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William M. Hill

Member / Co-chair, Construction Law Practice

[email protected]

+1.617.348.1794

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Will is a preeminent construction lawyer and Co-Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group representing clients in courts and arbitration and mediation venues and helps clients avoid litigation when possible. His practice encompasses construction and real estate disputes and transactions as well as commercial and corporate litigation. Will is Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, a highly selective association of construction law practitioners, professors, and judges. As past chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, he has also helped shape issues facing the construction bar. A broad spectrum of clients, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and publicly traded companies rely on his counsel.

He represents and counsels individuals, small businesses, financial institutions, nonprofit institutions, and publicly traded companies. Will is committed to finding efficient and practical solutions for clients by resolving disputes under difficult circumstances. With respect to construction counseling and dispute resolution, he counsels owners, lenders, general contractors, joint ventures, and subcontractors across a variety of private and public sector projects. Will has focused on delivering a variety of projects for clients in an efficient and timely manner using optimal project delivery systems.

Will's practice includes appearances before state and federal courts, the American Arbitration Association and other ADR providers, and local boards and commissions. He has been trained to serve as an Arbitrator and Mediator and selected to serve on the panel of construction neutrals of the American Arbitration Association.

Will has been a leader in the local and national construction bar for nearly twenty years and is past Chair (2016-17) of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, the world’s largest organization of construction lawyers. Will previously served on the Governing Committee (2011 - 2013) and as Chair of the Marketing Committee of the Forum. Will is a member and past Chair (1998 – 2000) of the Construction Law Committee of the Boston Bar Association. He has spoken, published, and chaired programs and publications for the ABA’s Forum on Construction Law, the BBA, and other trade and industry organizations.

He has lectured and published on a variety of topics, including techniques for direct and cross-examination of expert witnesses, electronic discovery, mediation, and numerous subjects concerning construction law. Will has written articles for such publications as the Construction Lawyer, Engineering News Record, the Boston Bar JournalBoston Business Journal, and the San Diego Transcript. In connection with his nonprofit and community work, Will has authored op-ed pieces and editorials in the Boston Globe and Outdoors Magazine.

Will has been active in his community and in nonprofit organizations. He is the Founder and Chair of the Board of Building for Good Inc. (B4G), a national web-based platform linking non-profits and charities with skilled pro bono construction lawyers, which launched in October 2019. He has been a leader in the conservation and outdoor recreation civic and nonprofit community, having served on the Board of Directors and as past Chairman (2005 – 2008) of the Appalachian Mountain Club, a 90,000-member conservation and outdoor recreation organization. In addition, he is past Co-chair (2008 – 2016) of the Board of Advisors of the AMC. In 2018, Will received the AMC's distinguished service award. He has also served as Conservation Commissioner (three years as Chair) and trustee of the local land trust in his home town.

Will is a preeminent construction lawyer and Co-Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group representing clients in courts and arbitration and mediation venues and helps clients avoid litigation when possible. His practice encompasses construction and real estate disputes and transactions as well as commercial and corporate litigation. Will is Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, a highly selective association of construction law practitioners, professors, and judges. As past chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, he has also helped shape issues facing the construction bar. A broad spectrum of clients, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and publicly traded companies rely on his counsel.

Experience

Transactional

  • Represent a variety of owners (education, insurance, commercial, medical, and nonprofit) on construction contracts negotiation and as counsel on project delivery systems.
  • Represent contractors and major subcontractors on negotiations on a variety of project types and project delivery systems.
  • Represented DivcoWest in all matters pertaining to the drafting of construction documents for its 42-acre NorthPoint project in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • Represented Drawbridge Realty in expansion and new construction at its 10 acre Airport Technology Park in Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Represented General Electric in all phases of construction related to the company's Boston Headquarters.
  • Represented General Electric in all phases of environmental remediation and related dredging and construction projects for the Housatonic River area. 
  • Represented General Electric in the negotiation of construction contracts and resolution of contract disputes for its Hudson River remediation project. 
  • Negotiated the construction contract for Boston's flagship 115,000-square-foot food distribution facility for the Greater Boston Food Bank. 

Disputes & Workouts

  • Represented an international theater venue operator in litigation against contractors, design professionals and a steel testing company for defective design and construction of a theater. Action initiated in state court and successfully resolved in mediation more than two years before anticipated trial date.
  • Represented an owner in defense of a claim by a commercial tenant that the facility was not SCIF compliant. Successfully resolved in mediation.
  • Represented a national hotel chain in a dispute with a terminated contractor. Successfully defeated injunction, dismissed litigation in state court, and negotiated resolution in mediation.
  • Represented a national syndicate of bondholders and bondholder representatives in the successful resolution, workout, and sale of troubled privatized military housing construction projects located in Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, and Massachusetts. Representation of this $1.3 billion project included navigating mechanics’ lien, performance and payment bond claims, and the successful defense of an attempted injunction barring sale. 
  • Represented a joint venture on Boston’s CA/T “Big Dig” project in successfully opposing and defeating a bid protest.
  • Represented a national institutional owner of commercial and multifamily properties in litigation against an architect and a contractor for defective design and construction of a 450-unit Texas project in state court. Successfully resolved in mediation.
  • Represented a national contractor in the resolution of a construction defect case involving a luxury condominium in Pasadena, California. 

 

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News & Press

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BOSTON – Twenty-five Mintz attorneys have been named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.
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Mintz is pleased to announce that 32 attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers and 27 attorneys have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars for 2023.
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Mintz is pleased to announce that 120 firm attorneys have been recognized as leaders by Best Lawyers® in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.
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BOSTON – Mintz has earned top rankings in the 2023 edition of Legal 500 United States guide. The firm is recognized in 14 practice categories, and 59 individual attorneys are also recognized in the guide, some in more than one category.
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BOSTON - Mintz and ML Strategies were recognized with the prestigious Nicholas Humber Award for Outstanding Collaboration by the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) at the 30th Annual EBEE Awards in Boston.
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BOSTON –Mintz announced today that 39 of its practices and 81 of its attorneys earned recognition in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA, a guide to the country’s leading law firms.
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BOSTON – Mintz is pleased to announce that William Hill, Member and Co-Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group, was named a 2023 “Go To Construction Lawyer” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
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In its second annual edition, 28 Mintz attorneys were named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list.
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35 Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers and 25 Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars for 2022.
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An article published by the ABA Journal featured nonprofit Building for Good, Inc. (B4G), founded and led by Mintz Member and Co-chair of the firm’s Construction Law Practice William M. Hill, which links other nonprofits and charities with skilled pro bono construction lawyers. The article detailed some of B4G’s pilot projects in Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey, and included commentary from Mr. Hill on the organization’s mission and growing membership.
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Building for Good, Inc. (B4G), a national, web-based platform linking nonprofits and charities with skilled, volunteer construction lawyers, launched this month in Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, and Minnesota. B4G will help organizations in need of construction law assistance find qualified, local attorneys to provide pro bono construction law services.
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Mintz Member, Will Hill, was quoted in this ABA piece on the launch of Building For Good (B4G), a national platform linking charities and nonprofits with skilled construction lawyers, of which he is a Founder and Chair.

Will Hill, Member and Co-chair of Mintz’s construction law practice, is among the industry sources quoted in this feature discussing how high-dollar-value projects, tighter schedules and workforce shortages all combine to make risk management a complex and continually shifting landscape.

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Voices of Construction Law

September 10, 2018

Will Hill, Member and Co-chair of Mintz’s construction law practice, is among the industry sources quoted in this feature discusses trends in construction law. Will’s comments focus on the construction industry’s views on dispute resolution.
Member and Co-chair of the Construction Law practice Will Hill provides commentary in this article discussing how the construction industry is embracing a less litigious path to project completion.
Mintz is proud to announce that William Hill, a Member in the firm’s Boston office, has been named this year’s recipient of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Distinguished Service Award. The AMC is a 90,000-member conservation and outdoor recreation organization.
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Best Lawyers named 85 Mintz attorneys to its 2018 list of The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Mintz attorneys Matthew J. Gardella and Samuel M. Tony Starr were named “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas.
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This article features experts in the legal insights into a range of issues facing the industry including the use of new mobile technologies to the customization of dispute resolution terms.
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Mintz's William M. Hill, Co-chair of the Construction Law Practice, and Randy K. Jones, a Member of the Litigation Practice, are speaking at the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law Midwinter Meeting.
Mintz attorneys represented GE in the acquisition and permitting of GE Innovation Point, GE’s new corporate headquarters. The acquisition marks a major milestone for GE, which in January 2016 announced its decision to move to Boston.
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Will Hill, Co-chair of the firm’s Construction Law Practice, was featured in this Engineering News Record Magazine in-depth interview. Will’s Q&A focuses on his leadership of the ABA Forum on Construction Law.
Fifty-three Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2016 and thirty-one have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. The findings will be published in the November 2016 issue of Boston Magazine and in a stand-alone magazine, New England Super Lawyers. 

Conditional Support

October 17, 2016

Will Hill, Co-chair of Mintz’s Construction Law Practice and member of the ABA Forum on Construction Law, is quoted in this Engineering News Record Magazine feature article on conditional support.
Best Lawyers named 73 Mintz attorneys to its 2017 list of The Best Lawyers in America. Mintz attorneys selected for inclusion in this year’s list span 44 practice areas. 
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Events & Speaking

Panelist
Feb
25
2024
Panelist
Sep
29
2022

Dusting Off Your Firm's Diversity and Inclusion Plan: DEI Strategies for Firms

ABA Forum on Construction Law Fall Meeting

Memphis, TN

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Speaker
Sep
30
2021

Fundamentals of Construction Law

ABA Forum on Construction Law 2021- Regional

Boston, MA

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Moderator
Oct
5
2018

ABA Forum on Construction Law Annual Meeting 2018

Tackling Crime and Corruption in the Construction Industry

Le Centre Sheraton Montréal Hotel 1201 Boulevard Rene-Levesque West Montréal, Québec, Canada

Speaker
Apr
19
2017

ABA Forum on Construction Law Annual Meeting 2017

American Bar Association

J.W. Marriott Washington, DC

Chair
Jan
31
2017

ABA Forum on Construction Law Midwinter Meeting 2017

American Bar Association

JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Desert, CA

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Will is a preeminent construction lawyer and Co-Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group representing clients in courts and arbitration and mediation venues and helps clients avoid litigation when possible. His practice encompasses construction and real estate disputes and transactions as well as commercial and corporate litigation. Will is Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, a highly selective association of construction law practitioners, professors, and judges. As past chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, he has also helped shape issues facing the construction bar. A broad spectrum of clients, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and publicly traded companies rely on his counsel.

Recognition & Awards

  • American College of Construction Lawyers, Fellow (2020- present)

  • Chambers USA: Massachusetts- Construction Law: Band 1 (2020-2023)

  • National Law Journal: Real Estate/Construction Trailblazer (2020)

  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers: Construction Litigation (2005 – 2023)

  • Best Lawyers in America: Litigation – Construction, Construction Law (2012 – 2024)

  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers – Construction Litigation (2021 - 2023)

  • Distinguished Service Award, Appalachian Mountain Club (2018)

  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation

  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent

  • International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers (2013 – 2019, 2022)

  • Who’s Who in America

  • Who’s Who in American Law

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Will is a preeminent construction lawyer and Co-Chair of the firm's Construction Practice Group representing clients in courts and arbitration and mediation venues and helps clients avoid litigation when possible. His practice encompasses construction and real estate disputes and transactions as well as commercial and corporate litigation. Will is Fellow in the American College of Construction Lawyers, a highly selective association of construction law practitioners, professors, and judges. As past chair of the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, he has also helped shape issues facing the construction bar. A broad spectrum of clients, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and publicly traded companies rely on his counsel.

Involvement

  • Founder and Chair of Board, Building for Good, Inc.
  • Past Chair, ABA Forum on Construction Law (2016-2017)
  • Past Chair, Marketing Committee (2013 – 2015), Former Member, Governing Committee (2011 – 2013), ABA Forum on Construction Law
  • Member, Past Chair (1998 – 2000), Boston Bar Association Committee on Construction Law
  • Member, Construction Industries of Massachusetts
  • Member, Association of General Contractors
  • Past chair of the Board of Directors (3 years), Appalachian Mountain Club
  • Past Board Member (9 years), Appalachian Mountain Club
  • Past Co-chair, AMC Board of Advisors (2008 – 2016)
  • Past Commissioner (6 years), past chair (2 years), Acton Conservation Commission
  • Past Trustee, Acton Conservation Trust
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William M. Hill

Member / Co-chair, Construction Law Practice

Boston