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Matthew Matt Kiefer Real Estate Development/Land Use Green Business Public Law & Policy Medical, Educational and Cultural Institutions Climate Change Resilience attorney lawyer

Biography

Overview

Matthew Kiefer is a real estate development and land use lawyer whose practice is at the nexus of private initiative and public policy, focusing on obtaining parcel dispositions and entitlements from public agencies for complex urban projects. He has a particular focus on cross-sectoral projects that address unique policy, feasibility and design challenges. These include market-oriented, mixed-income and affordable housing; commercial and mixed-use projects; and facilities and master plans for universities, cultural institutions and other non-profits. He is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and has been recognized by Chambers USA as “a pre-eminent force in development and land use work.” Matthew co-chairs the firm’s Green Business practice and its Climate Change Resilience Task Force.

In addition to his law practice, Matthew teaches in the Master in Real Estate program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has written and spoken widely on land use topics. He serves on the Advisory Board and Management Committee of ULI Boston; is an at-large member of the City of Boston’s Community Preservation Committee, which has awarded close to $200 million in funds to affordable housing, historic preservation and open space projects; is the past Chair and current Executive Committee member of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, which supports best practices in municipal governance; and is an Honorary Member of the Boston Society for Architecture and the American Institute of Architects.

He is a graduate of Boston University and the University of Michigan Law School, and was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard GSD.

Accolades

  • Chambers USA, Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use, Massachusetts, 2019, 2021-2023 (Band 1)
  • Boston Magazine Top Lawyers, Real Estate, 2021
  • Elected to Honorary Membership, American Institute of Architects, 2020
  • Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers® (2016, 2019): Land Use and Zoning Law
  • Best Lawyers in America®, (2008-2017, 2020-2024): Land Use and Zoning Law - Real Estate Law
  • Elected to Honorary Membership, Boston Society for Architecture, 2017
  • Top Attorneys in Massachusetts, Boston Magazine, 2016
  • "America's Leading Business Lawyers," Chambers USA 2005-2016
  • American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), Elected Fellow, 2012
  • Martindale Hubbell Peer-Review Rated AV Preeminent™
  • Martindale Hubbell™ Top Rated Lawyer in 'Land Use And Zoning,' 2013
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2019-2023

Affiliations

• Planning and Policy: Past Chair and current Executive Committee member, Boston Municipal Research Bureau; Advisory Board and Management Committee, ULI Boston; Board Member, UMass Sustainable Solutions Lab, Leventhal Map and Education Center

• Regulatory Reform: City of Boston Article 80 Reform Steering Committee; Inclusionary Development Policy Mayor's Working Group; MEPA Climate Change Adaptation Advisory Committee; Chapter 91 Facilities of Public Accommodation Task Force

• Historic Preservation: Council of Advisors and former Board President, Historic Boston Incorporated; Chair, Truro Historical Commission

• Open Space: Co-founder, Emerald Network; Member, Trustees Collaborative for Open Space

• Teaching: Lecturer, Master in Real Estate Program, Harvard Graduate School of Design

Admissions

  • Massachusetts

Education

  • University of Michigan Law School  (J.D., 1982)
  • Boston University  (B.A., 1976)
  • Harvard University  (1995)
    • Loeb Fellow