BOSTON– Jennifer Schultz, a partner at the international law firm of Nixon Peabody, serves as lead of her firm’s Permitting & Land Use team and concentrates her practice on land use and permitting on complex, large-scale developments in and around the Greater Boston Area, with focus areas in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, industrial, renewable energy and ClimaTech real estate assets, and housing.
“The developments I work on for my clients serve the community whether it is an affordable housing project serving a vulnerable community, a hotel supporting tourism and providing a municipality with much-needed tax income, or a lab project creating a space for the jobs of today and tomorrow in the furtherance of public health,” says Ms. Schultz.
Ms. Schultz represents traditional real estate developers as well as family offices, real estate investment trusts, REIMs, private equity investors, universities/colleges, hospitals, hotel owners and managers, and land-centric nonprofits, including two organic farms.
She sits in Nixon’s Boston office with her team of eight land use and development expert attorneys working on complex mixed-use projects.
On March 12, 2025, Ms. Schultz will be honored with the Outstanding Women of 2025 award at the annual Women of the Year awards gala at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA.
To buy a ticket for the gala, please click here.
Most recently, her team obtained approvals for their client, Wentworth Institute of Technology in its next 10-year Master Plan that will include three new dormitories, and four new academic buildings and accessory spaces; next up, her team in Boston will be proceeding through permitting on two sister residential tower projects in Dorchester totaling just over 750 units as well as the first phase of the 25-acre redevelopment project of the former Domino Sugar Factory in Charlestown with two residential buildings, one hotel, alongside resiliency and open space transformational improvements.
Ms. Schultz’s team members extend beyond Boston and are located in Rhode Island, New York, Illinois, and California as well. Nixon’s Real Estate Development team is made up of multi-disciplined attorneys and administrators.
Here is a Q/A with Ms. Schultz:
Boston Real Estate Times: What do you enjoy most about your work?
Jennifer Schultz: Problem-solving with my client in mind. Step one is identifying the problem. Step two is offering as many reasonable solutions as possible to solve the problem. Step three is listening to feedback from the client. And Step four, is letting the client choose the path they are most comfortable with.
BRET: What is the one thing you attribute your success to?
JS: Hard work.
BRET: To which charitable, community and professional groups do you belong and why?
JS: I am co-chair of the Boston Urban Land Institute Product Council on the Boston Market, a member of NAIOP serving on its Government Affairs Council, and a member of CREW Boston, the women-only membership group for Commercial Real Estate Professionals. I also volunteer at Holly Hill Farm, a local organic farm in my town and 501(c)3 educational charity, and am an active member of the Trustees of Reservations, a conservation land charity and organization. I formerly served as a member of the Town of Cohasset’s Zoning Board of Appeals.
BRET: In what way do you feel you have most positively influenced or served the local community, your company/organization or professional field?
JS: The developments I work on for my clients serve the community whether it is an affordable housing project serving a vulnerable community, a hotel supporting tourism and providing a municipality with much-needed tax income, or a lab project creating a space for the jobs of today and tomorrow in the furtherance of public health. Personally, my most significant contribution is my plain-speak, honest, advocacy and communication with the communities, the politicians, and all other related stakeholders.
BRET: What are your hobbies and interests?
JS: Playing with my nearly 5-year old daughter whenever I get the chance, hiking near and far, and playing paddle all winter long.
BRET: Your favorite books?
JS: “Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” by Herman Wouk.
BRET: Your favorite quotes?
JS: If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu.
BRET: The one person you would like to meet and why?
JS: My maternal great-grandmother after whom I am named; she was matriarch of her family, ran a successful furniture making business at a time when women were rarely the business person in charge, and, I’m told, took no grief from anyone.
BRET: Your core values you try to live by?
JS: You have to earn what you get; nothing is deserved.
BRET: What inspires you?
JS: My daughter.
