About John W.
John W. Farrell built his legal foundation in New England. He earned an A.B. from Boston College and a J.D. from New England Law | Boston. Those early academic years included work on regional planning issues that would reappear later in his civic involvement.
Farrell moved from academic study to practice in jurisdictions that span the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. He is admitted in Massachusetts and Virginia and serves as a principal at McCandlish & Lillard P.C. At the firm he handles matters that touch on land use, development, and regulatory compliance. Colleagues describe him as steady and methodical in how he handles complex transactions and administrative proceedings.
His professional memberships reflect the contours of his practice. He is a member of the Fairfax Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar, where he participates in the Environmental and Real Estate Sections. He is also involved with the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association and the Northern Virginia chapter of the National Association of Office & Industrial Parks. Those affiliations connect him to developers, municipal planners, and regulatory officials across the region.
Farrell’s civic résumé reaches back several decades. In the late 1970s he served on the Planning Commission in the Town of Walpole, and he was chairman of that commission from 1979 to 1980. He later joined leadership roles outside the legal field. From 1996 to 1998 he served as National President of the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation and sat on the Board of Directors of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce during the same period. These roles reflect an interest in community institutions and organizational governance that complements his legal work.
At McCandlish & Lillard P.C., Farrell combines regulatory know-how with practical experience in real estate and environmental matters. He advises clients on zoning and permitting, represents parties before municipal boards, and assists in contract negotiations tied to property interests. His practice balances transactional work with appearances in administrative forums and collaborative problem solving with local officials.
After decades in practice, Farrell remains engaged in the professional associations that intersect with his caseload and community interests. He continues to accept matters that involve land use, environmental compliance, and real estate transactions, and he maintains active memberships in bar and industry groups connected to those fields.
He currently concentrates his practice on real estate, land use, and environmental matters.
