Philip M. Cronin

Phil’s practice spans more than 60 years. With a focus on civil litigation and appeals, he has tried numerous complex cases before judges, juries, administrative boards, arbitrators, and appeals courts. His broad experience includes:

• Antitrust – He has tried extended anti-trust cases involving the movie, milk and cranberry industries and claims in defense contracts of anti-trust violations.
• Land use – He has litigated all aspects of land use disputes including zoning, subdivision control, environment and wetlands.
• Land valuation – Eminent Domain cases involved movie theaters, road layouts, parking garages, factories. He has represented both public agencies and private landowners. He has also tried tax abatement appeals before the Appellate Tax Board for both municipalities and owners. In 1998, he represented Boston Wharf Company in an eminent domain action arising from the Central Artery project and obtained one of the largest land damage settlements in the history of the Commonwealth.
• Construction and Engineering – Over the years, he has represented in litigation many major contractors in the Boston area as well as contractors in other parts of the United States. He has tried major construction cases including the engineering for and construction of the Worcester Civic Center, now called the DCU Center.
• Fidelity and Surety – He has represented major fidelity and surety companies in claims on fidelity and payment and performance bonds. He has tried numerous fidelity and surety cases.
• Reinsurance – He has done litigation in the reinsurance field and is familiar with reinsurance treaties. He litigated a major reinsurance matter in London.
• Trade Secrets – He has tried trade secret cases, primarily in the field of defense contracting.
• Municipal Law – He has served for litigation as special city solicitor of the cities of Salem and Worcester and as special town counsel of the towns of Abington, Amesbury, Andover, Concord, Dudley, Brookline, Groton, Hadley, Hanover, Ipswich, Kingston, Mansfield, Marshfield, Maynard, Milton, Peabody, Plymouth, Saugus, Upton, Webster and Watertown.
• Admiralty – He has represented clients engaged in a variety of marine matters, including shipping, pier ownership, water rights and insurance defense.

• Boston Bar Association
• Massachusetts Bar Association
• New Hampshire Bar Association
• Maine Bar Association
• American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice Section
• Rent Control Administrator, City of Cambridge (1970)
• Incorporator, Harvard Magazine (1971 to date)
• President, The Cambridge Homes for Aged Persons (1990-1991)
• Director, Harvard Alumni Association
• City Solicitor, City of Cambridge (1968-1972)

Phil is widely published, and his contributions span five decades. His publishing credits include, among many others:

• Harvard Magazine
• Massachusetts Governmental Liability Reporter
• Massachusetts Law Review
• Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society Journal
• Massachusetts Legal History

Phil has also served as a member of the faculty for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and New England Institute Law Sponsor courses for continuing legal education for lawyers, and has lectured and written portions of the written material for the programs on eminent domain, damages and municipal law.

• Who’s Who in America (1982-2017)
• Who’s Who in the World (1990-2017)

• Fluent in German
• As a member of legal, business and economic delegations and for general travel, he has visited Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Netherlands Antilles, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Burma, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bahrein, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Russia, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Greece, France, Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Columbia, Peru, Brazil, Iceland, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Australia, Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Turkey, Georgia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Cuba, Iran, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Portugal, Cape Verde Islands, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.