BOSTON – Global law firm Sullivan & Worcester announced that Jennifer Schultz has joined the firm as a Partner in Sullivan’s Real Estate Group in Boston. Jennifer is joined by Jordan Smith, an associate in the Real Estate Group.
“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Jennifer and Jordan as colleagues,” said Ashley Brooks, a co-leader of firm’s Real Estate Group. “The breadth of Jennifer’s Boston-focused entitlement and land use experience working with clients including developers, REITs and institutions across asset classes synergizes nicely with our development practice. Jordan’s background in architecture and site permitting further deepens the array of services and insights that Sullivan’s Real Estate team brings to clients.”
Schultz comes to Sullivan from Goodwin Procter. Her work is focused on land-use and zoning, with a concentration on entitlement in Boston, Somerville and surrounding areas. The relationships she has developed with city planners and zoning departments benefits her work on behalf of clients before a variety of planning, development, and zoning agencies, including the Boston Planning and Development Agency, the Boston Zoning Board of Appeal and Zoning Commission, the Boston Air Pollution Control Commission, the Public Improvement Commission, Boston Landmarks Commission, and the Somerville Planning Board and Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development.
“Sullivan & Worcester has deep roots in Boston, and an entrepreneurial approach to real estate development with a focus on the holistic approach to client representation. It’s an environment that will enable me to expand the services available to my clients, including debt, equity, and leasing, while also allowing me to help expand the breadth of the existing land use practice at Sullivan,” Jennifer Schultz said. “I’m excited to join a team of thoughtful, energetic, dedicated colleagues who recognize the importance of the expertise and relationships that I’ve developed in my practice. I also appreciate Sullivan’s energetic spirit and inclusive approach. I’m thrilled to be part of the Sullivan team.”
With an impressive roster of active projects, Schultz anticipates that there will be continued expansion in the life sciences sector throughout Boston and the surrounding areas. “The trends coming out of COVID are all in the life sciences and lab sectors. The demand is crazy.”
Recently, Schultz obtained permits for and addressed complex land use issues surrounding the development of a 300,000 square foot office building in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood; acted as permitting counsel on a team developing a 1 million square foot, multi-building multi-phase project in the Fenway area; and helped to permit and navigate community support for the development of a new academic building at one of Boston’s universities. At present, Schultz is conducting the permitting for six lab buildings – three in Somerville and three in Boston; two multi-family developments – one in Somerville and one in Cambridge; and the wholesale redevelopment of a 5+ acre campus in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston.
In 2019 and 2020, Schultz was recognized as a Land Use/Zoning “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine and in 2017 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly identified her as an “Up & Coming Lawyer” in real estate development law. She is an editor and author for the MCLE Zoning Manual for Massachusetts, and is co-author of the MCLE Publication “Boston Zoning: A Lawyer’s Handbook”. She also sits on the Urban Land Institute’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Product Council for Boston. She earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Middlebury College.
Jordan Smith also joins Sullivan from Goodwin. His practice focuses on land-use law and working with clients on zoning and permitting for mixed-use development projects. Prior to practicing law, he was an architect and participated on projects and plans for developments in the U.S. and in India. A LEED-accredited professional, he received his J.D. from Boston College Law School, a Master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell University, and his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University.
