The Best Lawyers in America Names Three Hyland Levin Attorneys to 2018 List

10/3/17

Hyland Levin LLP is pleased to announce that three of its attorneys have been listed in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©. Benjamin A. Levin was listed for the area of Franchise Law. Richard M. Hluchan was listed for the areas of Natural Resources Land, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation - Environment. William F. Hyland, Jr. was listed for the area of Land Use and Zoning Law. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Their methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

Benjamin A. Levin is the managing partner of the firm. He represents global food manufacturers, national franchise companies and serves as outside general counsel to several companies based in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The best way to describe Ben’s role in companies is to let one of our clients explain it. “We feel like Ben is part of our company. He puts structure to our ideas. He’s the guy I go to. Ben has been a great resource and he understands our long-term goals.”

Ben’s business practice includes providing general counsel services to businesses, transactional work (buying and selling of businesses), preparation of business and commercial forms and agreements and compliance advice on business-related laws and regulations. He regularly advises clients on confidentiality issues, food guarantees, warranties and controlling risk, product development and manufacturing relationships, joint development and intellectual property agreements, vendor and supplier programs, exit strategies and supply chain transparency issues.

Ben's franchise and distribution practice includes structuring and drafting agreements for franchise and other distribution relationships and franchise distributor dealer terminations, licensing, compliance with franchise laws and regulations, preparation of franchise disclosure documents, and the buying and selling of franchise systems.

Certified as a neutral arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s National Registry of Commercial Arbitrators, Ben has arbitrated several national and regional distributor, dealer and franchise termination matters. Ben also mediates disputes among business owners, suppliers and distributors/dealers, and franchisors and franchisees.

Ben was co-chair of the American Bar Association’s 26th Annual Forum on Franchising; served a three-year term on the Governing Committee of the ABA’s Forum on Franchising; and was founding Chair of the Franchise Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He has been a featured speaker at numerous seminars on legal issues related to business and franchising, and has written and co-authored articles on similar topics for a range of national and state publications. Ben has been included in the International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers for 2004 through 2017, and for the last several years has been selected by Franchise Times as one of the top franchise lawyers in the United States.

Ben is on the Boards and Executive Committees of the Boys & Girls Club of Camden County and Congregation Beth El. Ben also recently completed a three-year term as a Board member of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey. A graduate of American University (B.A. 1972), and the State University of New York (M.Ed. 1974), Ben received his law degree from George Washington University Law School (J.D. 1977), with honors. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia (1977), New Jersey (1979), and Pennsylvania (1979).

Richard M. Hluchan, a partner with the firm, has concentrated his practice on land use and environmental law, including zoning and regulatory matters for more than 35 years. He counsels clients in areas subject to regulation by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including hazardous waste clean-ups, wetlands, endangered and threatened species and land development permits. Rich assists clients in land use matters, including CAFRA permitting, waterfront development, and riparian matters, as well as redevelopment, rezonings, variances, subdivisions and site plans. He also represents clients in land use and environmental litigation, including regulatory takings matters (inverse condemnation).

Before entering into private practice, Rich served as a law clerk to the Honorable John F. Gerry, U.S. District Court, Camden, NJ. He was a deputy attorney general in Trenton where he served as assistant chief of the Attorney General's Environmental Section and chief counsel to the Pinelands Commission. In 2015, Rich was appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a member of the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics. He has also served on the Supreme Court of New Jersey's Committee on Environmental Litigation and the Supreme Court's Committee on Character. In 2012, Rich was appointed by the Supreme Court to the District IV Fee Arbitration Committee for Camden and Gloucester Counties.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey, California, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, Rich is an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, where he previously served as Chair of the Land Use Section and as a director of the Environmental Section. Rich has spoken at numerous seminars and conferences sponsored by the NJ Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the New Jersey Builders Association and other organizations. He is a member of the editorial board of the New Jersey Law Journal. Additionally, Rich has been listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as "Leaders in Their Field" in the area of environmental law since 2003. He has also received the "AV®" peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Rich has taught environmental law at the Rutgers University School of Law - Camden. In 1994, he was selected as a Leadership New Jersey Fellow. Since 2002, he has been a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He is the immediate past President of the Delaware Valley Environmental American Inn of Court. He is also a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Haddonfield, and previously served as an officer and board member. Rich is a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S.F.S. 1971) and Santa Clara University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1974), where he served as comment editor of the Santa Clara Law Review. In 2003, he was elected to the Board of Governors of the Georgetown University Alumni Association. In 2014, he received the Reed Award for outstanding service to the Georgetown University Alumni Association and in 2016 was elected the next President of the Georgetown University Alumni Association.

William F. Hyland, Jr., a partner of the firm, has focused his practice on commercial real estate, financing transactions and land development for 40 years. He represents numerous local, regional and national land developers and homebuilders, appearing regularly before local planning and zoning boards throughout New Jersey, particularly in the tri-county area. He has also represented numerous lending institutions and borrowers in mortgage-related transactions, as well as purchasers and sellers of real estate.

Before his legal career, Bill worked for the then newly-created New Jersey Department of Community Affairs under its first Commissioner, Paul N. Ylvisaker. He moved on to become Assistant City Manager, then City Manager of Sparta, New Jersey and, at the time, was one of the youngest city managers in the country.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and South Carolina (retired status), Bill is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the South Carolina Bar Association. Bill has received the "AV®" preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Bill served in the New Jersey National Guard's 63rd Army Band between 1969 and 1975. Active in the community, Bill serves on the Virtua Foundation Board of Trustees; he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wiley Mission, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CRCC) in Marlton, NJ; and a legal advisor to the Saints Prison Ministry. Bill previously served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity (Burlington County) and YMCA Camp Ockanickon in Medford. He previously co-chaired a golf tournament on behalf of YMCA Camp Ockanickon in Medford for 10 years.

For many years, Bill played music professionally, but confines his music activities today to choral singing. He formerly sang with the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir in New York. He is the former Music Director at Wiley Church. Bill is a graduate of LaSalle University (1969) and the Rutgers University School of Law - Camden (1977).

Hyland Levin LLP is a multi-practice law firm. Practice areas include Business Law, Real Estate, Litigation and Succession Planning, Trusts and Estates.

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