About The Author
Richard D. Vetstein, Esq.
Founding Partner, The Vetstein Law Group, P.C. and Of Counsel, Canner Law & Associates, P.C.
Tel: 508.620.5352
Email: [email protected]
Direct Fax: 888.443.1344
Rich is a nationally recognized real estate attorney, helping people buy, sell, and finance real estate. Rich is also an experienced real estate and business litigator. Rich was recently selected as the Chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Title & Conveyancing Committee and was also named as one of Inman News’ Most Influential People in Real Estate. Rich also recently testified before the Massachusetts Legislature in support of the Rent Escrow Bill which would level the playing field for landlords.
Hear what clients have to say about Rich’s work here.
Rich’s court cases run the gamut from adverse possession, evictions, boundary disputes, zoning appeals, condominium disputes, breach of contract, title and landlord-tenant cases. Unlike a lot of litigators these days, he has actually tried cases, both before a jury and judge. He also has significant appellate experience in the Appeals Court, Supreme Judicial Court, and First Circuit. Rich is also well-versed in alternative dispute resolution, arbitration, and mediation, where a majority of cases are settled today.
Rich also handles a substantial amount of residential conveyancing and title work. Rich is also a continuing legal eduction instructor, teaching other real estate attorneys best practices in residential real estate conveyancing.
Education
Suffolk University Law School, J.D., 1997, Cum Laude
• Law Review, Editor
• Judicial Intern, Federal Judge William G. Young
Miami (Ohio) University in Oxford, OH, B.S. in Media Management/Marketing, 1994
Community/Awards
- Co-Chair, Title & Conveyancing Committee, Boston Bar Association
- Sudbury Zoning Board of Appeals and Earth Removal Board, 2000-2009
- Chair, Technology Committee, Real Estate Bar Association
- Past Chair/Current Member, Combined Jewish Philanthropies’ Young Lawyers Group
- Leadership Fellow, Leadership Metrowest Academy, 2009
- Metrowest Lunch Chapter, BNI
- Past Board Member for the Corridor 9 Chamber of Commerce’s HYPE 9 (Helping Young Professionals Engage Corridor 9)
- Metrowest Chamber of Commerce.
Press/Speaking Engagements (Quoted Or Featured In The Following Articles)
Home Equity Lines See a Jump In Delinquencies, Wall Street Journal (June 8, 2015)
A Home Buyer’s Guide to a Seller’s Market, Wall Street Journal (May 22, 2015)
Bills To End “Free Rent Trick”, Cape Cod Today (May 13, 2015)
Testimony on Rent Escrow and Title Clearance Legislation, Mass. Joint Committee on Judiciary (May 12, 2015)
Think It’s Tough to Rent? Try Being a Landlord? Boston Globe Sunday Magazine (March 29, 2015)
Speaker, Metrowest Property Owners Association and Waltham Landlord’s Association (March 2015)
City Will Inspect Off Campus Housing, And It’s Legal, Boston.com/Boston Globe (Jan. 8, 2015)
Foreclosures, Forestalled, Wall Street Journal (March 7, 2014)
New Buyers Seminar, South Middlesex Opportunity Council (November 15, 2014)
Fannie, Freddie Don’t Need To Comply With Foreclosure Law, Mass. Lawyers Weekly (Nov. 3, 2014)
Massachusetts Court Rules Against Holyoke Man In Mortgage Case, Boston Business Journal (Aug. 24, 2014)
Bill Aims to Help Sellers of Foreclosure Homes, Boston Globe (July 30, 2014)
Multiple Interests At Stake In Mass. Title Clearing Bill Talks, Worcester Telegram (July 29, 2014)
Instructor, Residential Real Estate Basics Continuing Legal Education Course, Boston Bar Association (March 2014)
Testimony before Mass. Joint Housing Committee on House Bill 1131 (Rent Escrow), February 25, 2014
Email Communications Result In Hard Lessons for Attorneys, Clients, Banker and Tradesman (Jan. 9, 2014)
New Buyers Seminar, South Middlesex Opportunity Council (November 15, 2014)
Fannie, Freddie Don’t Need To Comply With Foreclosure Law, Mass. Lawyers Weekly (Nov. 3, 2014)
Bill Aims to Help Sellers of Foreclosure Homes, Boston Globe (July 30, 2014)
Multiple Interests At Stake In Mass. Title Clearing Bill Talks, Worcester Telegram (July 29, 2014)
Instructor, Residential Real Estate Basics Continuing Legal Education Course, Boston Bar Association (March 2014)
Testimony before Mass. Joint Housing Committee on House Bill 1131 (Rent Escrow), February 25, 2014
Email Communications Result In Hard Lessons for Attorneys, Clients, Banker and Tradesman (Jan. 9, 2014)
Ruling Might Mean Longer Foreclosure Process, Banker & Tradesman (Dec. 22, 2013)
Speaker, Real Estate Grey Areas, Presented to Black Diamond Investor Group (Summer 2013)
Cases Could Make Foreclosure Challenges Easier, Assignments’ Validity Could Be Questioned, Banker and Tradesman (March 3, 2013)
Errors Made By Lender Invalidate Foreclosure, Mass. Lawyers Weekly (Jan. 31, 2013)
SJC Rules Bank Had No Right To Take Home, Boston Globe (Jan. 14, 2013)
State’s Highest Court Rules for Lender in Foreclosure Affidavit Case, Boston Globe (Oct. 26, 2012)
Unsigned P&S Enforceable In Wake of Emails, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (July 5, 2012)
Lenders Must Have Proper Paperwork to Foreclose, SJC Says, Boston Globe, June 22, 2012
Landlord Liable for Tenant’s Drunken Tumble, American Apartments Owner’s Association (March 15, 2012)
Seizures Threatened In Massachusetts With Naked Loans Challenge: Mortgages, Bloomberg News (Feb. 21, 2012)
New Trends Emerging In Short Sale Legal Transactions, Special to Banker & Tradesman (Feb. 6, 2012)
Homeowner Can Sue Lender Under HAMP, Mass. Lawyers Weekly (Dec. 29, 2011)
Realtor Held Liable For Incorrect Information In MLS, AG Beat (Nov. 23, 2011)
Can You Get A House For Free? MSN Real Estate, (Nov. 22, 2011)
Mass. Bankruptcy Judge Voids Foreclosure of MERS Mortgage, Wall Street Journal Online, Aug. 24, 2011
Speaker on Legal Blogging, Social E Conference, The Warren Group, Newport, RI, June 24, 2011
State Court Rules Attorneys Must Participate In Home Closings, Boston Globe, April 26, 2011
New Rules Make Condos Harder To Sell, Inman News (March 18, 2011)
Apocalypse Now? Will The Ibanez Decision Reveal Widespread Irregularities In the Securitized Mortgage Industry?, The Big Picture, Jan. 10. 2011
Court Ruling Could Create Foreclosure Crisis, Metrowest (MA) Daily News, Jan. 8, 2011
US Foreclosure Decision To Reverberate, Financial Times, Jan. 7, 2011
Foreclosures May Be Undone By State Ruling On Mortgage Transfer, Bloomberg News, Jan. 6, 2011
Homestead Act Updated For 2011, Banker & Tradesman, Dec. 27, 2010
Property Owners Advised To Clear Snow After Storm, Metrowest Daily News, Dec.. 28, 2010
Featured Speaker, Social Not Working? Tips for Social Marketing In Real Estate, 200+ Realtors, Newton Marriott, Dec. 7, 2010
Speaker, Technology For The Conveyancing Attorney, Real Estate Bar Conference Annual Meeting, Nov. 8, 2010
How To Navigate The Foreclosure Freeze, Wall St. Journal Smartermoney.com, Oct. 13, 2010
Borrowers: Beware The Second Credit Report, Wall St. Journal Smartermoney.com, June 7, 2010
Local Agents Raise Questions Over New Fannie Rules, Banker & Tradesman, June 6, 2010.
Federal Aid & Tax Extension Available For Massachusetts Flood Victims, Boston.com, April 14, 2010
The HO-6 Condo Insurance Policy: A Lot More Than You Think, Boston.com, April 7, 2010
Legal Analysis Of Mezuzah Condo Case, Boston.com, March 31, 2010
Impending SJC Ibanez Title Ruling May Invalidate Thousands Of Foreclosures, Banker & Tradesman, March 29, 2010
How A Salamander Raised A Rights Issue, Boston Globe, March 24, 2009
House Call: To Buy Or Not To Buy, SmarterMoney.com (Wall Street Journal Online) March 22, 2010
Social Media and Blogging For Realtors 101, Seminar–Hallmark Sotheby’s, Hopkinton, MA; Prudential Page Real Estate, Medway, MA
New Rules Help Borrowers At Closing, SmarterMoney.com (Wall Street Journal), Jan. 11, 2010
Facebook: Friend or Client? Lawyers Weekly USA, Dec. 21, 2009
Condo Rules Could Shut Out Buyers, Hit Builders, Associated Press, Dec. 8, 2009
Federal Housing Administration’s Condo Financing Rules Already Scuttling Projects, Los Angeles Times/Associated Press, Dec. 7, 2009
Creating A Memorable Blog For Your Law Practice (Webinar), Presenter, Nov. 20, 2009.
FHA Eases Condominium Lending Guidelines, Boston.com, Nov. 11, 2009
When Are Condo Owners Liable?, Boston.com, Oct. 28, 2009
The Long and Short Of It: A Short Sale Primer, Boston.com, Oct. 21, 2009
Ibanez Decision: Round 2, Boston.com, Oct. 15, 2009
New FHA Condominium Guidelines, A Chill In The Air, Boston.com, Oct. 13, 2009
Landlord-Tenant Hell: Drinking Guests and Faulty Railings, Boston.com, Oct. 7, 2009
Offer to Purchase Is A Binding Contract, Boston.com, Sept. 30, 2009
Thousands of Foreclosures Invalid, Ibanez Decision, Boston.com, Sept. 2, 2009
Marketing With Social Media, What’s Your Plan? Lawyers Weekly USA, Sept. 5, 2009
How A Solo Gained More Than 600 Facebook Fans, American Bar Association Journal, Sept. 9, 2009
A Legal Refresher Course For Landlords, Boston.com Real Estate Now, July 29, 2009
An Attorney Thinks About Construction, Boston.com Real Estate Now, July 23, 2009
New Fannie Mae Condo Regulations Could Stifle Condo Demand, NuWire Investor, July 27, 2009
Holland Land Case Back Before A Judge, Sturbridge Villager, (Jan. 23, 2009).
Twitter, Facebook As Marketing Tools?, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (May 9, 2009)
Banker Gets $1M Verdict For National Origin Bias, Employment Case Nets $600,000 In Punitives, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (June 5, 2006).
SJC Ruling Hurts Affordable Housing Foes, Boston Globe, June 20, 2006.
Trust Wins Battle Over Waterfront, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (April 2, 2001).
Speaker, Legal Professionals Panel, Suffolk Law School.
LinkedIn Seminar Series, 2008-09.
Reported Cases
• North American Expositions Co. v. Corcoran, 452 Mass. 852 (2009) and 70 Mass. App. Ct. 411 (2007) (leading case on the anti-SLAPP Act in the business and political lobbying context; upholding dismissal of claims and $80,000 award of attorneys fee in client’s favor).
• Hadfield v. McDonough, 407 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2005), cert. denied by U.S. Supreme Court (employment termination and violation of procedural due process for political affiliation of deputy sheriff)
• Portland Natural Gas Transmission System v. 19.2 Acres of Land, 318 F.3d 279 (1st Cir. 2003)(eminent domain taking involving natural gas pipeline)
• Private Lending & Purchasing Inc. v. First American Title Ins. Co., 54 Mass. App. Ct. 532 (2002)(leading Mass. case on title insurance policies).
• South Boston Betterment Trust Corp. v. Boston Redev. Auth., 438 Mass. 57 (2002)(landmark case on the validity of community benefits negotiated by South Boston elected officials for mitigation of Seaport District development
• Iffland v. City of Cambridge, 49 Mass. App. Ct. 1108 (2000) (issues of legal standing to challenge permits for commercial development)
• Ben v. Shultz, 47 Mass. App. Ct. 808 (1999)(civil procedure)
• Fields v. Revolution Trust Corp., 49 Mass. App. Ct. 1116 (1999)(defeating challenge to corporate deed alleged to have been forgery).
