The firm's Municipal Law Department provides a full range of legal services to municipal clients throughout New Jersey.
Our skilled attorneys regularly counsel clients in the areas of general municipal law, real estate and land use development, including the representation of planning boards and zoning boards of adjustment, labor and employment law, public finance, environmental law, redevelopment, construction projects, risk management and litigation and litigation avoidance. They bring a reliable and responsible approach to municipal representation, with an emphasis on solving problems in the most effective and most cost-efficient manner possible.
Our Municipal Law Department serves in various capacities including serving as director of law, municipal attorney, and counsel and special counsel to municipalities, redevelopment agencies, and various other public entities, employees and officials in real estate related areas from municipal law, to real estate tax appeals to redevelopment, including Brownfields redevelopment and condemnation/eminent domain.
Advice and counsel are provided to the mayor, governing body, administrative departments, various boards and committees, municipal court and the police department. For the governing body, we develop and prepare the resolutions and ordinances and assist in interpreting the Municipal Code. We attend all public meetings of the mayor, governing body and special public meetings to ensure that state statutes, municipal codes and procedural rules are followed. We also act as an intermediary with neighboring municipalities, the county and state agencies in matters of shared interest, program development and regulatory issues. We provide for the review and/or preparation of contracts and bid specifications for vendors and service providers to the municipality. We also have extensive experience in negotiating and coordinating open space acquisitions within the municipality, as well as for the acquisition of land by negotiations or eminent domain for public projects. In our representation, we also interact with different governmental agencies at the state and federal level on behalf of the municipalities on matters such as contracts, grants and collaborative negotiations. We also offer a full range of municipal litigation and liability services for the defense of the municipality, its elected officials and administrative employees in any litigation filed against the municipality, officers and employees.