Work Highlights
As a leading real estate attorney in New Hampshire and throughout New England, John’s strength and talent is explaining complex legal concepts in clear and understandable terms to both the clients he represents and the regulatory agencies he appears before. John is always well prepared and direct, an approach that makes him convincing, credible and likeable. Whether drafting documents, or verbally presenting, John’s candid and pragmatic advice is complimented by his persistent, patient and fair style.
John’s real-life experience and natural instincts support his solid legal acumen. He knows how critical it is to understand both sides of a matter, and how to uncover true motivations, when formulating effective negotiation strategies.
John’s creativity and results-oriented nature extends beyond solving legal issues. He encourages efficiency in all matters and routinely looks for the realistic opportunities available to his clients. He prefers to stand shoulder to shoulder with his clients as they tackle legal matters together, many of whom have worked with him for almost twenty-five years. John is a fierce and effective advocate, and his success is partly attributed to the fact that he explores pricing arrangements that align his work with his client’s interests and success. John’s winning combination of practicality, insight, frankness and loyalty continually distinguish him from among his peers.
Areas Of Practice
John has a sophisticated real estate practice that spans the retail, resort, office, institutional, medical, hospitality, industrial and manufacturing industries. He focuses his work in the areas of:
Property redevelopment and repositioning
Land use, zoning and development
Transactional
Distressed properties
Eminent domain
Tax abatements
Special projects
Leasing
Due diligence
John is particularly well known for his legal work involving shopping center law and development. The following is a brief summary of the services John offers to the firm’s clients:
Property Redevelopment And Repositioning
John works with property owners to reposition their commercial properties to respond to new market realities. He helps clients assess the realistic options available, create strategies to take advantage of the selected option, and implement plans in a practical, efficient manner. In this area, John counsels clients through many issues that may arise when redeveloping or repositioning commercial property, such as:
reviewing and amending existing approvals and permits
reviewing and amending existing leases
appearing before planning boards, zoning boards, and other federal, state and local agencies.
financing documents
land swaps and assemblages
negotiating with abutters, lenders, governmental officials and other stakeholders
reviewing and amending REA’s , easement and development agreements and
zoning and land use regulations
Land Use, Zoning And Development
John represents national, regional and local companies in real estate development projects throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts. His experience in land use matters is extensive and varied. John’s established a solid reputation as an effective advocate who works seamlessly with other project team members to ensure a well-orchestrated, thorough and professional presentation. Over the years, John has developed excellent working relationships with real estate professionals, including civil engineers, architects, wetlands scientists, traffic engineers and contractors. In this area, John counsels clients through all stages of the land use and development process, such as:
analyzing zoning, land use and environmental ordinances and regulations
identifying required permits and approvals
representing clients before boards and regulatory agencies to obtain regulatory entitlements.
For more information about the firm’s land use practice please click here.
Transactional And Leasing
John has an active transactional practice with extensive experience in all types of real estate transactions including acquisitions, sales, commercial leasing and finance.
For more information about the firm’s acquisition and disposition practice click here.
Distressed Properties
John works with owners, developers and investors in real estate properties to evaluate and review distressed properties. Dramatic changes within the economy have caused remarkable problems for some and created tremendous opportunities for others. John helps clients work through the challenges and advantages of distressed properties, such as:
foreclosures, evictions and other remedies and enforcement actions
loan workouts and restructurings
modifying and extending permits and approvals
permits and approvals for projects that allow build-out over time and/or in phases
performing due diligence associated with acquisitions of partially completed projects
renegotiating tenant leases
representing buyers of real estate in bankruptcy proceedings.
Eminent Domain
John represents property owners responding to threats of eminent domain. John’s experience in dealing with regulatory agencies positions him to obtain fair results for his clients. John’s practical and realistic approach often resolves these cases through a negotiated settlement, avoiding unnecessary, time consuming and costly litigation. When needed, John brings in additional resources from the firm’s extensive experience in handling eminent domain cases before appellate boards and in court.
Tax Abatements
Recent strains on municipal budgets often result in overly aggressive tax collection actions. John frequently represents property owners in achieving real estate tax reductions through negotiations with local tax assessors.
Special Projects
Unique situations require special talents. Businesses frequently ask for John’s involvement when confronted with uncommon or unusually complex real estate issues, which often involve governmental agencies. John is a go-to resource in these cases as his pro-active, straightforward approach typically achieves excellent results.
This work frequently involves high-level negotiations, valuation issues, document drafting and legal advocacy. Recently, John worked with property owners impacted by projects such as:
airport expansion
alleged wetlands and other environmental violations
drainage matters
enforcement actions of all types
flood mitigation
highway widening
re-zoning
river relocation
tax audits.
Retail
John is well recognized for his work on real estate matters involving the retail industry, particularly shopping centers. As a result of his active participation in the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), John is well versed in the issues which are important to this industry. He helps clients with not only the day-to-day business, but also in connection with more complex matters including:
due diligence
entitlements
finance
ground leasing
leasing
operational issues
purchases
retail development
sales
tax matters
For more information about the firm’s work in the retail industry, and examples of representative matters click here.
Resort/Hospitality
John represents owners, developers and operators of resort and hospitality properties. In this area, John counsels clients through both daily business activities and with important strategic decisions. Some of the areas he assists clients with include:
acquiring properties
drafting leases
financing
forming condominium associations
negotiating construction contracts
operational and management issues
regulatory approvals
