Municipal Counsel

Local governments deserve the same high-level professional legal services as for-profit businesses. We understand that your government is a multi-million dollar entity with employees, complex regulatory systems, and demanding stakeholders, namely, the residents and businesses within the community.

As former city and county attorneys, our municipal lawyers provide top-level legal advice that is not clouded by political influences in an effective, cost-efficient and clear manner. For example, we provided and managed the provision of consistently excellent legal advice and services to the City of Aventura, which has assisted the city government in accomplishing its goal to be widely known as the “City of Excellence” and for delivering a high quality of life to its residents coupled with a low tax rate.

We efficiently draft and review a multitude of resolutions and ordinances each year, saving our clients precious taxpayer money. We strive to draft legislation that is both understandable to the general public and able to survive legal challenge. For example, we assisted the City of Riviera Beach in drafting four City Charter Amendments presented to and overwhelmingly approved by the voters in the city’s March 2019 election, despite the unique circumstance that the voters replaced the majority of the City Council at the very same election.

Our lawyers also deal with legal matters that are crucial for the day-to-day function of municipalities including land use, procurement, ethics, animal control, and code enforcement. We also work on matters related to public contracts, environmental law, labor and employment, real estate and telecommunications.

We keep abreast of the latest legislative and judicial developments in municipal law through a program of in-house training and continuing education. We are frequently requested to publish articles and make presentations to our peers, local bar associations, and the Florida League of Cities.

As legislative efforts increase in Tallahassee to limit municipal home rule authority in important areas of concern to local communities, our lawyers stand ready to provide timely advice regarding such efforts and how best to exercise local control within the boundaries of the law, and when necessary, to challenge legislative attempts to overreach.

We understand our role is not to make policy, but to counsel and assist our clients by providing a legal framework for decision-making. Our services enable our local government clients to meet their constitutional responsibilities and to earn and retain their constituents’ confidence and trust.