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About the Firm

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An Experienced and Effective Personal Injury Law Firm

Hardy Wolf and Downing is a personal injury firm started by William Hardy and Fredda Wolf in 1976 in Lewiston. By then, Bill Hardy had three years trial experience in another firm in Portland and Fredda Wolf had several years’ experience in a Lewiston firm.

Like most young firms, they were hungry and did all sorts of cases. Everything from car accidents to workers compensation to felony murder trials. Gradually as the firm’s reputation for personal injury accident cases grew, it represented more and more injured Mainers in a variety of cases. The firm members discovered they liked it and were very good at it. They also decided to specialize in injury cases because, like medicine, the law has become so complex that it’s hard to be fully up to speed on every type of case. Hardy Wolf and Downing pledged then to be the best personal injury lawyer team in Maine and to get the most money for injured Mainers as possible.

By then, Tom Downing had joined the firm. Tom had experience as a legislative advocate and naturally took to representing the injured victim against the large insurance companies.

How the Firm Grew Over the Years


In 1984, Sheldon Tepler, joined the firm, with previous experience in the Maine Attorney General’s office and at a high level in the federal court system. Mike Welch joined as our fifth partner in 1989. He joined the firm after several years of experience with another law firm. Chris Lewis joined the firm in 2006. He previously worked with the Department of Justice. William C. Herbert III came to Hardy Wolf and Downing in 2015 after several years in both criminal prosecution and civil claims.


As the years progressed Bill, Fredda, and Tom retired. Sheldon Tepler was the firm manager for nearly twenty years before handing over management responsibilities to Chris Lewis in 2022 to focus exclusively on representing clients. Each of the partners had extensive experience investigating, preparing and trying cases in court. Many law firms which advertise on TV do not back it up by handling their own cases all the way through the court system when that is what the case requires. Our firm is not afraid to take each case as far as it needs to go.


The firm is unique because each member is well schooled and experienced in the law and medicine of personal injury, the firm specializes in injury claims and it has an impressive track record of collecting well over $200 million dollars for injured Mainers to back it up.

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