firm’s solid place within the legal and business community of New England.

The firm served as special counsel to the State of New Hampshire in the bankruptcy proceedings of the state’s largest electric utility, Public Service of New Hampshire, caused by the construction of the Seabrook nuclear power plant. The PSNH representation expanded the firm’s practice beyond its previous debtor matters.

The firm won the ABA law firm design award for adaptive reuse and was featured in Architectural Digest.

Norman H. Stahl joined Devine Millimet in 1956. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush nominated him to fill the seat of Justice David H. Souter on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, where he served until his retirement in 2020. In addition to Judge Stahl, two other Devine Millimet attorneys became federal judges, and another twenty-three attorneys have served in the New Hampshire state judiciary as justices, judges, and have served in a number of other capacities.

Writing from Naples, Florida after his retirement, Joe Millimet reflected on the characteristics of a “true law firm.” He identified three: all clients are clients of the firm, not of any individual attorney; the client is entitled to have work done by the attorney best qualified and suited for the matter; and the firm should be capable of handling the broad spectrum of legal work in the jurisdiction and community in which it practices.

The Manchester Historic Association recognized Devine Millimet with its Historic Preservation Award in 1997, as the firm celebrated its 50th year, noting the firm’s dedication and commitment to the preservation of historic resources.

Devine Millimet celebrated Joe Millimet’s sixty years of New Hampshire legal practice by contributing to the renovation of and technological improvements to the student courtroom at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law (formerly the Franklin Pierce Law Center) in Concord, New Hampshire.

The firm proudly received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2013 New Hampshire Small Business Champion of the Year Award.The award recognizes the firm’s support of small businesses in the state via its Business Launch Initiative which offers free business formation services to startup business ventures in New Hampshire.

The firm opened an office in the state capital to provide legal services to its clients in Concord. It also began offering Devine Strategies, a legislative guidance and advocacy service.

In the spring of 2015, to complement the existing Manchester and Concord locations, the firm opened an office on Penhallow Street in historic downtown Portsmouth. In keeping with the firm’s tradition of inhabiting historic government buildings, our Portsmouth office is located in the city’s former police department building.

On July 1, 2015, the firm announced that it had hired most of the attorneys from the highly regarded trial law firm of Nelson Kinder + Mosseau. The combination created the largest litigation department of any New Hampshire-based law firm.

In 2016, the firm printed a compilation of Joe Millimet’s letters from Naples, Florida, in which he reflected on the firm’s history and purpose, its accomplishments, and key representations.

Devine, Millimet & Branch celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2022. In addition to a gala event attended by many alumni and friends of the firm, Attorney Thomas Quarles, the firm’s unofficial historian, wrangled facts, anecdotes, photos, and Joe Millimet’s unpublished letters into a history of Devine Millimet.

The attorneys of Ambrogi Law Office made a mutually beneficial addition to the Wills, Trusts, and Estates and Elder Law team at Devine Millimet.