American Bar Association Selects Chapter by Mintz Levin Attorneys Paul D. Wilson and Noah C. Shaw for Collection of Best Writing on Land Use Law
1/9/2012
Boston, MA – The American Bar Association recently published its fourth annual collection of the best writing on land use law, At the Cutting Edge 2011: Land Use Law from The Urban Lawyer. For the fourth consecutive year, the ABA has included an article by Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. attorney Paul D. Wilson, a Member in the firm’s Litigation Section. For the second consecutive year, Mr. Wilson’s co-author is his Mintz Levin colleague attorney Noah C. Shaw.
The “Cutting Edge” collection is culled from the pages of The Urban Lawyer, a leading law review specializing in matters relevant to state and local governments, including land use planning, zoning, and real estate development. The article authored by Mr. Wilson and Mr. Shaw, which appeared in the Summer 2011 issue of The Urban Lawyer, is entitled “Robber Barons, Back-Stabbers, and Extortionists: How Far Does Anti-SLAPP Protection Go?” It concerns “Anti-SLAPP” statutes now enacted in nearly half the states, which are intended to prevent real estate developers from suing citizens who oppose a real estate development. In the article, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Shaw discuss recent cases which push the boundaries of Anti-SLAPP protection, noting that courts are refusing to protect project opponents who themselves have misbehaved, for example by breaching agreements with the developers or attempting to extort money from them.
The first volume of the At the Cutting Edge series, also containing an article by Mr. Wilson, was named one of the three best books on real estate in the year it was published.
Mr. Wilson is a Member in the firm’s Litigation Section and the head of the Real Estate and Land Use Litigation Working Group. His litigation efforts for housing developers, whom he regularly represents from local zoning boards to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, have earned him recognition as a housing industry leader. For the past 10 years, Mr. Wilson has taught trial techniques for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education in Boston, and has organized and moderated seminars throughout the United States on national developments in land use law for the ABA. He recently served for several years on the governing body of the ABA's Section of State and Local Government Law. Mr. Wilson has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer annually since 2004.
Mr. Shaw is an associate in the firm’s Litigation Section. He represents clients in government investigations, antitrust matters, land use, and complex business disputes involving individuals, partnerships and closely-held corporations. In addition, Mr. Shaw is a member of the firm’s Appellate Law practice group, with which he has co-authored various United States Supreme Court and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court amicus briefs.
