BOSTON– Sullivan & Worcester LLP announced the launch of the firm’s Permitting & Land Use practice, formed to provide real estate developers with coordinated counsel related to legal, environmental and financial issues.
“Sullivan’s Permitting & Land Use group works with clients to tackle their most challenging commercial real estate matters,” said Jennifer Schultz, leader of the practice group. “Every member of our team is a problem solver with the experience to see the big picture of a situation and find solutions. With ever-changing politics, policies, regulations and economics, we’re working with clients to create and build the future.”
Schultz joined Sullivan two years ago from Goodwin Procter with colleague and now counsel, Jordan Smith. In her short time at the firm, Schultz has helped to build the largest permitting and land use group in Boston.
Sullivan, long respected for its marque Real Estate and REIT practices, brings highly credentialed lawyers to the team. The group’s practitioners — who have backgrounds in Massachusetts politics, architecture, urban planning and journalism – recognize and understand the critical issues facing developers and their business partners. Comprising the Sullivan Permitting & Land Use team are:
Jennifer Schultz, practice leader
Victor Baltera, partner
Adam Weisenberg, partner
Eugene O’Flaherty, of counsel
Jordan Smith, counsel
Leigh Gilligan, counsel
Michael Murray, counsel
Matthew Bailey, associate
Ashley Tan, associate
Caitlin Hemdal, land use paralegal.
Annette Dimillio, land use paralegal/knowledge management administrator
Sullivan’s Permitting & Land Use team also works closely with the already well-established affordable housing practice lead by partners Karen Kepler & John Gahan, and assisted primarily by Peter Cooper, recently hired from MassDevelopment.
Sullivan’s land-use attorneys assist clients in obtaining permits – from local to state to federal – for complex real estate development projects and provide representation in administrative enforcement matters and land-use litigation. The firm works with developers, landowners, lenders, investors and institutions in addressing land use laws affecting planning and zoning, environmental and historical impact reviews, coastal zone management, wetlands and waterways, brownfields, solid, hazardous and municipal waste, public lands and endangered species.
In the past year, Sullivan’s Permitting & Land Use team managed permitting of nearly 10 million square feet of new development in Boston and Somerville combined; more than 80% of that space is for life science development.
“Throughout Massachusetts, Jenn and her team have earned well-deserved recognition for their outstanding work on behalf of clients developing multi-family residential housing, life sciences campuses, energy projects, and commercial developments,” said Joel Carpenter, co-managing partner of Sullivan. “The team she’s assembled to launch our Permitting & Land Use group is certainly the best in the region. From A to Z, this team can handle any client issue.”
