Lippes Mathias is pleased to announce that it has advised Dexter Paine in his acquisition of the Maine Mariners, a professional ice hockey team based in Portland, Maine, and a member of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). 

Lippes Mathias’ deal team, led by sports, entertainment & hospitality practice team leader Benjamin T. White, as well as attorneys Alana M. Becker and Donell L. Gibson, Jr., provided strategic guidance and legal counsel throughout the acquisition process. 

Benjamin T. White, team leader of the firm’s sports, entertainment & hospitality practice team, led the deal team that helped to secure Lake Tahoe as the home of the 29th ECHL franchise. White focuses his practice on corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, and small and mid-market private equity transactions. He has extensive sports, entertainment, and hospitality industry experience after serving as assistant general counsel for Pegula Sports & Entertainment, LLC, a sports and entertainment management company for multiple professional sports organizations and entertainment properties, including the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, Rochester Knighthawks, KeyBank Center, and BlueCross Arena at the War Memorial. 

Donell L. Gibson, Jr. assists clients in business formation and structuring, contract review and negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, fund formations and investments, corporate governance and compliance, and other general corporate matters. He also advises sports and entertainment companies and other professional sports organizations on corporate issues, including reviewing, negotiating, and preparing agreements and documents for various corporate and financial transactions. Before joining the firm as an attorney, Gibson participated in the firm’s 2017 summer associate program. He gained legal experience through a judicial internship in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York under Honorable William M. Skretny and represented patients of Roswell Park Cancer Institute through the University at Buffalo School of Law's Health Justice Law & Policy Clinic. Gibson held several leadership roles in law school, including President of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) at the University at Buffalo and Treasurer of NBLSA's Northeast Region. He is also a member of the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York Foundation, Inc. 

Alana M. Becker concentrates her practice on all aspects of corporate law, including mergers, acquisitions, securities offerings, private equity/venture capital, and corporate governance. Prior to joining Lippes Mathias, Becker served as in-house counsel for Excellus Health Plan, Inc., where she advised Senior Management on legal aspects of business transactions, drafted corporate governance documents, negotiated non-disclosure and data-use agreements, and reviewed communications between the organization and governmental entities. She also played a key role in preparing legal documents for corporate transactions and divestitures. 

About Lippes Mathias LLP 

Lippes Mathias is a full-service law firm with more than 200 attorneys serving clients regionally, nationally, and internationally. With offices in Buffalo, Clarence, Albany, Long Island, New York, Rochester, Syracuse, and Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Greater Toronto Area; Chicago, Ill.; Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Cleveland, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla. and Washington, D.C., the firm represents publicly and privately-owned companies, private equity and venture capital firms, real estate developers, financial institutions, municipalities, governmental entities, and individuals. 

Year after year, Lippes Mathias is proud to be recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, U.S. News - Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA. For more information, visit www.lippes.com.