High Swartz continues a 100 year legacy of well-established and successful public service to municipalities throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania. Our Municipal & Government Practice Group consists of 9 full-time attorneys who serve as solicitors, special counsel, labor counsel, and conflict counsel to municipalities, zoning hearing boards, school districts, and municipal authorities in organizational issues, general representation, zoning and land use planning, subdivision and land development, real estate, labor and employment, environmental and civil litigation. A solid collaborative approach utilizes our attorneys’ collective experience for the benefit of each municipality we represent. This highly effective team approach is why High Swartz has been named a “Best Law Firm” for 2018 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers®, achieving a Philadelphia-area Metropolitan Tier 1 ranking for Municipal Law.
High Swartz currently represents Lower Merion Township and Upper Dublin Township in Montgomery County, Newtown Township in Delaware County and Newtown Borough in Bucks County. We also represent the City of Reading Charter Board and the Zoning Hearing Boards for Bedminster Township, Doylestown Township, Middletown Township, New Hope Borough, Upper Makefield Township, Warrington Township, Warwick Township, Wrightstown Township in Bucks County. High Swartz is called upon frequently to represent municipalities in litigation involving complex environmental and controversial land use issues before state courts and administrative agencies, and currently serves as special litigation counsel to West Goshen Township, Chester County in regard to the controversial Sunoco Logistics Mariner East Project.
While each municipality has unique needs and demands, every municipality requires the availability of a broad range of professional expertise through the solicitor’s office. These include areas of real estate, land use (zoning, subdivision and land development), legislative and regulatory drafting, public contracting, code enforcement, public road law (easements and rights of way), municipal taxation, labor and employment, environmental law (particularly floodplain conservation and storm water management), litigation in trial and appellate courts, civil rights, eminent domain, and public utility law.
Municipal practice requires intimate familiarity with numerous statutes and codes including, for example, the Sunshine Act, Right-To-Know Law, Local Tax Enabling Act, Tort Claims Act, Municipalities Planning Code, Public Bidding Law, and Public Official and Employee Ethics Law. High Swartz has provided municipal solicitor services incorporating this knowledge base to numerous municipalities in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, and Chester Counties for over a Century.
