Partner
Location: Needham, Massachusetts
Phone: 781-489-3715
Fax: 781-239-8909
E-mail: E-mail Me
Bob Orsi was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became a member of the Massachusetts bar in 1987. He received his B.A. (Cum Laude) in 1981 from Harvard College and his J.D. (Magna Cum Laude) from Boston College Law School in 1987. He was an editor and clinical placement director at the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif. He regularly gives seminars in the New England area on lending, land use planning, and municipal law. His articles have appeared in the New England Real Estate Journal, the Boston Business Journal, and Landplanner Magazine.
Mr. Orsi has worked on major real estate acquisitions and developments throughout New England, including the leasing and development of large regional malls and permitting of large subdivision projects. Mr. Orsi has handled real estate acquisitions as a part of national venture capital and leveraged buyout transactions. Mr. Orsi has also represented financial institutions in various commercial lending transactions.
Mr. Orsi has extensive experience in land use, development and municipal law, both as an attorney and as a municipal official. He served on the Planning Board of Millis from 1988 - 1991. He has been the town's representative to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the primary land use planning authority for eastern Massachusetts. For two years he was chairman of the Millis Finance Committee. Mr. Orsi is also the past chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Millis. He currently serves the town as a member of its Affordable Housing Committee, and sits on the town's financial management team.
He has written portions of the Millis Zoning By-Laws, and has worked on many open space acquisitions. Mr. Orsi also served as a gubernatorial public appointee to the Massachusetts Designer Selection Board, the board that oversees project design for state buildings. Mr. Orsi has been named one of Massachusetts's "Massachusetts Super Lawyers" 2004-present and as a "Top Attorney in Real Estate Law in 2008" by the publishers of Law & Politics and the publishers of Boston Magazine.
Attorney Orsi was selected in 2012 as one of Boston's Top Rated Lawyers, based on his AV® PreeminentTM rating, the very first year of such pronouncements.
Mr. Orsi currently serves as President of the Millis Theatre Group, for which he has produced, directed, and acted in numerous plays for the local community.
Mr. Orsi's unique blend of development, leasing, lending and municipal experience makes him an effective resource for the business and development community.
Areas of Practice
- 80% Real Estate
- 15% Municipal Law
- 5% Environmental Law
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts, 1987
Education
- Boston College Law School, Boston, Massachusetts
- J.D. (Magna Cum Laude) - 1987
- Honors: Member, Order of the Coif
- Law Review: Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, Clinical Placement Director and Staff Member, 1986 - 1987
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- B.A. (Cum Laude) - 1981
Published Works
- A Closer Look at Affordable Housing
- Implementing Public Records Requests
- Negotiating Truces in the Battle for Land, (with Lawrence M. Beals)
- Strengthening The Underwriter-Agent Relationship, (with John R. Blake, Esq.)
- Understanding The Lenders Concerns About Title Insurance
- Financing Sources Remain Available in a Difficult Market, (with Louise Murphy)
Classes/Seminars
- Zoning and Land Use, UMass Amherst
Honors and Awards
- Massachusetts Superlawyer, 2004 - 2011
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Member
- New England Land Title Association, Member
- Town of Millis, Member, Finance Committee, 1994 - 1999
- Town of Millis, Vice Chairman, Finance Committee, 1996 - 1997
- Town of Millis, Chairman, Finance Committee, 1997 - 1999
- Town of Millis, Member, Board of Selectmen, 1999 - 2002
- Town of Millis, Member, Board of Selectmen, 2001 - 2002
- Town of Millis, Board of Selectmen, Chairman, 2002 - Present
- Town of Millis, Member, Planning Board, Acting Chairman, 1988 - 1991
- Town of Millis, Member, Financial Management Team, 2000 - Present
- Boston Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Town of Millis, Representative, Metropolitan Area Planning Council , 1995 - 1998
Past Employment Positions
- Tarlow, Breed, Hart, Murphy & Rodgers, PC, Partner, 1994 - 2002
- Hutchins & Wheeler, Associate, 1989 - 1994
Pro Bono Activities
- Former Selectman, Town of Millis MA, 1999 - 2002
- President, MIllis Theater Group, 2005 - 2011
