Bill Squires is Chair of the Firm’s Land Use & Development Group and a partner in the Firm’s Real Estate and Environmental Groups. Bill focuses his practice on environmental, land use, and real estate matters. He counsels corporations, developers, manufacturers, private equity firms, lenders and individuals in litigation, transactional, and regulatory settings. Bill’s practice includes the acquisition and disposition of real property and operating businesses, the cleanup of contaminated properties, compliance, enforcement defense, permitting, zoning, wetlands matters, litigation, and environmental insurance. He represents clients in state and federal courts and regularly appears before regulatory agencies and municipal boards.
Bill represents clients in disputes under state and federal law involving releases of oil and hazardous materials (including releases of PFAS and other emerging contaminants) and works closely with environmental consultants, Massachusetts licensed site professionals, engineers, risk assessors, geologists and other experts in responding to such releases. He also represents buyers, sellers and lenders in the purchase, sale and financing of operating businesses, real property, and industrial facilities. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to negotiating and structuring business transactions, drafting contracts, and negotiating environmental insurance policies. He has led environmental due diligence efforts in many national and multinational mergers and acquisitions involving complex environmental liabilities as well as permitting, compliance, and hazardous waste site cleanup issues.
Bill is also an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law where he teaches law students how to draft and interpret contracts.
Credentials
Work Experience
- Hinckley Allen
- Chair, Land Use & Development
- Partner (2016-Present)
- Boston University School of Law
- Adjunct Professor (2015-Present)
- Bingham McCutchen, LLP (Acquired by Morgan Lewis in November 2014)
- Counsel (2003-2016)
- Moehrke, Mackie, & Shea, PC
- Associate (1999-2003)
- ECS Claims Administrators
- Claims Counsel (1998-1999)
Honors & Awards
-
Best Lawyers in America® 2021
- Environmental Law
- Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing (2013)
- Super Lawyers, Massachusetts Rising Stars (2006-2007)
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Boston Bar Association, Co-Chair of Hazardous and Solid Waste Committee (2010-2012)
- National Association for Industrial and Office Properties
- Practicing Law Institute
- Real Estate Finance Association
Bar Memberships
- Massachusetts, 1999
- New Jersey, 1998
- New York, 1999
- United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1999
- Unites States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1998
News & Insight
Land Use and Other Considerations for Addition of Drive-Throughs and Contactless Pick-Up
October 15, 2020This article was featured in the New England Real Estate Journal on November 13, 2020.While drive-throughs and express or pick-up parking spaces for retail, grocery, restaurant and other uses have already been expanding, the Covid-19 pandemic has exponenti…
Land Use Considerations for Converting Vacant Retail Space for Distribution Spaces
September 28, 2020This article was featured in the New England Real Estate Journal on December 18, 2020. To view the article, please click here.The continued decline of big box retailers, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, has left large spaces in malls and shopping plaz…
Massachusetts Takes Action to Ease Permitting Process for Municipalities and State Authorities During COVID-19 State of Emergency
April 7, 2020On April 3, 2020, Governor Baker signed legislation titled “An Act To Address Challenges Faced by Municipalities and State Authorities Resulting from COVID-19” (the “Act”). The Act, among other things, makes a number of changes to the local permi…
Environmental Insurance: What to Consider Before you Invest in a Property
March 1, 2018Before investing in commercial real estate, parties should be aware of potential environmental liabilities and should carefully consider options for minimizing their exposure to such liabilities. One approach for minimizing environmental liability exposu…
Allocating Environmental Risks and Liabilities in Commercial Transactions
December 17, 2012Contract Provisions to Allocate and Limit Environmental Risks and Liabilities in Purchase Agreements for Commercial Transactions
February 1, 2012Environmental Risks to Foreclosing Lenders
December 1, 2010Environmental Insurance Update
September 1, 2010Vapor Intrusion: Risks and Remedies
September 1, 2008Wetlands Permitting Under Federal Law
June 1, 2007An Economic Assessment of a Solar-Heated Anaerobic Digestion System for Use in Developing Nations
January 1, 199559 Hinckley Allen Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2021
August 20, 2020Hinckley Allen is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers® has recognized 59 attorneys in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, including 12 “Lawyers of the Year.” Best Lawyers® has also recognized 10 Hinckley Allen attorneys in their inau…
Hinckley Allen Welcomes William J. Squires, III as Partner to the Real Estate Practice
February 24, 2016Prominent local attorney, William J. Squires, III has joined Hinckley Allen’s Boston office as a partner in the Real Estate practice group. Bill joins the firm from Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius, LLP.“We are very excited to have Bill join our firm. Bill…
Events
WEBINAR: Environmental Insurance, Escrows and Contractual Transfers of Environmental Liability
August 6, 2020Webinar content available here.To learn more, please contact Partner William J. Squires, III.
Environmental Risks in Commercial Real Estate Development
June 5, 2019William J. Squires will discuss how developers, owners, investors, and brokers can optimize their commercial real estate redevelopment projects by using legal approaches to managing environmental risks in order to yield the best deals. This breakfast semin…
Identifying and Managing Environmental Risks in Commercial Transactions
February 9, 2017Hinckley Allen Partner William J. Squires, III will be speaking in the Strafford live webinar "Identifying and Managing Environmental Risks in Commercial Transactions." Almost all corporate and commercial transactions involve environmental compliance consi…
Structuring Environmental Risk Transfers: Key Considerations
December 16, 2015Allocating Environmental Liabilities in Commercial Transactions
December 18, 2012Allocating Environmental Risks and Liabilities
September 13, 2012Environmental Regulation 2012: Hop Topics, Commercial Implications, and Management Strategies
March 29, 2012Identifying and Managing Environmental Risk in Real Estate and Corporate Transactions
December 14, 2011Transferring and Documenting Environmental Risk for Conveyancing, Lending, Leasing, and Corporate Lawyers
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