Mr. Ruth is a partner in the firm, chair of the Real Estate Department, co-chair of the Environmental Law Group and a member of the Management Committee. He concentrates on environmental, real estate and land use law.

Intensely involved in Brownfield issues, Mr. Ruth has represented owners and tenants in connection with numerous sites that have been successfully redeveloped from abandoned manufacturing or industrial operations into commercial developments. He is particularly familiar with the complicated problems arising from the construction of projects undertaken on contaminated properties. In addition, Mr. Ruth represents petroleum distributors and other marketers with regard to gasoline supply, real estate and the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act.

Mr. Ruth is a frequent speaker at International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education seminars, including moderating annual programs concerning construction premiums arising from contamination and underground storage tanks. He has been a panelist in programs concerning the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act and Commercial Real Estate Basics, as well as many other programs sponsored by the Boston Bar Association and various business groups.

Mr. Ruth is a member of the Editorial Board of Development, the national magazine of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). As an author, Mr. Ruth contributed the chapter on "Zoning Opinions" to the treatise Massachusetts Zoning and Land Use Law. He previously edited On the Hill, a publication of the Environmental Law Section of the Boston Bar Association, and served on the Boston Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section's steering committee.

At the outset of his legal career, Mr. Ruth was a Law Clerk to Chief Justice Alan Hale of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He practiced at the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray and was Legal Counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement. He is a former member of the Secretary's Open Space Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and a former member of the Tidelands Advisory Commission of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Mr. Ruth formerly was chair of the Town of Needham Community Preservation Act Committee and was a member of the Committee from 2003 to 2007. He is former chair of the Town of Needham Finance Committee and was a member of the committee from 1999 to 2003.

Representative Experience

Outside counsel regarding Brownfields, hazardous materials compliance and environmental compliance (and environmental insurance claims) to The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company (including Giant Food Supermarkets), which has over 500 locations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Negotiated Prospective Purchase Agreement with Region 2 of Environmental Protection Agency with regard to Brownfield redevelopment of CERCLA site (former airplane manufacturing facility) on Long Island, New York.

Represented waste hauler during Environmental Protection Agency investigation and claim for reimbursement by EPA and other PRPs for remediation in connection with CERCLA site in Attleboro, Massachusetts

Represented manufacturers of electronic equipment in connection with disposition of real estate in California, Texas and other states.

Represented condominium developer in connection with Brownfield site in Norwood, Massachusetts, including negotiation of settlement of CERCLA claims in Region 1 of the Environmental Protection Agency arising from former metal reclamation facility operations.

Represented major retailer in connection with environmental due diligence for acquisition of 180-store chain in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Represented environmental engineering company in connection with negotiation of environmental insurance policy to support a $12 million fixed fee remediation project.

Represented numerous purchasers, sellers, landlords, and tenants in negotiation of environmental indemnities, purchase and sale agreements, lease provisions and environmental insurance policies as part of acquisition or disposition of real estate.