Biography
Edward V. “Ted” O'Hanlan is former chair of the firm's Land Use Group, and he served as managing partner of the firm’s Stamford office from 2015-2017. His practice runs the full gamut of land use matters, from administrative applications and appeals to complex real property litigation.
Land Use - Zoning
Mr. O’Hanlan has over 30 years of experience representing property owners and developers before state and federal agencies and municipal land use panels. He handles planning, zoning, and wetlands permits and applications, and he helps clients secure all necessary approvals for their projects. He has assisted clients with getting hundreds of residential, commercial, and industrial developments approved.
Land Use - Litigation
Mr. O’Hanlan handles litigation related to land use and property rights, state and federal wetlands and environmental laws, real property law, title insurance claims and defenses, and constitutional law issues. He regularly handles appeals of zoning and permit decisions.
Mr. O’Hanlan has achieved success on behalf of his clients. He won a defense verdict for a large defense contractor client after a seven week jury trial of a claim for leasehold damages in excess of $15 million, and then defended the jury’s verdict through two levels of appeals. Also, while representing a Connecticut conservation organization, he obtained an injunction against a neighboring property owner which had placed debris, stone, and gravel to create a river crossing on his client’s property. On behalf of an urban parish, Mr. O’Hanlan defeated a preservation group’s lawsuit which sought to prevent the church from demolishing a dilapidated rectory, so his client could lease the property to a developer under a long-term agreement expected to provide funding for the parish’s community outreach programs for decades. Mr. O’Hanlan opposed a water company’s facilities expansion that would have forced a neighbor who had become blind to leave his home and diminished the value of his property substantially. After prevailing at the local zoning board, the appeal went before the utilities commission, where a settlement was negotiated to scale back the facility and to screen it so the owner could remain.
Mr. O’Hanlan has extensive experience handling jury and bench trials in state and federal courts, and appeals before the Connecticut Appellate Court, Connecticut Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He also serves as an attorney trial referee, fact finder, and arbitrator for the Connecticut Superior Court and in numerous private arbitrations.
Pro Bono
Mr. O’Hanlan is committed to doing pro bono work. He is pro bono counsel to three chapters of A Better Chance, an organization in southwestern Connecticut which helps academically talented minority children. He was the recipient of Robinson+Cole’s Pro Bono Award in 2009. Mr. O’Hanlan assists the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, which helps veterans overcome legal barriers to housing, health care, employment, and benefits. He currently serves on the center’s Board of Directors.
Mr. O’Hanlan has served as an adjunct professor in real property law at Pace University School of Law, and he has taught trial advocacy for the Connecticut Bar Association and at the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island. He is a barrister in the Raymond Baldwin Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Mr. O'Hanlan previously served as special land use counsel and special human services counsel to the Town of New Canaan, Connecticut. He is a retired Navy captain (JAG) after 25 years of active and reserve service. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association.