Our Lawyers
Mark S. Bourbeau
Mr. Bourbeau is listed in the 2009 Edition of
The Best Lawyers in America, Copyright 2009 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC.
Mark Bourbeau's practice is concentrated in the representation of public and private clients in a variety of civil litigation matters, development issues, and consultation, with specific emphasis on the areas of real estate, eminent domain, environmental law, government relations and business litigation. Mr. Bourbeau is a cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School. Prior to entering private practice in 1991, Mr. Bourbeau was the senior trial attorney in the Eminent Domain Division of the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. He subsequently served as a Special Assistant Attorney General representing the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) and its Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW), and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) (now the Department of Resource Conservation (DCR).
He has represented those and other public agencies, such as Mass Development, the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, and various municipalities on a number of complex, high value eminent domain and related real property cases across the state, from Edgartown to North Adams. In 1992, he defended the Commonwealth in the largest land damage trial in the state's history, a claim of $100 million for the taking of the office building at 150 Causeway Street in Boston, adjacent to Boston Garden.
Mr. Bourbeau has represented numerous private landowners as well, obtaining substantial verdicts and settlements in their favor against various taking authorities, including the MBTA and MWRA. One such eminent domain case on behalf of a private landowner resulted in the 10th highest civil verdict statewide during 1998; another resulted in the 4th highest civil verdict statewide in 2007.
Mr. Bourbeau has extensive experience with the legal issues pertaining to real property acquisitions, including title issues and relocation, and land disposition by public bodies. Mr. Bourbeau also represents numerous private clients in matters pertaining to real property damages, inverse condemnation, nuisance, environmental contamination and damages resulting to the drawing down of water supplies, as well as general business litigation. In addition, he represents private clients in other complex civil litigation, including medical and legal malpractice, labor, civil rights and employment discrimination, first amendment cases, and commercial litigation. Mr. Bourbeau has substantial public speaking experience on relevant topics, including featured presentations to the American Bar Association Litigation Section, the National Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives, the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, the Greater Boston Board of Real Estate Appraisers and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association. He has taught numerous real estate and law related courses at Northeastern University's University College and Newbury College. He also has served as an advisor in Harvard Law School's Trial Advocacy Workshops, and as a judge in its Ames Moot Court Competitions. He was the Chair of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) program Navigating the Eminent Domain Processin 2006.
Bar Admissions: Massachusetts, United States District Court (MA), United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit), United States Supreme Court
Franziskus Lepionka
Mr. Lepionka is a trial attorney focusing on civil litigation. His specific emphasis is in the areas of eminent domain and land use law, civil rights and complex business litigation. Within the past year Mr. Lepionka has been a trial attorney in cases which have resulted in a favorable civil rights verdict for one client and the fourth largest civil jury verdict of 2007 for another client.
Mr. Lepionka graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997, and from Vermont Law School in 2002. While at Vermont Law School, Mr. Lepionka served as the student body president, as a Dean’s Fellow teaching Legal Writing to first year law students, was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and published ten articles on constitutional criminal procedure. Following law school, Mr. Lepionka served for two years as a judicial clerk to the judges of the Vermont Judiciary. In addition to traditional legal research and writing duties, Mr. Lepionka also developed materials for use at Judicial College seminars, wrote articles on civil law subjects for judicial reference books and updated and rewrote the Orleans County property tax bill for the first time in over 100 years.
Mr. Lepionka also has served as a judge for the annual Debevoise/Costle/Jessup Moot Court Competition held annually at Vermont Law School. In his spare time, Mr. Lepionka enjoys researching the Early Middle Ages and is an avid mountain climber, skier, surfer and cyclist.
Bar Admissions: Massachusetts, United States District Court (MA), Vermont