Our Attorneys

Mr. Mello represents clients in a robust range of civil litigation and regulatory matters, including in the areas of construction, land use and zoning, employment, contract matters, and disputes involving state and local governmental entities, among others. He has practiced before state and federal courts and state agencies in Massachusetts, and has successfully represented clients at trial and in appeals. He has advised private clients and governmental entities alike regarding myriad and diverse issues, including with respect to construction, zoning, land use, employment, energy-related issues, licensing, procurement, public records, meeting procedures, conflict of interest, and many others.

Mr. Mello earned his B.A. in Politics, with a Certificate in Legal Studies from Brandeis University and is a graduate of Boston University School of Law. While at Boston University School of Law, he served as a staff editor of the American Journal of Law and Medicine.

Mr. Mello is the past President of Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association. He has written and presented extensively for organizations such as REBA, the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Mr. Mello was recognized as a Rising Star by New England Super Lawyers magazine.

SAMPLING OF SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES

Mr. Mello has successfully represented clients in a variety of proceedings, including in, among others, those enumerated in the following sampling:

• Fall River City Council v. Jasiel F. Correia, II, Bristol Superior Court, Civil Action No. (denial of motion for preliminary injunction issued on October 10, 2019, 1973CV 00885).
• Corna v. Dennis-Yarmouth Public Schools, Barnstable Superior Court, Civil Action No. 1972CV00465 (denial of motion for preliminary injunction issued on September 24, 2019).
• Sullivan, et al.v. Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Inc., et al., Barnstable Superior Court, Civil Action No. 1472-cv-00560 (Judgment issued on September 4, 2018).
• Talmo v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Framingham, 93 Mass. App. Ct. 626 (2018).
• Croft v. Framingham Planning Board, et al., Middlesex Superior Court, Civil Action No. 1381-02845 (Judgment issued on September 13, 2016).
• Abrams v. Sudbury Conservation Commission, et al., Middlesex Superior Court, Civil Action No. 2015-03039 (Judgment issued on December 24, 2015).
• Huntington Properties, LLC v. Framingham Conservation Commission, Middlesex Superior Court, Civil Action No. 2013-00721 (Judgment issued on September 12, 2014).
• Carney v. Town of Framingham, 79 Mass. App. Ct. 1129, 2011 WL 2672525 (2011) (unpublished disposition), FAR denied 460 Mass. 1111 (2011).
• Town of Framingham v. Framingham Police Officers Union, 80 Mass. App. Ct. 1107, 2011 WL 4467612 (2011) (unpublished disposition).
• CSE Framingham, LLC v. Town of Framingham Conservation Commission, Middlesex Superior Court, Civil Action No. 2010-01495 (Judgment issued on December 6, 2011).
• Levasseur, et al. v. Town of Framingham Conservation Commission, Middlesex Superior Court, Civil Action No. 2009-0904 (Judgment issued on March 3, 2011).
• Interstate Electrical Services Corporation v. Town of Rockland, Attorney General’s Office Bid Unit Decision (February 11, 2011).
• Lighthouse Masonry, Inc. v. Town of Rockland, Attorney General’s Office Bid Unit Decision (March 23, 2011).
• Interstate Electrical Services Corporation v. Town of Tewksbury, Attorney General’s Office Bid Unit Decision (November 17, 2010).

Over the years Mr. Mello also has written and presented extensively on a number of legal topics, including as illustrated in the following sampling of writings and speaking engagements:

PUBLICATIONS/SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Panelist, “Public Construction Law Update: The Role of Municipal Counsel in Public Construction Agency Practice and Litigation,” sponsored by the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (April 26, 2018).

• Panelist, “Public Construction Law Update: Secrets of a Successful Public Construction Project — Working with Outside Professionals from Design through Project Close-out,” sponsored by the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association (April 28, 2016).
• Panelist, “Enforcing Wetlands Violations: Best Practices, Applicable Legal Procedures and Standards,” presented at the 2015 Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions’ Annual Environmental Conference (February 28, 2015).
• Panelist, “Public Construction Law Update,” co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association Civil Litigation Construction Law Practice Group and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association (September 12, 2012).
• Featured Guest Speaker at the Massachusetts School Building Authority Owner’s Project Manager Roundtable (September 10, 2012).
• Panelist, “Public Construction Projects – Avoiding Traps for the Unwary,” sponsored by the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association (April 26, 2012).
• Featured Guest Speaker at the Open Luncheon Meeting of the Environmental Committee of REBA, the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts (January 25, 2012), to discuss the case of Carney v. Town of Framingham, 79 Mass. App. Ct. 1129 (2011).
• Panelist, “The Municipal Lawyer and Public Construction—Common Issues Faced by Municipal Counsel,” co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association Civil Litigation Construction Law Practice Group and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association (April 28, 2011).
• Panelist, “The FLSA and the 29 U.S.C. sec. 207(k) Public Safety Employee Exemption – the recent Framingham Federal District Court Work Period Case and the City of Boston SJC Impact Bargaining Cases and How They Affect Your Community,” sponsored by the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association (May 28, 2009).
• Member of the Newsletter Committee and Regular Contributor, Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Quarterly Newsletter.
• Co-authored an amicus brief on behalf of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association in Fordyce, et al. v. Town of Hanover, et al., 457 Mass. 248 (2010).