Nicholas P. Brown

Nick Brown is a civil litigation attorney who specializes in construction law, real estate and land use matters, and commercial contract disputes. Nick also has experience litigating employment discrimination claims and trade secret disputes. Nick practices in both state and federal court and has successfully prosecuted and defended appeals taken to the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court.

In his construction practice, Nick has represented owners, general contractors, and subcontractors in disputes involving design and construction defects, professional negligence, breach of contract, change order disputes, delay claims, and mechanic’s lien claims, among others.

In his real estate practice, Nick has represented both private landowners and municipalities in zoning disputes, environmental contamination cases under M.G.L. c. 21E, affordable housing development under M.G.L. c. 40B, and taking claims under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In one recent appeal on behalf of a local municipality, Nick successfully challenged a jury verdict in favor of a landowner who asserted a regulatory taking claim.

Nick also devotes significant time to pro bono immigration cases on behalf of unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers. He has successfully obtained green cards for three undocumented children from Central America and continues to represent other children whose cases are still pending. In recognition for these efforts, Nick received Pierce Atwood's 2020 McKusick Community Impact Award, named after the Honorable Vincent Lee McKusick, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court from 1977-1992, and a former Pierce Atwood partner. The award is given each year to one attorney and one staff member who have made a significant, positive impact through pro bono and/or community service in the communities in which they live or work.

Honors & Distinctions
  • Recipient of the Pierce Atwood McKusick Community Impact Award (2020)
  • Fellow, Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Program (2016-2017)
Professional Activities
  • Boston Bar Association
  • Rhode Island Bar Association
Publications
  • Co-editor and contributing author to the Rhode Island Employment Law Letter, a monthly newsletter designed for Rhode Island employers published by M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC, (2010-2012)
  • Contributing author to Wage and Hour Laws – A State-by-State Survey (Gregory K. McGillivary ed., 2d ed. 2011)
  • Contributing author to 50 Employment Laws in 50 States (Employers Counsel Network, 2010-2011 editions)

Practice Areas

Representative Experience
  • Successfully defended a Massachusetts town and its conservation commission against a regulatory taking claim filed by a waterfront property owner after the denial of her Notice of Intent. Following a jury verdict for the property owner, the Appeals Court reversed and entered judgment for the municipality concluding that the trial court improperly denied the town’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Addressing an issue of first impression in the Commonwealth, the Appeals Court further concluded that the trial court erred by allowing the case to be tried to a jury.
  • Successfully defended a software company in a federal court bench trial against claims of copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, breach of contract, and violations of c. 93A.
  • Represented two individuals, one of the first gay couples to be legally married in Massachusetts, who were being harassed and threatened by a neighbor. In a proceeding brought in Massachusetts State Court, successfully sought and was awarded a series of injunctions, spanning over two years, prohibiting the defendant from communicating with or about the plaintiffs. On appeal by the neighbor, successfully defended the restraining orders entered by the trial court.
  • Successfully obtained arbitration award on behalf of one sibling against another in a dispute involving the misuse of an incapacitated parent’s assets. Successfully defended the rival sibling’s efforts to overturn a durable healthcare power of attorney and to reinstall himself as trustee of the parent’s assets.