About The Firm
Gregor I. McGregor, Esq.
GREGOR I. McGREGOR, Esq. is the founder and principal of New England’s oldest environmental law firm, McGregor Legere & Stevens PC., formed in 1975.
The firm handles all aspects of environmental law, land use, real estate, energy, and related litigation. Mr. McGregor enjoys Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating for attorneys (AV).
In over 50 years of legal practice, Mr. McGregor's court cases created precedents on Environmental Impact Statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), wetland and floodplain law under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, hazardous waste cleanup liability and cost-recovery under the Massachusetts Superfund, reduced taxes for land conservation transactions, Article 97 open space and parkland protection, Home Rule environmental ordinances and bylaws of cities and towns, court enforcement remedies, and the constitutional doctrine of Regulatory Takings.
Before 1975, Mr. McGregor was an Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts and the first chief of the Attorney General’s Division of Environmental Protection. In that capacity he advised and represented the Commonwealth during the formative years of Massachusetts environmental statutes, agencies, regulations, enforcement and cases in court.
Mr. McGregor is editor of the two-volume treatise on Massachusetts Environmental Law, published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE). He is co-chair of MCLE’s annual Environmental, Land Use, and Energy Law Conference and MCLE’s Real Estate and Environmental Law Curriculum Advisory Committee. He received from MCLE in 2013 its Scholar-Mentor Award recognizing his dedication to legal scholarship and leadership.
Mr. McGregor co-chairs the Environmental and Renewable Energy Law Section of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts (REBA) and serves as a member of the REBA Board of Directors. He is an active member of the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (MMLA), which honored him for his career contributions and advocacy on the Home Rule Doctrine. At a National CLE Conference in Vail, CO, Mr. McGregor for many years co-chaired an annual seminar on Environmental Law, Land Use, Energy & Litigation for attorneys from across the United States.
The firm is a founding member of the Environmental Law Network (ELN), an alliance of specialty law firms, in the United States and abroad, sharing legal expertise and practical experience for the benefit of their clients.
Mr. McGregor is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.
View Attorney McGregor's Case List >>
SJC Rules Regulatory Taking Claim in Casino Dispute May Proceed to Discovery and Trial (but Not Impairment of Contract Claim)
An interesting, important and relatively rare decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is about regulatory taking (yes, Virginia, there is a valid claim for taking) and impairment of contract (no, sorry, there is no valid claim).
Supreme Court Strikes Down the City of Boston’s Flag-Flying Practice at City Hall Plaza as Going Over a Bright Line Between Rightful Control of Government Speech and Relaxed Regulation of Private Speech
In the case of Shurtleff v. City of Boston, 596 US ___ (May 2, 2022), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the City of Boston’s flag-raising program did not constitute government speech. Consequently, the City’s refusal to allow the petitioners to fly their flag because of its religious viewpoint violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. Let’s see how this regulatory analysis works.
Supreme Judicial Court Instructs Conservation Commissions on Home Rule Wetland Protection Power: Use It or Lose It
The Appeals Court in 2016 had taught the lesson well, but many boards, attorneys and clients apparently missed that class, so the Supreme Judicial Court has instructed us again, this time in a masterclass.
Across the spectrum of environmental law we offer advice and representation
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