Best Lawyers Near You in Boston, Massachusetts for Environmental Law
Massachusetts is a rich state with a wide range of legal issues spanning industries, personal matters and public interests. From complex corporate litigation in Boston to family law cases in Worcester, choosing the right attorney in Massachusetts is essential.
This directory exists to help you make that choice with confidence. Whether you're navigating a business dispute or seeking guidance on estate planning, this is your starting point to connect with peer-recognized professionals across the state.
Explore a Trusted Directory of Attorneys in Massachusetts
This page is a curated directory of attorneys in Massachusetts who have earned recognition through Best Lawyers' rigorous peer-review process. You can browse by legal specialty, location or an individual lawyer’s name. Every profile includes verified, current credentials to help you compare qualifications and make informed contact decisions.
You’ll find professionals who represent a wide range of practices and regions, all committed to delivering results aligned with ethical and professional standards. Whether you’re a business executive, in-house counsel or an individual facing a personal legal challenge, this tool helps you find a lawyer in Massachusetts with the right experience and focus.
Legal Services Across Every Corner of the Commonwealth
The needs of Massachusetts residents are varied. This directory helps you refine your search geographically and by practice area.
- Boston remains a national legal hub, with top-tier attorneys in corporate law, white-collar defense, healthcare regulation and intellectual property.
- Cambridge caters to academic institutions, biotech firms and tech startups, offering services in education law, patent filings and startup counsel.
- Worcester and Springfield provide broad representation in family law, personal injury and workers' compensation—all essential for clients seeking local support.
- Lowell and Lawrence are home to attorneys focused on immigration law and employment matters, including wage disputes, visa services and workplace discrimination claims.
Wherever your legal issue arises, you’ll find attorneys across Massachusetts who understand the unique legal landscape of their region. Whether you're looking to resolve a dispute, defend your rights or plan for the future, you’ll find guidance here.
Why Trust This Directory to Find Your Legal Advocate
Each attorney in Massachusetts listed here has earned their place through Best Lawyers’ time-tested selection process. Every year, attorneys are nominated and reviewed by their peers, with a focus on professional excellence, legal ethics and meaningful client outcomes.
Inclusion is not purchased. While attorneys can manage their profile information, only those selected for the most recent edition are featured. This gives clients confidence that they’re viewing a current and credible list of attorneys in Massachusetts.
The peer-review methodology reflects what fellow professionals value most—trust, competence and consistency. It’s a high bar and every lawyer listed has met it.
Start Your Search Today
This is where your legal search begins—with a trusted, structured list of attorneys in Massachusetts who have been recognized by their peers for professional excellence. Use the filters to narrow down by location, practice area or name. Whether you're looking for help with a business transaction or need a skilled advocate for a personal legal issue, this directory helps you find a lawyer in Massachusetts who fits your specific needs.
Practice Area Overview
Environmental law involves an intricate matrix of federal and state public welfare statutes enacted to protect both human health and our natural resources. The economic and socio-geopolitical impact of these laws requires the practice of environmental law to continuously evolve. Areas of environmental law include the following:
Regulatory
The input and experience of an environmental lawyer is crucial in designing, supporting, and auditing environmental compliance systems. Environmental lawyers often participate in the administrative process on the federal and state level to encourage sound rulemaking. They also assist clients in sorting through regulatory ambiguities, which sometimes arise in enforcement proceedings.
Litigation
Environmental litigation occurs at both the civil and criminal level. Enforcement proceedings with federal and state regulators are conducted through either administrative adjudications or in court. Most federal environmental statutes have citizen suit provisions allowing individuals to initiate enforcement litigation on behalf of the government. Suits contesting environmental permits and siting decisions occur frequently and can cause significant delays for projects. Superfund designations are a source of significant litigation, particularly in the cost recovery area. Other areas of environmental litigation include: toxic torts, natural resource damages, water rights disputes, brownfields, endangered species challenges, climate change, and groundwater contamination suits.
Business Transactions
Environmental laws can significantly impact the economics of an M&A or real property transaction. If a facility does not have the entitlements to operate; has an expensive compliance issue that must be remedied; or has significant cleanup liability, it can materially alter the viability and/or structure of a deal. Clients depend on environmental lawyers to establish deal parameters and translate risks into economic terms for the valuation process.
Strategic Corporate Planning
Depending on how environmental regulations develop, a company could gain a significant economic advantage over its competitors. Evolving regulation in areas such greenhouse gas emissions have the potential of altering the business model of some companies, while creating growth opportunities for others.
Corporate Governance
Events such as the Deepwater Horizon accident are redefining the roles of senior executives and boards of directors. There is a new wave of internal controls that many corporations are implementing in response to regulatory and shareholder influence.
Crisis Management
An environmental crisis such as an oil spill, toxic leak, or refinery explosion can be a defining moment in the history of a corporation. When a crisis hits, all aspects of environmental law come into play and requires experienced, clear-eyed counsel to help corporations, municipalities, and other impacted entities to successfully respond to and emerge from such an event.
Joshua M. Alper is a partner in the firm's Real Estate Department and co-chair of the firm's Environmental Law Group. Josh is interested in tangible results, problem solving, and effecting sustainable change, crafting practical, creative, and flexible solutions to challenges posed by transactions and disputes. He practices primarily in the areas of commercial real estate, environmental and zoning matters, and all aspects of land use development. Josh is the Editor of Massachusetts Continuing ...
Dan Bailey has more than 25 years of experience in environmental, land use, real estate, and municipal law. He prides himself on offering pragmatic solutions to complicated legal matters. While Dan’s “sweet spot” is the redevelopment of commercial property, he has a strong background in all aspects of environmental and regulatory law. Dan also handles all types of real estate transactions. Dan has helped facilitate development of a wide range of commercial real estate projec...
Lisa’s litigation practice spans a broad range of complex environmental, energy, land use, real estate, insurance, and business matters. On behalf of private and public sector clients, she practices in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. In addition, she handles contested administrative proceedings, alternative dispute resolution matters, and sensitive regulatory compliance negotiations. She co-chairs the firm’s Environmental and Energy Law and Real Es...
Michelle O'Brien handles environmental and land use permitting and related litigation for various types of developments including residential homes, commercial buildings, waterfront properties, wind turbines, and solid waste facilities. She defends companies in environmental enforcement matters at the federal, state, and local levels. She represents private parties in cost recovery and property damage claims involving releases of oil and hazardous materials, and assists clients with real esta...
With over three decades of litigation and transactional experience, Jeff is widely recognized as one of the top environmental lawyers in the country. Clients seek him out to solve complex environmental law challenges. Some of the largest global companies rely on Jeff’s insights and strategic guidance. Clients praise him as “the top environmental attorney you will find in Boston” and say his “judgment on sensitive political issues is invaluable.” Jeff is ranked Ba...
Ronald W. Ruth is co-chair of the Environmental Law Group. He is the former Managing Partner and former chair of the Real Estate department. He concentrates his practice on real estate, land use, and environmental law. Ron became a LEED Accredited Professional in July 2008. Ron has represented owners and tenants in connection with numerous sites that have been successfully redeveloped from abandoned manufacturing or industrial operations into commercial developments. He is particularly famili...
Greg is a real estate, land use, and environmental attorney with more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate transactions, including significant experience in the planning, design, permitting and development of contaminated properties and similarly challenging sites, as well as renewable energy and infrastructure projects. His practice covers all aspects of real estate development, including acquisitions/dispositions, entitlement, and financing, including construction loans, re...
Mr. Stearns has extensive experience advising a broad range of clients in commercial real estate developments and managing the permitting, financing and development of office, residential and other commercial development projects. Such clients include developers, institutional investors, buyers, sellers, financial institutions, hospitals, securitized mortgage brokers, landlords, tenants and others involved in real estate and business transactions. Mr. Stearns has significant experience appear...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.