Paul W. Hodes

A native of New York City, Attorney Paul Hodes graduated from Dartmouth College (A.B. cum laude, 1972) and Boston College Law School (Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude 1978). He began his legal career in the office of the Attorney General of New Hampshire and served as Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Justice Division. As Assistant Attorney General, Paul served as a lead prosecutor, winning convictions in homicide prosecutions and numerous appellate cases in the State Supreme Court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He also testified before the legislature on issues of importance to the State and supervised numerous police investigations and prosecutions by offices of the State's County Attorneys. In 1981, he was selected to lead the investigation and prosecution of the Stewart-Meyers case, a significant white collar real estate fraud case which made national headlines. In 1983, after leaving State service, he was specially retained by action of the legislature as Special Prosecutor for the State, winning convictions against all the Stewart-Myers defendants in lengthy jury trials.

Upon entering private practice, Paul continued trial and litigation work as a criminal defense lawyer and in civil litigation. Over the past two decades, including as a founding member of the Manchester, New Hampshire Law Firm of Roussos, Hage and Hodes, P.A., his practice has concentrated on serious personal injury, products liability, professional malpractice, medical malpractice, civil rights, complex marital matters, business litigation and criminal defense. Paul has tried cases before juries in State and Federal Courts and has achieved notable success for his clients including winning a verdict of $1.2 million dollars in a serious personal injury matter.

In 1996, Paul joined Shaheen & Gordon and is a Director and Shareholder in the Firm. He has continued his active practice in civil litigation and criminal defense. The matters he handles range in size and complexity. Recent notable successes include; defending a Dartmouth College student wrongfully charged with assaulting a police officer at a Halloween party, a case he tried with his partner Steve Gordon in State Court, after which he successfully recovered the client's attorney's fees and costs; the defense in Federal Court in Massachusetts in an international currency smuggling matter which resulted in the client walking away from potential lengthy incarceration; and the civil defense in Federal Court of a tractor-trailer driver who suffered a horrendous roll-over accident and the civil recovery on his behalf.

Paul has also developed a growing entertainment law practice as one of the few specialists in that area of the law in New England. With a national client base, Paul has represented musical recording artists, songwriters, artist managers, concert promoters, producers, screenwriters and composers in copyright matters, successful contract negotiations and disputes, career development, as well as in business organization. As an example of his work in that area, Paul recently negotiated a multi-year contract for an award-winning blues artist with a major independent record label. He is President of Big Round Records, Inc., a nationally distributed record label. He is an award-winning performer and songwriter in his own right who has performed at the White House, as well as a playwrite whose major new musical, The People's House recently had its world premiere, after winning numerous foundation grants.

He is admitted to practice before the State and Federal Courts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and is admitted to practice before the United Sates Supreme Court. He has maintained Memberships in the American Association of Trial Lawyers, the New Hampshire Trial Lawyer's Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New Hampshire Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Paul was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire from 1990-1996, successfully leading the statewide drive to create New Hampshire's premiere arts presenting facility. He has also served on the Boards of Family Strength, the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire and the Concord Community Music School. Paul is an experienced advisor to not-for-profit boards on growth and development issues. He was appointed by the Governor to serve as a New Hampshire State Councilor on the Arts and was selected as member of the landmark State Cultural Trade Mission to England and Ireland. He is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in Entertainment and is active with the New Hampshire Lawyers for the Arts.