Ben Wechsler is a Member of the Firm and the head of its Real Estate Practice. He has over 25 years of experience in real estate development, land use, environmental, natural resources, title and real estate transactional matters. He represents landowners, real estate developers and institutional clients on a wide variety of both traditional and “green” development projects. His clients run the gamut from individual property owners to Fortune 100 corporations. His particular areas of expertise include Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, land use and zoning (particularly in Anne Arundel County), tidal and non-tidal wetlands regulations, state and Federal endangered species regulation, renewable energy permitting and finance, piers and dredging, water quality trading, mitigation banking, land protection and preservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. He is frequently asked to help resolve complicated title and survey issues. He is actively involved in various legislative and regulatory efforts in Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland.
Mr. Wechsler regularly appears before various Courts and administrative tribunals, including state and Federal Courts, the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings, and various county Boards of Appeals, hearing examiners, and planning commissions. He has been qualified by State and Federal Courts as an Expert Witness in Land Use and Development.
Prior to joining YVS Law, Mr. Wechsler was a partner at Linowes and Blocher LLP, and previously worked at large international law firms in San Francisco and Washington, DC.
Mr. Wechsler received his J.D., graduating cum laude, from George Washington University Law School, with a focus on Environmental Law. He received a B.A., cum laude, from Princeton University, with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Mr. Wechsler is active in various community and professional organizations.
George Washington University Law School, 1999
- J.D., Cum Laude, Concentration in Environmental Law.Â
Princeton University, 1995
- B.A. Cum Laude, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Certificate in Environmental Studies.
- Linowes and Blocher LLP, Partner (2012-2020); Associate (2006-2011).
- Assateague Coastal Trust, Inc, Development Director and General Counsel, 2005 – 2006.
- Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, LLP (now DLA Piper), Litigation Associate, 2000 – 2004.
- LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae LLP, Associate, 1999 – 2000.
Chesapeake Bay Trust, Trustee. Appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley (D) in 2012, Reappointed by Governor Larry Hogan (R) in 2016. Chair (2017-2019), Vice Chair (2019-present, 2016-2017).
Maryland State Bar Association, Environmental Section Counsel. Secretary/Treasurer, 2015–2016.
Anne Arundel County Bar Association. Chair, Real Estate, Land Use and Environmental Committee.
Anne Arundel County Septic Policy TMDL Task Force, 2017 - Present. Chair, Policy Work Group.
Leadership Anne Arundel, Flagship Class of 2015.
Scenic Rivers Land Trust, Board Member, 2006 - 2008.
Assateague Coastal Trust, Board Member, 2005 - 2006.
The Best Lawyers in America®; Selected for Inclusion in the Area of Environmental, 2025-2026
NAIOP Distinguished Service Award for Excellence in Governmental Affairs, 2016.
Maryland Building Industry Association, Legislative Services Award, 2016.
Qualified as an Expert Witness in Land Use and Development, United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland. In re: Whiskey One Eight, LLC, Case No. 1:15-BK-19885.
Benjamin Starbuck Wechsler, Note, Rethinking Reinvention: A Case Study of Project XL, 5 ENVTL. LAW. 255 (1998).
Benjamin Starbuck Wechsler, Project XL and Regulatory Reinvention: A Practitioner’s Primer, 6 J. ENVTL. L & PRAC. 42 (1999).
S.P. Hubbell, et al. (incl. B. Wechsler), Light-Gap Disturbance, Recruitment Limitation, and Tree Diversity in a Neotropical Forest, 283 SCI. 554 (1999).
Benjamin Starbuck Wechsler, New Critical Area Buffer Regulations Alter Waterfront Development in the State of Maryland, unpublished white paper (2010).