Rubin and Rudman LLP

For nearly 100 years, Rubin and Rudman attorneys have carried on a tradition of integrity, serving the best interests of clients and dedication to the principles of honesty, hard work, and competence established by earlier generations of Rubin and Rudman partners, associates and staff.

The firm offers highly specialized services in the areas described in the sections that follow. Our attorneys welcome challenging assignments in these practice areas, which includes serving national companies, local and regional institutions, public entities and municipalities, closely-held businesses, individuals and educational institutions.

Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights

We represent debtors, secured creditors and unsecured creditors in state and federal courts under the Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code as well as applicable state laws.

We offer the broadest possible choice of solutions for any commercial or business insolvency problem, including Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors, Trust Mortgages and other state law proceedings.

Our clients include banking institutions, public utilities, finance companies, trade creditors, public companies, closely-held corporations and individuals.

We focus on realizing client objectives expeditiously and cost effectively.

Biotech & Technology

We represent a broad spectrum of life science companies in all stages of research, development, and commercialization of therapeutics, medical devices, products and services. Our focus includes capital formation, venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions, securities regulation, private offerings, strategic alliances structuring, joint ventures and other legal and business issues.

Clients benefit from software and hardware licensing agreements, OEM and VAR agreements, hosting agreements, and development agreements that suit their purpose. We advise and negotiate confidentiality agreements, licensing agreements, material transfer agreements, clinical trial agreements and marketing and distribution agreements.

In the dynamic, highly regulated and increasingly complex biotech and high-tech world, individuals and businesses need seasoned professionals who understand the constraints of corporate budgeting and the limits of individual financing.

Our biotech and technology specialists can call on firm resources in the employment, real-estate, litigation and telecommunication and wireless communication regulatory groups to fully protect and serve its clients.

Construction

Our diverse construction practice serves owners, real estate developers, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers and sureties. They may be involved in both public and private commercial construction ventures as well as residential construction. No matter, we deal in all aspects of the construction process, including initial permitting and zoning issues, reviewing bid documents and negotiating and drafting construction contracts.

When disputes do arise, Rubin and Rudman LLP is well placed to find a resolution. We have represented clients in contractual and complex construction disputes, including claims for payment, delays, disruptions and acceleration, labor inefficiencies and lost productivity, change orders and architectural errors and omissions. We commonly prosecute and defend bond claims and mechanic's liens. We represent clients in both federal and state court, in administrative proceedings, at arbitrations and in mediations.

Construction issues frequently overlap with other areas of the law, leaving clients often in need of counsel for general corporate and business matters, as well as employment law, zoning law, real estate law, regulatory law, environmental law, surety and insurance law and other areas needing a strategic response. We have the experience and can quickly respond.

Representative Cases

Won a favorable jury verdict after a two week trial for a general contractor pursuing a performance bond claim against surety and subcontractor seeking the recovery of funds expended to complete work of subcontractor who ran into financial difficulties on high school construction project.

Won dismissal of claims for changed work and changed conditions based upon contractual language and releases signed by subcontractor for a general contractor in arbitration.

Successfully mediated dispute with public awarding authority involving claims for additional work and delay damages by general contractor and claims of incomplete and/or deficient work and the assertion of delay damages by the awarding authority.

Defended contractor and surety involved in multiple bond claims brought in state court by subcontractors on project. Successfully settled all claims through mediation and/or negotiation process.

Represented materials supplier in state court action against general contractor and surety to recover for sand supplied to project. Defended claims by contractor of deficiencies in the sand supplied to the project. Participated in global mediation with contractor, surety, owner, architect and other suppliers regarding the project.

Corporate & Business

We advise businesses located throughout the United States and beyond its borders on business and corporate matters. Focused on small to mid-sized companies and closely-held businesses, we are experienced with mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, structuring and documentation of complex financial transactions, private placements, public offering, securities regulation, stock option plans, and tax planning.

Corporate governance, contract negotiations, software licensing, deferred compensation agreements, golden handcuffs, cross purchase and stock redemption agreements, and reorganizations are all in our arsenal of representation.

Our clients are entrepreneurs and financial institutions, emerging growth companies, real estate firms, public entities, closely held companies, contractors and insurance companies.

We form partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and C corporations.

We manage all aspects of trademark clearance, registration, and protection.

We offer advice from the initial decision for organizing as a partnership, (LLC) or a corporation, through founders agreements, buy/sell agreements, employee agreements, and loan and financing agreements. As a client grows, our attorneys negotiate and draft distribution, marketing, licensing, and sale agreements while advising officers and directors on questions of corporate and personal liability, including considerations under Sarbanes Oxley.

Our strength is in our personal relationship with the client along with access to litigation, employment and real estate expertise to provide one stop shopping to emerging and mature businesses.

Energy

Our Energy and Energy Services Practice Group is one of the largest and most experienced in the Northeast. We have substantial experience in all areas of power plant development and financing, transmission development, financing and service; power and natural gas purchases, transactions, documentation and trading; restructuring; deregulation; resource planning; energy conservation; and oil and natural gas storage. Our attorneys regularly negotiate, advise and consult on generation projects, transmission projects, power purchase transactions, fuel conversion and fuel contracts, interconnection agreements involving access and pricing issues, construction contracts and public bidding requirements, and water use agreements.

We also advise on environmental and land use controls and regulation for both pending developments and day-to-day interaction with federal, state and local regulators. We routinely advise clients on oil and hazardous materials contamination; the management of solid and hazardous wastes; federal waterways issues; state and local wetlands requirements; Clean Water Act requirements including requirements and permitting for pre-treatment and discharge; Clean Air Act requirements and permitting; and Federal and State Environmental Policy Act requirements.

We litigate and advocate before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, state regulatory commissions, local administrative bodies, federal and state courts. We coordinate consultants and engineers and fully participate in all permitting, siting and rate setting proceedings. We represent and advise power plant developers and owners; transmission companies; public power entities and other wholesale purchasers of power and natural gas; and end-use consumers of power and natural gas.

We know energy law.

Environmental, Land Use & Zoning

We represent clients throughout New England in regulatory compliance and permitting matters; environmental impact reviews and enforcement challenges; environmental issues associated with corporate transactions and property development; and hazardous waste disposal, contamination and remediation concerns with full litigation services associated with this work. We counsel and provide opinions to corporate, financial and real estate clients on environmental issues associated with business and real property acquisitions and financings.

We coordinate streamlined permitting for private and commercial entities, including small and large-scale developments, such as residential subdivisions, retail and office plazas, industrial parks, smart growth developments, 40B projects and Brownfields redevelopment, as well as single-family homes.

Permitting processes often involve a complicated interrelationship of local, state and federal land use regulatory programs like floodplain and wetlands permitting, septic, zoning subdivision, NEPA, MEPA, MESA, Chapter 40B, Chapter 91 and ACOE licensing. We guide clients with a strategic analysis of the approval processes required. We can advise the project through the design, planning, filings, public hearings and issuance of the necessary approvals.

We have extensive experience preparing a team of environmental professionals and can perform various regulatory appeals and litigation services in all local, state and federal forums.

We can move a project through the complex permitting process and we can transition into appeals involving administrative and judicial bodies and defense of permitting or enforcement cases.

We advance and defend property owners in oil and hazardous material assessment and litigation as well as cost recovery proceedings under the Federal and State laws seeking reimbursement, indemnity and contribution from all Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs), including seeking insurance defense and coverage.

Under the Federal Superfund and Massachusetts Chapter 21E programs, we can guide clients in a cost effective manner through compliance with necessary clean-up and reducing exposure to liabilities.

Family Law

Our firm boasts one of the largest domestic relations practices in Massachusetts, with a highly successful team of attorneys, paralegals and law clerks. Our litigators are well-versed in all aspects of family law -- from complex divorce cases, child custody and paternity actions, through prenuptial agreements, contempts, post-divorce modifications, and actions between domestic partners.

At Rubin and Rudman LLP, a partner oversees all aspects of the case, from initial complaint through motions for temporary support, discovery, settlement negotiations, and trial, if necessary.

To optimize resources, we pay particular attention to the client's long term goals. Our attorneys are reasonable and effective negotiators and often resolve cases without the ordeal and expense of litigating minor issues or trying the case. In fact, one of our litigators is a trained mediator. But when a situation requires contentious litigation in Probate and Family Court or in the Appellate Courts, our zealous domestic relations advocates have a superb track record.

The Rubin and Rudman family law team offers years of experience and success advocating for clients of diverse backgrounds, always mindful of the stress family changes impose on the client, and focused on the welfare of any children involved.

We pride ourselves on our expertise and resources in the following areas.

Complex business valuations

Expert witnesses

Guardians ad litem, parenting coordinators, child therapists

Appraisals of high net worth estates

Abuse prevention orders and domestic violence

Alternative dispute resolution (mediation, conciliation)

Complementary practice areas such as wills, trusts, probate, and real estate

Labor & Employment

We counsel in all issues of the employer-employee relationship for both private and public sectors.

Private sector clients span many industries, from service entities to transportation, education, real estate construction and management, hotel and convention centers, and manufacturing firms. We know the National Labor Relations Act, and represent clients in organizing campaigns as well as defending unfair labor practice allegations.

Public sector employer clients include of public universities, colleges, school departments, municipalities and municipal utilities with their labor relations and employment law matters. Many of our clients employ professors, administrators, teachers, police, fire and public works employees. We facilitate in the negotiating process, the defense of charges of prohibited practice and in arbitration cases. We routinely appear at the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission, the Civil Service Commission and various other state agencies and state courts.

For clients whose employees are already unionized, we are directly involved in collective bargaining negotiations, NLRB proceedings, protection of employer interests in strikes and picketing, and the representation of employers in arbitration proceedings. We also advise employers how to develop union relationships that meet management aims, using strategies and techniques such as joint training programs and obtaining the union's total involvement leading to a labor contract.

We prepare and review employee handbooks, employment agreements, releases, termination and severance agreements, and the prepare non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements.

We know collaboration and education can avoid employee complaints and minimizing threats of litigation. So we offer training for clients and employees in discrimination and harassment prevention, union solicitation and statutory requirements like overtime or child labor laws.

We deal with issues arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as well as the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), and the Consolidated Omnibus and Budget Reorganization Act (COBRA), and their parallel state statutes which may involve handicap, sexual harassment, age and other claims of discrimination.

Litigation

The Rubin and Rudman litigation group represents clients including individuals and small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, insurers and their insureds, major non-profits, colleges, universities, public utilities and charities. As experienced advocates we work to resolve disputes successfully, quickly, and cost-effectively, so clients can return to "business as usual".

We provide a highly personalized approach to litigation. Our goal is to prevent or limit disputes, where possible, through effective negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. However, if litigation cannot be avoided, we aggressively represent clients in all courts and all phases of trial practice. We have strong working relationships with expert witnesses in varied fields. Our successful track record speaks for itself -- in the state and federal courts as well as before government agencies.

We understand the stressful impact of litigation, so we meticulously prepare clients for depositions, trial, and all the other steps in the process. We also make our accessibility to the client a priority.

Rubin and Rudman's litigators handle disputes and litigation in areas including the following:

Contract and commercial disputes

Real estate

Shareholder and partnership

Employment and discrimination

Insurance disputes and Insured defense

Construction

Environmental

Utilities regulation

Bankruptcy

Governmental administrative proceedings

Landlord - tenant

White collar criminal defense

Tax abatement

Shareholder derivative suits

Shareholder disputes

Family law and probate

Will contests

Health law

Creditor's rights

Product liability

Complex commercial litigation

Appeals

Real Estate

We excel in development, financing, leasing and construction law.

Financial institutions, pension funds and advisors, investors, developers, owners, brokers, buyers, sellers and public entities find sound direction from our experienced attorneys.

We handle complex real estate development projects in Boston and throughout the northeast. Public and private dispositions need title review and certification, conveyancing, foreclosures, regulatory compliance, permit and licensing processes, MEPA filings, syndications, easements, land use restrictions and property management advice. We advise on zoning issues, subdivision, environmental reviews, drafting of legislation, ordinances and legal opinions. Strategic planning, dispute resolution, foreclosures, sale-leasebacks, eminent domain, air rights, parcel assemblage, are all a forte of the firm.

Leasing counsel benefits major commercial landlords with substantial holdings in multi-tenant buildings, business parks and complex leasing projects in downtown and suburban areas. We provide local and national representation of major institutions in all aspects of office and retail leasing, including multi-site retail operations. We have developed useful and cost-effective lease forms.

Our Real Estate attorneys work hand in hand with their Environmental colleagues on environmental and land use controls on pending developments in environmental regulations and in day-to-day interaction with regulators. We advise on issues of hazardous substance contamination, management of solid and hazardous wastes, federal, state and local wetlands and waterways matters, Clean Water Act requirements pertaining to pre-treatment systems and sewer discharge permitting, Clean Air Act requirements, and the Federal and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Acts.

We advise contractors, subcontractors, owners, developers, architects and engineers dealing with contract documentation, public and private bidding, multi-contractor and joint venture relationships, including construction dispute resolution.

Securities Regulation

We represent a broad range of entities either solely engaged as a broker-dealer or engaged in this activity as part of overall financial service activities. We represent national and regional investment banking firms, full service brokerage firms, clearing firms, broker-dealer/investment adviser firms, inter-dealer brokers, financial institutions, institutional investment firms, and specialty boutiques.

We advise our broker-dealer clients on all aspects of the securities laws, including regulatory, compliance, corporate, and transnational matters. We also represent our broker-dealer clients in regulatory and self-regulatory enforcement investigations and proceedings, securities-related litigation, and arbitrations.

Telecommunications

Our attorneys concentrating in Telecommunications serve a broad range of clients in regulatory and transactional matters, including a major, national wireless telecommunications provider, several Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), cable television providers, internet service providers (ISPs) and a number of large users, including municipalities, educational institutions and developers of major residential and business projects.

We know the issues of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (TCA) and the Communications Act of 1934, as well as broadband and broadband over power line competition issues, VOIP agreements, pole attachment requirements, E-rate rules and compliance, Federal/State issues, tariff and rate setting.

We appear before the Department of Telecommunications and Energy on behalf of numerous telecommunications and cable television clients and we represent carriers in Federal and State Court in complex land use, zoning and billing matters.

We also negotiate and draft telecommunications agreements, including complex multi-state IRUs, and fiber service, interconnection and co-location agreements.

In a highly specialized field, we have attorneys with highly specialized expertise.

Trust, Estates & Probate

Our attorneys offer basic estate planning as well as sophisticated vehicles to minimize tax liabilities, including qualified personal residence trusts, charitable remainder and lead trusts, family limited partnerships and LLCs, sales to intentionally defective grantor trust and life insurance trusts.

We work to assure the orderly transfer of family owned businesses to future generations with shareholder's stock purchase and restrictions agreements or grantor retained annuity trusts, among other vehicles.

Our group's attorneys understand a client's perspective and can explain complex matters, including tax issues, estate planning, the law of trusteeships, money management, real estate conveyancing, family law, Medicaid and other government sponsored assistance programs.

Attorneys in our group act as trustees for family's assets in conjunction, often, with a family member also as a trustee.

Our group is responsible for the management and investment of funds for over 350 trusts, with a total market value approaching $250 million.

The Trust Group also specializes in challenging cases involving clients with special needs and disabilities. We will take on difficult matters.

We administer estates in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Florida and elsewhere. We prepare state and federal estate taxes and deal with contested matters in all these jurisdictions.

For your future and beyond.