Local Government
The partners have served as municipal and planning commission solicitors or decision makers for over 20 years. As the role of municipal government has grown, and the law has become more complex, providing municipal legal service requires expertise in increasingly diverse areas of the law and proficiency in numerous skills. In addition to being experienced in municipal law, we are called upon to act as advocates, counselors, negotiators, and public relations spokespersons.
This expertise and proficiency is useful not only to the municipalities we serve, but to businesses and individuals whose interaction with their local government warrants the services of experienced and well-qualified attorneys.
We offer advice and representation on matters as diverse as land development, zoning, real estate tax assessment appeals, condemnation/eminent domain, ordinance interpretation, public contracts, municipal procurement, public bidding and bonding requirements, municipal taxation, municipal finance, debt collection and municipal liens. We represent clients in regulatory compliance issues, and resolving matters when regulatory violations are alleged. We engage in civil litigation on behalf of and against local governments to handle both routine and complex litigation, including appeals, in state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
Sometimes, a client’s only interest is in knowing more about the state and local government and the actions they have taken, and the officials who represent them. We can provide information and assist you with the following statutes: the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, the Open Records Act, and the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, all of which can provide insight into the activities and decisionmaking of the government you support with your tax dollars.