While a lot of attention is rightly given to the impact that federal and state laws have on our everyday lives, it’s important not to forget the role that local laws play. Municipal law, or the laws that govern a city, township, borough, village, or town, are created by the elected council members who are responsible for their communities. This includes land use laws, property taxes, and zoning. Local government officials are often not trained attorneys and may require a lawyer who specializes in municipal law to assist them with their day-to-day duties.

Municipal Lawyer

The practice of municipal law is vast and varied, with many unique issues that aren’t commonly seen in other areas of the legal world. Our firm advises municipal clients on virtually all aspects of their municipal law duties, including code enforcement, real estate matters (including zoning), public bidding and contracts, tax assessments, environmental regulations, and even public information laws.

The Municipal Lawyers at Hodgson Russ also assist our government clients in the preparation of their responses to environmental reviews under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). We have assisted municipalities and private parties with the SEQRA process, from initial applications through the issuance of negative or positive declarations. We also work with our government clients in drafting and reviewing local ordinances to address a variety of different matters, including telecommunications, electric and gas rights-of-way, transportation issues, copyright and trademark issues, finance, donations, litigation, and open meeting laws.