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Michael Pill
(413) 586-8218 ext. 3017
Summary
Current Employment Position
  • Partner, since 2009
Lawyer Overview
Focus of law practice
  • Land use (zoning, subdivision control, wetlands, rural water supply and sewage disposal), real property rights and restrictions, attorney & surveyor malpractice; status of roads; real estate conveyancing & contract disputes; forest & agricultural land tax classification; agricultural law, and real estate development.
  • Author of Massachusetts Practice: Real Estate Law with Forms, Volumes 28, 28A & 28B (West Publications - 2017)
Areas of Practice
  • Real Property Rights
  • Land Litigation
  • Land Use (Zoning, Subdivision, Wetlands, Wells & Septic Systems)
Qualifications
Bar Admissions
  • Massachusetts State Courts, permanent admission 1981; temporary admission for legal aid work, 1976-1978
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, 1980
  • U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts, 1975
  • Southern District of Iowa, 1972
  • Iowa State Courts, 1972
Professional Associations and Memberships
  • Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association (formerly Massachusetts Conveyancers Association),
  • Massachusetts City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association
  • Hampshire & Franklin County Bar Association
Classes and Seminars
  • Surveyor Liability to Clients and Third Parties in Massachusetts, Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers (MALSCE), 2012
  • Practical guide to Zoning and Land Use Law in Massachusetts (co-author), National Business Institute, Inc., 2004
  • Law of Easements [and Land Use Restrictions: Legal Issues and Practical Considerations in Massachusetts (co-author), Lorman Educational Services, 2004
  • Massachusetts Conveyancer's and Litigator's Guide to Easements and Land Use Restrictions (coauthor), Massachusetts Bar Association, (2002 & 2003) 
  • Conveyancer's and Litigator's Guide to Easements and Land Use Restrictions (co-author), Professional Education Systems, Inc., 2001
  • Boundary Law & Landowner Disputes, (co-author) Professional Education Systems, Inc. seminars,, 2000
  • SLAPP [Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation]/Anti-SLAPP: A Blow-by-Blow Update, (co-author), Massachusetts Bar Association Seminar, 1998
  • Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP): Substantive Law and Litigation Strategy, Massachusetts Bar Association Annual Meeting, 1998
  • The Conveyancer's and Litigator's Guide to Easements (co-author), Massachusetts Bar Association, 1997
  • Land Use Law: What Every Conveyancer Must Know (co-author), Massachusetts Bar Association, 1996
  • Beyond SLAPP Suits: Offensive Defensive Litigation, (co-author), Massachusetts Bar Mssociation, 1995
  • Title 5 - Workshops -- The Local Board of Health Perspective: Focus on Local Board of Health Regulations, Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, Inc., 1995
  • Rural Water Supply, Sewage Disposal, and the 1994 Title 5 Septic System Regulation, paper prepared for continuing professional education of attorneys, real estate brokers and salespersons in Hampshire & Franklin Counties, 1992
  • Preserving Appellate Issues and Dealing with Frivolous Appeals, February, 1992, seminar materials prepared for the Franklin County Massachusetts Bar Association
  • Taught land use law to municipal officials at Greenfield Community College, (1990-1991), funded by Massachusetts Executive Office of Communities and Development
  • Representing Buyers and Sellers of Rural Houses and Building Lots, Franklin County Bar Association, 1990
  • Beware of the Buyer: Third-Party Liability of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons, FranklinHampshire County Association of Realtors, 1986
Publications
  • Massachusetts Practice: Real Estate Law with Forms, Volumes 28, 28A & 28B (sole author)
  • Crocker's Notes on Common Forms, (co-author of chapter 28 on eminent domain)
  • Co-author of monthly column on land law for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newspaper
Education
  • College of Law, University of Iowa at Iowa City, 1972  J.D.
  • Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1983  Ph.D.
  • Urban and Regional Planning, University of Iowa at Iowa City, 1974  M.A.
  • Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, 1968  B.A.