Three Verrill Attorneys Featured in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers List

BOSTON, Mass. – Verrill attorneys Peter F. Durning, Thomas A. Mackie, and John F. Shea were featured in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers List – The Green 500.

Honorees were selected from across the country through peer, competitor, and firm submissions, and journalistic research. Lawdragon then vets the candidates from a board of attorney peers, colleagues and clients.

Durning is a seasoned attorney who works on environmental matters across a broad range of legal activities including litigation, enforcement defense, land use, and permitting. He has extensive experience in adjudicatory appeals under the Wetlands Protection Act and Chapter 91; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement actions; solid waste site assignment hearings; citizen suits regarding stormwater discharges; hazardous waste cleanup issues; zoning disputes; and business and transactional consulting, as well as local, state, and federal permit proceedings and appeals. Additionally, Durning performs environmental due diligence for real estate transactions, development contracts, and corporate transactions. Public water suppliers are a core element of Durning’s client base in the environmental practice. He also works with renewable energy facility investors, high-net-worth individuals, small businesses, and municipalities.

Mackie’s work has focused on permitting and siting of solid waste, recycling, and renewable energy facilities; cleaning up hazardous waste; acquiring brownfields properties; drafting and contracting for private and public environmental projects; recovering costs under CERCLA and M.G.L. c. 21E; pursuing insurance claims for environmental damages; and litigating permit appeals. Mackie helps clients to develop strategies that address regulator and public concerns over the siting or expansion of controversial facilities. In addition to handling the state and local permitting required for these and other projects, he assists clients with renewable energy credits, contracting, financing, and public procurement issues.

Shea focuses his practice on wetlands, water (clean, stormwater, wastewater), and hazardous waste laws. He represents developers, businesses and high net worth individuals in permitting, siting, enforcement defense and litigation. His development projects include coastal homes, subdivisions, subsidized housing, hotels, assisted living facilities, hospitals, colleges, and banks. He handles local, state and federal permitting of and litigation on coastal erosion protection measures, piers and docks, marinas, yacht and boat clubs, aquaculture farms, radio antenna arrays, solar and wind renewable energy facilities, industrial plants, office parks, and retail complexes. He also works on Brownfields redevelopment projects. Shea represents municipalities in review of permit applications, in enforcement of permits and land use laws, and in related litigation. Shea acts as Hearing Officer to Boards of Health on site assignment applications for solid and hazardous waste facilities. He has presided over 40 public hearings.