Beth A. Goldstein

Renewable Energy Practice Group Chair; Real Estate Department Partner

Beth is chair of the Renewable Energy Practice Group, one of the Sherin and Lodgen’s fastest-growing practice areas, partner in the firm’s award-winning Real Estate Department, and former vice-chair of its Women’s Initiative. She was included in the New England Real Estate Journal’s 2020 “Top Women in Real Estate” spotlight, named by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as an “Up and Coming Lawyer” in 2018, and listed as a “Rising Star” by Massachusetts Super Lawyers in 2019. In 2017, Beth graduated with the inaugural class of the NAIOP Massachusetts Leadership Institute. She is active in the legal community and volunteers with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) – a national organization that partners lawyers with children in need of representation in immigration court.

Read more about Beth’s practice here.

Q: What’s been the best professional decision you’ve made thus far in your career?

A: Transitioning from a pure commercial real estate practice to a hybrid of real estate and renewable energy work. The renewable energy space is fast-growing and always changing; it has allowed me to take my skills as a transactional real estate attorney and apply them to complex transactions with clients that are navigating ever-changing regulatory schemes. It’s exciting and challenging work, with the added bonus of making an impact on our environment!

Q: What does being a woman in this industry mean to you?

A: For me, a focus on mentoring women coming up in the renewable energy field is key. It’s a field that desperately needs more women in high profile roles, and that can’t happen overnight. If I can shine a spotlight on opportunities in solar and energy storage, I can set the stage for more diversity in the field. I focus on mentoring junior attorneys who have an interest in renewable work, finding speaking opportunities for women in the industry, and growing my network of renewable energy professionals.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: I’m currently reading The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom, a memoir of growing up in New Orleans with the family’s yellow house as the backdrop. With travel halted because of the pandemic, now more than ever I’m relying on fiction to allow me to see other parts of the country and the world.

Q: What’s one thing you do outside of work to keep yourself grounded?

A: Exercise is key to keeping me sane, especially during this year of working from home. Whether it’s a video strength class in my living room, or a long walk, I try to do something every day that gets me to close my laptop and get my heart rate up.

Q: Besides the shift to remote working/virtual meetings, what is one way in which 2020 changed the way you work?

A: I’ve seen client-attorney work become even more collaborative as the work/life balance continues to shift and blur. With most of my colleagues and clients working from home, the back and forth dialogue has been even more instantaneous, and I’m finding that clients are seeking our counsel at earlier stages of their business negotiations.