The Professional and Financial Regulation Division provides legal services to more than 60 agency clients across state government. The division provides legal counsel and representation to the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (DPFR) and its boards and regulatory agencies, such as the Bureau of Insurance and Office of Securities. This also includes the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation and its 38 professional licensing boards, commissions, and regulatory programs that protect the public through licensure, inspection, and enforcement of more than 100,000 active licensees.
The PFR division represents a wide range of other state and quasi-independent agencies, including the Board of Property Tax Review; Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operation; Criminal Justice Academy; Gambling Control Board; Harness Racing Commission; Port Authority; and Public Employees Retirement System, among others.
PFR Division AAGs provide legal advice, assist in investigations, prosecute disciplinary actions before the boards, defend client administrative actions on appeal, and represent agency clients in state and federal court.
Timothy Steigelman, Division Chief
Tim joined the Professional and Financial Regulation division in 2020. His agency clients have included the Maine Port Authority, National Guard, Emergency Management Agency, and the Dental, Electrician, and Fuel boards. He has litigated in Maine Superior Court on behalf of the Dental Board, Fuel Board, and the Port Authority, and prosecuted administrative actions before the Board of Licensure in Medicine, and Board of Real Estate Appraisers, among other tribunals.
Prior to joining the Office of the Attorney General, Tim practiced at two Portland law firms. His private practice included admiralty litigation and transactions, bankruptcy, commercial and construction litigation, and municipal law. He successfully argued before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Albert v. Town of Pownal, Mem. 19-117 and before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Electricity Maine, LLC, 927 F.3d 33.
Tim was named a Proctor in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association of the United States. His writings have been published in the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal (coauthor), Interagency Journal, Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, and University of Hawai'i Law Review, among others. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, holds a masters degree from the University of Maryland, and law degree from the University of Maine School of Law (summa cum laude).