James M. Behnke

James M. Behnke, a member/shareholder of the firm, concentrates on the legal issues and problems associated with energy and telecommunications facility siting. Jim was educated at Dartmouth College (A.B.) graduating magna cum laude in 1972 and attended Harvard University Law School (J.D.), where he graduated in 1981. Upon graduating from Harvard, Jim joined Rich May. He performed active duty as an officer in the United States Navy from 1972 through 1978. Jim has acquired extensive knowledge and expertise in areas of federal court jurisdiction, pipeline and LNG safety, federal and state land use and environmental regulation, municipal law, real property and tidelands and water law, right of way and land acquisition and federal and state eminent domain laws relating to energy and telecommunications facility siting. During the past decade Jim has provided extensive legal counsel on corporate, tax and land use, environmental, right of way acquisition and eminent domain issues to interstate pipeline companies who have constructed natural gas pipelines transporting natural gas originating in the Mid-West, South Western Canada and off of Sable Island, Nova Scotia to the Greater Boston Area and to pipeline companies that expect to serve federally regulated liquefied natural gas facilities whether such facilities are on-shore or off-shore. Jim is a member of the American Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association. Jim has authored or co-authored with Harold Dondis articles pertaining to energy or telecommunications in several professional journals. Those articles include:


Jim Behnke and Harold Dondis, The Clean Water and Federally Licensed Utilities, PUB. UTIL. FORT., November 1, 1994, 42-46.


Jim Behnke, Safety Jurisdiction Over Natural Gas Pipelines, 19 ENERGY L. J.77-118 (1998).


Jim Behnke and Harold Dondis, Assuring Telecommunications Access in the Commonwealth, 89 MASS. L. REV., 63-84 (2004).


Jim Behnke and Harold Dondis, The Sage Approach to Immediate Entry Under the Natural Gas Act and Federal Power Act, 27 ENERGY L. J. (2006).


Jim and his wife Jean live in Hanover, New Hampshire.