Background and Experience

Attorney Charles Sclafani began his career on the other side of the criminal docket. From 1989 to 1992, he served as Town Prosecutor for Agawam, trying misdemeanors and certain felonies in the Hampden County District Court in Springfield, the same courthouse where he has defended clients for most of the three decades since.

He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in December 1987 and to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in 1990. Thirty-eight years of practice have produced a broad general caseload rather than a narrow one.

He handles:

• Landlord representation in Housing Court, including evictions for nonpayment of rent, lease violations, and no-fault terminations, for individual and corporate owners, small and large, and for property management companies serving owners.
• Receiverships
• Criminal defense, from district court matters through trial
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy for individuals, families and businesses
• Personal injury claims
• Family law and probate matters, including abuse protection and harassment matters
• Civil litigation
• Department of Children and Families administrative matters and hearings
• Municipal law
• Business issues
• Administrative proceedings

Alongside private practice, he serves as Associate Solicitor for the Town of Agawam, a position he has held across three periods since 1989 and holds today. The work covers the town’s Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and law department caseload — zoning and health questions, review of proposed developments, and arbitration hearings on employment matters.

Housing Court work makes up the largest part of his practice, roughly 60 percent of his caseload. Since 1988, he has represented landlords of every size, from owners of large housing complexes and single rental properties to property management companies, most often in the Western Housing Court in Springfield. Eviction cases, like his criminal defense and bankruptcy work, often turn on procedure — whether the notice was right, what was filed, and when — and all three are handled in courts he has appeared in since the late 1980s.

Attorney Sclafani lives in Southwick with his wife Pamela. He holds a third-degree black belt in Kenpo karate and has owned both a martial arts studio and a fitness gym in West Springfield. He plays tenor saxophone in the Westfield Community Band and a local swing band. He has three adult sons.

Practice Areas

• Landlord-Tenant/Housing Court (Landlords)
• Criminal Defense
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
• Personal Injury
• Family Law, including abuse protection and harassment matters
• Probate
• Civil Litigation
• Municipal Law
• Administrative matters and hearings

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts, 1987
• United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, 1990
• Notary Public

Education

• Western New England University School of Law, Springfield, Massachusetts
  • J.D., 1987
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • B.A., Legal Studies, 1983

Professional Associations

• Hampden County Bar Association, Member

Professional Experience

• Sclafani & Moriarty and predecessor firm, West Springfield, Massachusetts, Partner, 2003 – Present
• Town of Agawam, Associate Solicitor, 2024 – Present; 2020 – 2022; 1989 – 2000
• Weitz & Sclafani, Springfield, Massachusetts, Partner, 1988 – 2002
• Town of Agawam, Town Prosecutor, 1989 – 1992
• Wilhelm, Hamilton & King, Northampton, Massachusetts, Attorney and Law Clerk, 1986 – 1988

Community

• Westfield Community Band, Tenor Saxophone
• Westfield Swing Band

Contact Attorney Sclafani

Initial consultations are free and take place in our West Springfield office, and payment plans are available. He represents clients throughout Hampden County, including Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, Agawam, Westfield, and Ludlow, and appears in the Western Housing Court and the district courts across the county.

Call (413) 732-8356 or use the contact form on this site to schedule a consultation.