Education
Harvard Law School
- J.D., magna cum laude, 1992
- Editorial Board, Harvard Human Rights Journal
- Prison Legal Assistance Project
Haverford College
- B.A., 1979
- French Literature
Bar and Court Admissions
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Practice Focus
Bob helps commercial landlords and tenants, developers, land owners and title insurance companies with disputes relating to real estate – including zoning and permitting, leasing, easements and bankruptcy. He also helps companies resolve commercial disputes involving insurance coverage, contracts, non-compete agreements, corporate and partnership disputes and others. In addition to litigating cases when necessary, Bob often settles disputes through negotiation and mediation.
Notable Experience
Bob represented a large telecommunications provider in a lease dispute with its landlord over an alleged discrepancy in their lease. The tenant claimed that it overpaid rent based on the lease, and the landlord failed to return that overpayment. Bob brought suit on behalf of the tenant, winning a judgment that was upheld on appeal and successfully collected.
A neighborhood group retained Bob to help preserve the character of its neighborhood. Bob successfully challenged a series of variances on behalf of the group, resulting in reversal of the variances and protection of the neighborhood.
Bob represented a Back Bay commercial landlord in a dispute with a tenant who constructed an addition without permission or a permit and regularly failed to pay rent on time. Bob brought action to evict and to exercise a security interest under the lease. The tenant disputed landlord’s claims and Bob negotiated a settlement favorable to the landlord on the eve of trial.
Background
Prior to joining Rackemann, Bob served as a clerk to the Honorable Herbert P. Wilkins of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Prior to attending law school, Bob was a professional stage actor in New York and in regional productions. He also volunteered as a mentor for children at a leprosy relief organization in India.
Community Service Activities
- Board of Directors, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, 2001-present, Chair, 2007-present
- Appointee to the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, 2005-2007
- Planning Board of the Town of Natick, 2001-present
Professional Activities
- Chair, Land Use Committee of the State and Local Government Law Section of the American Bar Association, 2005-present
- Co-Chair, Real Estate Section of the Boston Bar Association, 2004-2006
- Co-Chair, Delivery of Legal Services Section of the Boston Bar Association, 1998-2001
Publications
Moderator, “Church, State and Dirt: RLUIPA and Land Use in 2007”, presented at the Spring 2007 Meeting of the ABA’s State and Local Government Law Section
Co-author, Disguised as a Tree: Judicial Review of Land Use Decisions on Cellular Telecommunications Facilities Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 38 The Urban Lawyer 657 (2006)
Co-author, Tell Me What You Really Think: Judicial Review of Land Use Decisions on Cellular Telecommunications Facilities Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 37 The Urban Lawyer 551 (2005)
Co-author, Delaney’s Semi-Scientific and Other Adventures in Cellular Networks and Land Use Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 36 The Urban Lawyer 529 (2004)