Jesse Alderman concentrates his practice on environmental, real estate and infrastructure development, with a focus on state and municipal regulatory matters, permitting and related litigation. Jesse has experience guiding clients through issues of state regulatory compliance, such as under MEPA, Article 97, Wetlands Protection Act and Chapter 21E, and devising strategies to win critical municipal approvals and zoning relief. He advises both municipal entities and those who appear before them on matters related to zoning, urban redevelopment and public procurement.
Leveraging this regulatory expertise, Jesse co-founded the firm’s Cannabis practice, and assists clients in securing competitive municipal and state permits. He counsels these clients on complex issues of state regulatory compliance, and advises investors in cannabis industry acquisitions and transactions.
In his litigation practice, Jesse won judgment for the City of South Portland, obtaining summary judgment on eight counts and a trial victory on a nationally watched Commerce Clause claim against the City’s “Clear Skies Ordinance.” He has successfully obtained dismissal of a suit seeking to enforce a municipal ordinance against a former owner at a federal Superfund site and won several real property actions in the Land and Superior Courts.
As a member of the Town of Marblehead Conservation Commission, Jesse has considerable knowledge of permitting under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act, as well as the Clean Water Act.
Jesse has authored five law review articles, including publications in the University of Virginia's Virginia Environmental Law Journal and the Boston College Law Review. Prior to joining Foley Hoag, he was a law clerk for Justice Robert J. Cordy of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Before law school, Jesse gained diverse experience in an array of environmental and energy issues as a reporter for The Associated Press in Boston and Boise, Idaho, and The Durango Herald in Durango, Colorado.
