Boston, MA 02110
Contact Info
Practice Areas
The law connects us.
Len Kopelman is a long-time and well-known advisor to scores of Massachusetts cities and towns. From decades of involvement in their legal affairs, he is able to quickly assess the needs of the Firm’s municipal clients and provide them valuable legal and practical assistance. Clients also benefit from Len’s experience in the field of international and cultural diplomacy on behalf of the Finnish government.
Work With Clients
Mr. Kopelman specializes in advising town officials and departments on state law issues affecting the operation of local government, including open meeting law, public records law, conflict of interest, municipal finance, Town Meeting, the implementation of local laws and regulations, and land use.
Professional Activities
Leonard Kopelman serves as a master in the Superior Court and was the former chair of the Education Committee of the American Judges Association. He was appointed by the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court to serve as a member of the Court’s Special Committee on Legal Education. He is a past president of the Massachusetts State Chamber of Commerce, State Chairman of the American Bar Association Committee on Diplomatic and Consular Law and was appointed by the President of the United States to head the legal division of the Office of Economic Opportunity in Massachusetts. He is also active in community and civic organizations and serves on the Board of Trustees of several nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Kopelman has also appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States and is frequently called upon by state agencies to testify before the legislature and various commissions.
- Massachusetts Bar
- State and Federal Courts in Massachusetts
- Supreme Court of the United States
Personal and Community Activities
Mr. Kopelman has been lecturing on management and law at Harvard University for the past 30 years. He has taught at the Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Harvard College, and Harvard Extension School and is a Pre-Law Advisor. He delivered 1983 and the 2009 Commencement address to Harvard University Extension and was the 25-year Honorand for the year 2001. He has won two teaching awards at Harvard and lectures abroad extensively.
Leonard Kopelman has an international reputation as well. He serves as the Consul General to the Republic of Finland for the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island and is Dean of the Consular Corp of Boston. In addition, he was the Director General of the Consular Corps College. He has participated in several Foreign Policy Conferences for senior business executives with the Secretary of State and was the United States Delegate to the Society for International Development 14th World Conference held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He is past state chairman of the American Bar Association Committee of Diplomatic and Consular Law.
- Trustee, Cathedral of the Pines, a National Shrine
- Director, Camp Allan for Blind Girls (Kiwanis)
- Trustee, Faulkner Hospital
- Trustee, Parker Hill Medical Center
- Director, United Nations Association of Greater Boston
Publications / Presentations
- Former Editor of Law Notes (second largest legal publication) and the Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Author of books entitled Rent Control and the Health Code and Legal Checklists
- Has appeared in Business Week and on CNN
- Various articles on Municipal Law in the Boston Bar Journal and the Municipal Advocate (MMA), including: “Municipalities Can Use Tax Agreements to Promote Affordable Housing” and “The Art and Science of Managing Legal Services”
- Boston Business Journal: “Municipal Bankruptcies”
Education
Mr. Kopelman received his Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Harvard College and his Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.
Awards
- Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in the World
- 2006 – 2011 “Super Lawyer” in the field of municipal law by Law & Politics, Inc.
- Recognized as one of the twelve most “Influential Lawyers in Massachusetts” by
the National Law Journal - Received a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant in Jurisprudence
- Harvard University Shattuck Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Harvard University Fussa Distinguished Teaching Award