Our Attorneys
Trusted Guidance You Can Rely On
Brenda Smith-Weiss
Attorney Brenda Smith-Weiss is a lifelong native of New England and New Hampshire. She was raised in Hudson, graduating from Alvirne High School. At the University of New Hampshire, she majored in Drama and then attended the University of Maine School of Law. Between college and law school, Brenda enjoyed work as a real estate paralegal.
She has been practicing law in Maine and New Hampshire since the mid 1980s and is a member of the New Hampshire, Maine, and Nashua Bar Associations. Brenda is an owner of Smith-Weiss Shepard & Kanakis, P.C. where she heads the estate planning and probate, and real estate divisions.
Brenda’s focus in practice is estate planning, probate administration, wills, and trusts. Her practice also includes commercial real estate transactions representing buyers, sellers and lenders. Finally, Brenda is a title insurance agent for First American Title Insurance Company and Chicago Title Insurance Company.
Active in the community, Brenda is a former President of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua, Inc., a former Clerk of First Church of Nashua, and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network, the Board of Trustees for The Hunt Community, and the Nashua West Rotary Club. She is currently serving as a member of the Board of Trustees and Treasurer of the Hills Farm Cemetery, Hudson, New Hampshire.
Brenda is an active member of First Church of Nashua, the Nauss Hall Players and enjoys vintage rug hooking.
Robert M. Shepard
Attorney Robert M. Shepard has long standing ties to New Hampshire. He graduated from Alvirne High School in Hudson, New Hampshire in 1976. Always active in sports, he continues to serve as the girls’ varsity coach for Pelham High School. After high school, Bob attended St. Michael’s College in Winooski, VT and then the University of New Hampshire School of Law.
Bob is the Managing Partner of Smith-Weiss Shepard & Kanakis, P.C. He has been licensed to practice in New Hampshire, including the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, since 1983. He is a member of the New Hampshire and Nashua Bar Associations as well as the New Hampshire Association for Justice. Bob practices law before every Circuit and Superior Court in the State of New Hampshire.
With over thirty years of experience, Bob practices family law, civil litigation, business and corporate law, landlord and tenant law, real estate and zoning, estate planning, and personal injury law. He also represents several Cooperatives and Manufactured Housing Parks throughout the State of New Hampshire.
Always a supporter of the those in need, Bob participates in the Pro Bono Referral System for the New Hampshire Bar Association and legal counsel for Nashua Habitat for Humanity and the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter. He also served as the Hillsborough County Representative for the New Hampshire Bar Association Board of Governors, was the President of the Nashua Bar Association, and a former member of the Board of Directors for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Nashua, the Pelham Planning Board, the Board of Directors for the Greater Nashua Federal Credit Union, the Board of Directors for the Nashua Soup Kitchen and the Board of Directors for the Greater Nashua YMCA. In 2017 the Nashua Bar Association honored Bob with the Ted Jordan and Joe Gall Humanitarian Award. Bob has also taught paralegal courses at the New Hampshire Technical College and seminars on the Law of Cooperatives and Manufactured Housing Parks.
In his spare time, along with coaching basketball, and is an avid gardener and golfer.
Mark D. Kanakis
Attorney Attorney Mark D. Kanakis has been practicing law in New Hampshire since 1985. Previously, he was a founding partner with Merra and Kanakis, PC (which later merged with Sullivan & Gregg, P.A.) and an associate with Winer and Bennett, P.C. He is a 1981 graduate of the University of New Hampshire and a 1985 graduate of Boston University Law School. Mr. Kanakis was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar in 1985.
Mark has long been an active member of the legal community, authoring and presenting many Continuing Legal Education seminars, including but not limited to “Legal Issues Surrounding Foreclosures in New Hampshire” for First American Title Insurance Company, “Loan Defaults, Workouts, Insolvency & Foreclosure” for the New Hampshire Bar Association, “Residential and Commercial Evictions in New Hampshire” for the National Business Institute, “Commercial Evictions” for the National Business Institute, “Advanced Principals of Title Insurance in New Hampshire” Authored and presented section on ‘Mechanic’s Liens on Real Property’ for the National Business Institute, “Legal Issues Surrounding Foreclosure, Repossession and Collection of Problem Loans in New Hampshire” for Fleet Services, Inc., Buffalo, New York, and “New Hampshire Foreclosures: The Basics and Special Concerns” for AMRESCO Holdings, Providence, Rhode Island. His institutional clients have included TD Bank, NA, Citizens Bank, NA, Bank of America, NA, Bank of New England, The City of Nashua, NH, Enterprise Bank and Trust Company, Webster 5 Cent Savings Bank, NBT Bank, NA, First Essex Bank, Eastern Bank, Peoples United Bank, NA., M&T Bank, Rockingham Economic Development Corporation, AMRESCO New England, Inc., Primary Bank, Meredith Village Savings Bank and ORIX Capital Markets, LLC.
Mark’s principal areas of concentration are commercial lending and real estate. He has represented banks and individuals/companies in commercial lending as well as creditor bankruptcy situations for over 35 years. He has extensive experience in commercial loan recovery, including foreclosures, commercial loan workouts and commercial collections. Mark also concentrates on commercial real estate matters including leases and title issues . Finally, Mark is a title insurance agent for First American Title Insurance Company and CATIC.
Mark is an avid curler and golfer. In 1990, he toured the then Soviet Union with the Derry, New Hampshire Men’s Basketball Team. joined in 2022.
Nicholas A. Kanakis
Attorney Nicholas A. Kanakis joined Smith-Weiss Shepard & Kanakis, P.C. in 2021. A New Hampshire native, Nick was raised in Merrimack. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the University of New Hampshire and graduated with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
While externing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California, He was able to provide pro bono bankruptcy assistance to low income clients at McGeorge’s Community Legal Services. Nick was also a Staff Writer, Managing Editor, and Primary Comment Editor University of the Pacific Law Review and worked at the Rwanda Development Board in Kigali, Rwanda. Prior to joining Smith-Weiss Shepard & Kanakis, P.C. he was an associate at a local Nashua firm.
Licensed to practice law in New Hampshire, including the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Hampshire, Nick focuses his practice on loan workouts, collections, foreclosures, commercial real estate transactions, estate planning, and corporate law. Nick also participates as a volunteer attorney with the Nashua Consumer Debt Docket and serves on the Nashua Zoning Board. Finally, Nick is a title insurance agent for First American Title Insurance Company and CATIC.
Outside of practicing law, Nick enjoys cooking and is an avid curler and hiker, currently progressing through the NH48. He also enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and his dog, Visiliki, who spends her day lounging in his office.
Brittney M. White
Attorney Brittney M. White joined Smith-Weiss Shepard & Kanakis, P.C. in 2020. Brittney is the newest associate of the firm. She graduated from Western New England University School of Law, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western New England University in Law and Society.
Brittney is licensed to practice in New Hampshire, and before the United States District Court for New Hampshire. Brittney specializes in criminal law, family law, abuse and neglect matters, probate administration, landlord-tenant law and she uses her persuasive writing skills to represent parties in appellate matters.
In law school, Brittney was a member of the Western New England Law Review and is experienced in drafting and reviewing documents in detail. She uses this training to advocate for her clients whether it be through litigation or appellate.
Born and raised in New Hampshire, it was clear to Brittney from the start that practicing law in New England was a passion of hers. Brittney is a member and on the public service committee for the New Hampshire Women’s Bar Association. In her free time, Brittney enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also spends her time hiking, skiing, and playing soccer and softball in local clubs.