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Lawrence P. Heffernan has focused his practice on litigation in the real estate, title insurance, banking, and commercial arenas. Larry has 45 years of trial and appellate experience in cases involving complex real estate issues, development, mortgage, fraud, insurance coverage, banking, and commercial disputes. He has represented a wide range of clients, including developers, property owners, landlords, lessors, lessees, title insurance companies, and banks. He served as chair of our firm’s Real Estate Litigation and Title Insurance team.

Real Estate Litigation

Larry has handled litigation of commercial and residential real property rights, including disputes related to ownership, leasing, development, land use, condominiums and waterfront rights. He has also assisted clients with appeals of zoning decisions. He has obtained positive results for numerous clients, such as securing an expedited judgment defeating a challenge to the development of a hotel in the Seaport District. Larry also obtained a favorable judgment after trial for a large group of homeowners in a dispute with a neighboring municipality over the location of a subdivision boundary and town line.

Title Insurance Litigation

Larry has represented title insurance companies in litigation of all aspects of title insurance coverage, from exclusions to loss to insured closing letters and extracontractual claims. He has also been retained by title insurance companies to defend insured owners and lenders in establishing the validity and priority of their interests. Larry obtained a trial judgment affirming both title and boundaries for a 120-acre subdivision in a case which marshalled over a century’s worth of complex title records and boundary evidence. In a case challenging the existence and validity of a multi-million dollar condominium complex, he persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to overturn an Appeals Court’s ruling and affirm a condominium developer’s retention of the right to remove land from a condominium development.

Banking Litigation

Larry has assisted banks, lenders and financial institutions with litigation, including disputes related to mortgages and foreclosures, predatory lending, fraud, and checking and wire transfers. He defeated a class certification in a putative class action against law firms and major mortgage lenders for allegedly wrongful foreclosures, which protected clients from tens of millions of dollars in potential exposure for more than 9,000 foreclosures. His successes also include dismissal of a regional bank from a multi-district class action for hundreds of millions of dollars in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Larry has frequently spoken about real estate, title insurance, and banking litigation matters before bar and business groups across the country. He has written regularly on these topics, and he has contributed to our firm’s Massachusetts Appellate Blog. Larry serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Greater Boston Legal Services, which provides civil legal assistance to the disadvantaged in the Boston area.

In 2023, Larry was inducted into the the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame. 

  • Boston College Law School (Juris Doctor)
    • National Mock Trial Competition Team
  • Boston College (Bachelors, magna cum laude)
    • B.A., English/Economics
    • Phi Beta Kappa

  • Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • State of New Hampshire
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire

AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated in Martindale-Hubbell™ in the area of Litigation
(Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings is a trademark. AV Preeminent is a certification mark of Reed Elsevier Properties, Inc.)

Selected to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list from 2004 to 2022

Inducted into The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame, 2023

Selected to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's 2023 Pro Bono Honor Roll

Presented with the 2024 Champion of Justice Award by Greater Boston Legal Services

American Bar Association
Litigation Section
Real Estate, Condemnation and Trust Committee
Past Chair, Title Insurance Litigation Committee

American Land Title Association (1987 - present)

Boston Bar Association

Massachusetts Bar Association

New England Land Title Association
Member
Board of Directors (1993 - 2022)

Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts
Past Co-chair of Real Estate Litigation Committee

The Abstract Club
Member, Executive Committee

Greater Boston Legal Services
Member, Executive Committee
Board of Directors

Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education
Past Chair, Litigating Real Estate Disputes (2006-2007)