Verrill Welcomes Five Skilled Environmental Attorneys, Strengthens Capabilities in Boston

BOSTON, Massachusetts – Verrill is pleased to welcome five environmental lawyers to the firm’s Boston office. Attorneys Peter F. Durning, John F. Shea, Thomas A. Mackie, Gail Magenau Hire, and Peter M. Vetere led the environmental law boutique Mackie Shea Durning, PC and most recently practiced together at Burns & Levinson.

“Verrill’s environmental practice has always been a strength of the firm,” said Mat Todaro, Chair of the firm’s Environmental Group. “We look forward to working with each of our new team members to enhance the offerings we can provide to our collective clients.”

Peter Durning, Partner, is a seasoned environmental attorney with a focus on water and wetlands-related matters, ranging from permitting and land use to enforcement defense and litigation. Durning also performs environmental due diligence for real estate and corporate transactions and development projects.

“We are excited to plug into Verrill’s local and regional network and to collaborate with the full team of outstanding attorneys throughout the firm,” said Durning. “Verrill’s platform – and particularly its growth in Boston – gives us a great opportunity to service our existing clients and grow our environmental practice.”

John Shea, Counsel, is a highly experienced attorney with over 46 years practicing environmental and land use law, with a focus on wetlands, water, and hazardous waste laws, particularly as they relate to complex and controversial development projects. Shea also works on brownfields redevelopment projects, Chapter 91 permitting and enforcement for waterfront landowners, and with potentially responsible parties in federal and state Superfund cases. He also acts as a Hearing Officer to Boards of Health on-site assignment applications by solid waste and hazardous waste management facilities.

Thomas Mackie, Counsel, has spent decades representing clients facing a variety of complex environmental issues related to renewable energy projects, solid waste facilities, brownfield sites, and other private and public environmental projects. Mackie has also led the environmental due diligence in several major national environmental industry corporate acquisitions and divestitures. He is the President of the Board of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful and serves on the Commonwealth’s MassDEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee and on the Board of the Environmental Business Council of New England.

Gail Magenau Hire, Counsel, is a former engineer who focuses her practice on real estate matters with environmental components, such as development permitting, enforcement defense, regulatory compliance, analysis and negotiation of business contracts, and environmental litigation.

Peter Vetere, Counsel, is an environmental and real estate litigator. He represents clients on a range of issues related to hazardous materials, wetlands, stormwater issues, brownfields, and easement and title disputes, with a focus on registered land.

“Verrill’s Environmental Group has for many years enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for excellence, and we are so pleased to have attracted this incoming group of highly skilled attorneys. They will complement our existing capabilities and of course enhance the services we can provide, particularly in Massachusetts—where demand for environmental and land use legal expertise continues to grow—to best meet our clients’ needs,” explained Kevin O’Connell, Partner in Charge of Verrill’s Boston office. “We very much look forward to working with each of them.”

With these new additions, 74 attorneys are now resident in Verrill’s growing Boston office.