Pete Mosseau

Trial work is analogous to an extended chess game – success depends upon experience, strategy, knowing the strength and weakness of your evidence, anticipating the moves of your opponent, and using effective counterattacks. Like chess, trial work is both challenging and rewarding. I have been a trial lawyer for decades (but it doesn't seem that long!) and I love my work. I am appreciative of the trust clients place in me to help with issues important to them professionally and individually. Not all disputes, however, result in trials as more cases are resolved by mediation and/or arbitration. Success in either forum, however, depends upon the same skill set – knowing the facts and law; understanding each side’s position, and being able to simplify facts and law in a way that a mediator or juror will understand.
 
I work principally with individual and institutional health care providers and educational institutions in disputes occurring in the state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. This work has taken me to other New England states such as Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts. Although much of my work is for care providers, my  litigation experience is broad and encompasses defamation, white collar criminal investigations, anti-trust proceedings, whistleblower litigation, environmental pollution, and legal malpractice. I have tried approximately a hundred cases to verdict. In addition to individual professionals, some of my clients have included Concord Hospital, Exeter Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and The University System of New Hampshire. Representative insurance carriers have included Allied World Insurance Company, Inc., The New Hampshire Joint Underwriters Association, United Educators, Medical Mutual of Maine, Western Litigation, and ALAS, Inc.

In my spare time I have been a library trustee, soccer and lacrosse coach and the founder of a youth lacrosse program. Regrettably, I am no longer a competitive runner or biker, but I still enjoy those sports, as well as gardening and woodworking. Mary and I are parents and step parents of five young adults and now have more free time, which we fill with bike rides, local and regional film festivals, and hopefully, completing the AMC 4000 foot club.

I have been listed since 2004 in Chambers & Partners Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers in Band 1 (the top tier) of individual litigators and have been described as “a true trial lawyer,” "one of the strongest litigators in New Hampshire" (2014), and "very thorough, very thoughtful and he's got super communication skills." (Chambers & Partners 2017). I have been fortunate to have been selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trail Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, and ranked in the Top 100 New England Super Lawyers.

Representative Matters

• Successfully defended an emergency room physician and local hospital in a lawsuit in which the plaintiff claimed he was defamed by a medical record entry describing him as a malingerer.
• Secured summary judgment on behalf of a medical facility that had been sued by a plaintiff claiming her treatment violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because she was not provided with an interpreter.
• Obtained a dismissal of a malpractice claim against an air ambulance crew the plaintiff claimed had failed to intubate her, resulting in neurologic damages.
• Successfully resolved a whistleblower case against a medical facility.
• Convinced plaintiff’s counsel presuit not to pursue a claim on an improperly performed spinal fusion against orthopedic surgeon.

Community Involvement

• American Heart Association, NH Board of Directors, current
• Founder of Hopkinton Youth Lacrosse Program, 2000
• Hopkinton Lacrosse Program, Founder
• Contoocook Carry Community Fund, Director