After decades of counseling clients and dispensing advice (and sometimes trying cases) involving construction, family disputes, employment discrimination, bankruptcy, 93A issues, sanitary landfills, land use and permitting and all manner of real estate transactions, John now concentrates on preparing his clients and the affordable housing industry for the future, whether it is "succession planning" or drafting documents which survive the test of time.

Having authored zoning decisions for municipal boards as well as legislation and regulations at federal and state levels, John is renown for his mantra "words matter," emphasizing the art of careful drafting of legal transaction documents of every description (for example, letters of intent, purchase agreements, partnership and joint venture agreements).

In recent years, John has served as Chair of Preservation Massachusetts and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NHRA). In 2018, John was awarded the "Vision Award" by NHRA for his contribution to affordable housing. More recently, he was named to the National Law Journal’s list of 2021 Real Estate/Construction Law Trailblazers.

Representative Client Work

  • Represented developers of housing in transactions involving over a billion dollars
  • Represented Winn Development Company in a joint venture with a resident organization (Castle Square Tenants Organization) in restructuring ownership and a re-financing recapitalization
  • Represented a developer of a private sanitary landfill who co-ventured with the City of Peabody, Massachusetts in private/public partnership to create a state-of-the-art environmentally-safe landfill
  • Represented Virginia-based non-profit in multiple “exits” from tax credit partnerships which involved the IRS Code sanctioned right-of-first refusal
  • Represented restaurant chains and supermarkets in multi-million dollar (excess of $100M) sales of assets and real property
  • Represented national theater business in permitting expansions of business in various municipalities (including several matters successfully handled in court proceedings)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Education

  • J.D., Boston University School of Law
  • B.A., Yale University

Community Engagement

  • Director, National Rehabilitation and Housing Association
  • Chair, Preservation Massachusetts
  • Director and Treasurer, Yale Basketball Association 
  • Boston Bar Association

Awards & Honors

  • National Law Journal Trailblazer, Real Estate/Construction Law (2021)
  • The Legal 500 U.S. (2019)

Seminars & Presentations

Practices

Industries

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