Practice Areas
PERSONAL ATTENTION / PROVEN RESULTS
We are a boutique law firm that specializes in the representation of landlords, property owners and property management companies. Our clients include several of the largest apartment owners in the country. We handle summary process actions, civil actions and complex litigation involving affordable, subsidized and market housing. Our attorneys have litigated thousands of landlord tenant cases on every possible issue throughout Housing, Superior and District Courts in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
We pride ourselves in providing our clients with quality, responsiveness and results while keeping legal fees down. When it comes to non-payment of rent cases, we ensure that cases are filed immediately and are concluded as quickly as possible. With our significant knowledge and aggressive representation, we recover possession in a timely manner. We are skilled trial attorneys, having tried over 100 bench and jury trials, so when it comes to the need for removing tenants based on lease violations or criminal activity, we are extremely effective. Our team is well-versed in fair housing regulations, reasonable accommodation requirements and housing discrimination claims. We appear in court daily to conduct motions and trials as well as mediate cases in a high-volume housing law practice. We have the experience to ensure that your cases are handled efficiently which allows us to be extremely cost effective.
We are available to our clients at night and on weekends to assist whenever an emergency occurs. We share in our clients’ goal full units with compliant tenants paying the rent on time and in full. We are here to make property investment as profitable as possible. We are proud to work with our client to assist them in ensuring that all tenants can enjoy their homes, free from disturbances, non-compliant neighbors and criminal activity. We provide efficient and cost-effective strategies to enforce your rights – while ensuring your tenant is honoring their obligations as negotiated in the lease. We have the experience to assist clients in developing their cases, gathering necessary evidence, and presenting the evidence in court to achieve the best possible results.
We provide representation and advice in the following areas:
- Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent and Cause
- Lease Enforcement Litigation
- Fair Housing Defense
- Lease Review and Drafting
- Domestic Violence
- Hoarding
- Bed Bugs
- Reasonable Accommodation/Discrimination
- Class Action Defense
- Legislation Advocacy
- Landlord Litigation
- Nuisance Conduct
- Problem Tenant Advice
- Property Management Consulting
- Subsidized and Affordable Housing
- Training and Education
- Insurance Defense
Business and Corporate
At Ciechanowski Drayton, we enjoy building long-lasting relationships with entrepreneurs and business owners. From small startup to large national companies, we work with our clients to help them navigate the legal landscape and grow and prosper, sometimes over generations. We work with clients as an integral part of their management team, providing critical advice on issues that businesses face each day. We not only learn about our clients’ business, but the industry the business is in as well. That allows us to quickly advise, act and resolve any issues that may arise.
We handle a variety of business and corporate matters including:
- Formation, governance and dissolution of business entities, including limited liability companies and corporations
- Succession/continuity planning
- Preparing for sale
- Acquisition, sales and mergers
- Contracts
- Corporate financing
- Transactional matters
- Charitable organizations
- Buyouts and stock redemption
- Employment agreements
Real Estate and Land Use
The real estate team at Ciechanowski Drayton is experienced in helping landowners, developers, builders, investors, tenants and lenders navigate the complexities of real estate and land use law. We can put years of community and legal knowledge to work for you. We work with not only small business owners and their real-estate needs, but also regional and national institutions that require help in land use, zoning, permitting and leasing. We are experienced in working with our clients on a comprehensive range of real estate issues, including purchase and sale, financing, development, title, environmental and land use permitting matters. It’s a process that takes time, patience and an understanding of each communities’ way of doing business.
We provide representation and counsel for the following:
- Commercial and residential developments
- Zoning and land use
- Municipal licensing and permitting
- Conservation issues
- Management contracts and counseling
- Condominium and homeowner’s association
- Construction litigation
- Acquisition and financing of real estate
- Title issues
- Title insurance
- Conveyancing
- Foreclosures
Representing Landlords in Many Types of Litigation
We focus our civil litigation practice on our real estate and property management clients exclusively to ensure that we maintain the experience and expertise to provide results driven and cost-effective representation. The members of the firm have significant experience both in the defense and prosecution of all matters related to the ownership and control of property. By staying focused on this area of law, we insure that our clients are in a position to achieve the best possible results based on our knowledge and experience.
The following are some of the areas we regularly litigate:
- Mold
- Lead Paint
- State Sanitary Code/Conditions cases
- Lease Enforcement Litigation
- Fair Housing Defense
- Security Deposit claims
- Insurance Defense
- Hoarding
- Bed Bugs
- Reasonable Accommodation/Discrimination claims
- Class Action Defense
- Nuisance Conduct
Our attorneys provide advice to clients on what to expect in litigation. We also regularly advise on when and how to try to avoid litigation. When litigation is necessary, we will aggressively litigate matters to achieve client goals. Our attorneys are experienced litigators in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island trying cases to juries and judges.
