Municipal Law - Public Sector

Find Babst Calland attorneys specializing in this industry

The Babst Calland public sector services group represents both public and private clients on the full array of legal issues encountered in the governmental realm. Our lawyers serve as solicitors, special counsel and private legal counsel.

For more information:
Blaine A. Lucas
(412) 394-5657
blucas@babstcalland.com

Solicitors for boroughs, townships, zoning hearing boards, municipal authorities and other governmental bodies, representing these entities on issues ranging from day-to-day  public bidding, Sunshine Act, Right to Know Act and Ethics Act matters to complex (and often controversial) land use, economic development and labor issues.

Special Counsel to counties, municipalities and municipal authorities on zoning, zoning enforcement, transportation, economic development, eminent domain, local taxation, environmental, labor contract negotiation and employment and human resources matters, in both an advisory and litigation capacity.

Private Legal Counsel for individuals, partnerships and corporations in their encounters, both adversarial and non-adversarial, with governmental entities, with a particular emphasis on high profile land use, real estate, public bidding and contract issues.

The Babst Calland Public Sector Services Group concentrates in these main areas:

• Procurement, Litigation & Construction
• Real Estate & Economic Development
• Employment, Labor & Benefits
• Environmental
• Land Use

Procurement, Litigation & Construction

In their capacities as solicitors, lawyers in Babst Calland’s Public Sector Services Group confront public bidding and procurement issues on a regular basis.   In the first instance, these questions are governed by the various municipal codes applicable to the particular type of public entity.  However, our lawyers are trained to recognize the common issues that go beyond the express language of the statute in question, and that may be apparent only from having a working knowledge of the appellate court decisions establishing non-statutory exceptions to the public bid laws on such questions as (1) is this an emergency?; (2) is this a “professional service"?; and (3) is this a patented sole source item?  We also regularly address public client inquiries regarding whether a bid is “responsive" and whether a bidder is “responsible."

Our lawyers are trained to recognize the common issues that go beyond the express language of the statute in question.

Babst Calland lawyers work with our fellow professionals, particularly engineers, in drafting contract specifications, bid instructions and advertisements.  This requires knowledge of the relevant municipal and authority codes and such generally applicable statutes as the Public Works Contractors’ Bond Law, the Commonwealth Procurement Code, the Separations Act, the Mechanics’ Lien Law and the Prevailing Wage Law.

However, this is only the starting point for our Public Sector Services Group lawyers. They also are trained to provide practical and creative advice to our public sector clients on the structuring of bid documents, in order to maximize flexibility and economic benefits for our clients and the public which they serve.

Babst Calland’s lawyers also represent owners, contractors and construction professionals in virtually all types of construction and contracting litigation matters.  Our lawyers have experience with contract disputes and payment claims, payment and performance bond claims, bid disputes (including emergency injunction hearings), delay, acceleration and inefficiency claims, errors and omissions design claims and warranty claims and disputes.   Our lawyers have litigated, arbitrated and mediated construction disputes before a wide range of courts, arbitration panels and private mediators.  In addition, we regularly review contracts and subcontracts from a litigation-exposure perspective, and counsel clients regarding the relative merits of potential claims and the pros and cons of pursuing litigation to enforce a construction contract.

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Real Estate & Economic Development

• Acquisition, disposition, development and operation of diverse properties, including industrial facilities, mixed use developments, brownfield sites, office buildings, shopping centers and apartment complexes;
• Condemnation/eminent domain and “in lieu of" transactions for fee simple, easements, rights-of-way and other property interests. Our goal is to achieve a fair and amicable settlement without trial, but if litigation becomes necessary, we have the experience to work with appraisers and other consultants through the administrative and judicial processes to achieve a favorable result for our clients;
• Commercial leasing, representing both owners and tenants;
• Title insurance; and
• Right of way acquisition for utilities and public projects.

We advise our clients on such diverse development matters as municipal development agreements, impact fees, building codes, and accessibility matters, occupancy certificates, historic preservation and tax-advantaged trade zones.  Our lawyers have tackled innovative financing and land use concepts to facilitate large scale commercial and economic development projects. These include arranging and implementing financing through tax abatement programs, transportation development districts, neighborhood improvement districts, tax increment financing and transportation impact fees.  We have assisted our clients in obtaining infrastructure development and remediation grants and low interest financing from public and private sources.  We serve as outside counsel to some of the largest industrial development agencies and corporations in the region on acquisition, financing and development of both greenfield and brownfield sites.

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Employment, Labor & Benefits

The Employment and Labor Services (“E&LS") lawyers at Babst Calland provide counsel and representation to clients in every facet of the employment relationship, from pre-hire through termination.  Babst Calland’s E&LS lawyers provide advice to prevent employment problems from arising, and to effectively resolve those which do occur.

Employment Counseling & Representation

Our lawyers counsel public sector employers on the full range of issues affecting the workplace.  From pre-employment inquiries and physical examinations to application of laws and regulations governing the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act, our lawyers have handled virtually every personnel issue a public employer might confront.  They are experienced at representing their clients in cases involving claims of discrimination, whether those claims involve allegations of sexual or other harassment or allegations of wrongful termination, on the basis of race or another protected trait.  The lawyers can take the case from the initial response to the anti-discrimination agency through trial of the action in state or federal court.  Regardless of the nature of the claim, however, one principle remains paramount:  to provide our clients with the full range of options available to address a situation and the most cost-effective solution to the personnel problem.

Labor Contract Negotiations, Contract Administration & Labor Law Representation

Labor contracts are the basis of a host of problems and opportunities in any organized workforce, and our lawyers regularly negotiate them for private and public clients.  They are familiar with the common pitfalls and unique circumstances confronted by the employer facing an expiring labor agreement.  They have served clients both as chief spokesperson and as a member of the bargaining team to provide legal and practical insight into issues arising at the negotiating table, with a sensitivity to preserving and enhancing management’s ability to direct the workforce.  Once the contract is finalized, our lawyers are frequently called upon to provide ongoing labor contract administration by advising clients on issues of contractual interpretation, responding to grievances and arbitrating contractual disputes.  These activities are frequently performed in conjunction with employment counseling services, since it is typical for labor contract matters of “just cause" to also involve issues arising under any number of federal and state laws.  Finally, if the claim is made that the employer has violated its bargaining obligation to the union, our lawyers have prepared and successfully defended such claims before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

Mediation & Dispute Resolution Services

Our lawyers are equipped to meet your alternative dispute resolution (ADR) needs, whether as an advocate or as a neutral.  Our lawyers have training and are experienced as mediators, arbitrators and advocates in ADR, whether before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the American Arbitration Association or privately.

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Environmental

Babst Calland provides a valuable resource for public and private sector clients facing environmental and health and safety issues.  We have 15 lawyers in our Environmental Health and Safety Services Group who practice environmental regulatory law exclusively, one of the largest staffs of regulatory lawyers in the tri-state region.  Each lawyer has developed subspecialties such as water quality/wastewater discharges, stormwater, sewage facilities planning and permitting, hazardous and solid waste management, spill reporting, natural resources development, site investigation and remediation and community right-to-know.  Our firm is listed in the top tier for its Pennsylvania environmental practice in Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and six of our lawyers are listed individually as top environmental lawyers in the Chambers USA directory as well as in the Best Lawyers in America for environmental law.  We also have several lawyers in our Litigation Services Group who concentrate on environmental litigation and several lawyers in our Business Services Group focus their practices on environmental transactions.

Babst Calland currently serves as solicitor for the largest public sanitary authority in western Pennsylvania and as special environmental counsel to other sanitary authorities.

In recent years, the number of environmental laws and regulations applicable to local political subdivisions and municipal authorities has increased dramatically.  Babst Calland lawyers are positioned to service the needs of our public sector clients in this increasingly complex and expanding area of the law. The firm currently serves as solicitor for the largest public sanitary authority in western Pennsylvania and as special environmental counsel to other sanitary authorities. Babst Calland lawyers also act as special counsel to western Pennsylvania regional development authorities and industrial development corporations on a wide range of environmental issues including brownfield redevelopment.  We routinely counsel municipalities and authorities on managing stormwater, planning for sewage facilities and growth, protecting wetlands, drafting ordinances relating to environmental matters, and applying for funding for public projects.

The extent and range of experience levels within our group also distinguish Babst Calland’s environmental, health and safety practitioners from those in other firms. Many of our lawyers have more than 20 years of environmental experience.  These lawyers have had the benefit of participating in the development of the primary federal and state statutory and regulatory programs, giving them a fundamental understanding of how these environmental programs apply to the firm's broad spectrum of public and private clients.  Our lawyers participated in the initial implementation of, and challenge to, key provisions of what have become today's air, water and waste regulatory programs.  Many of our lawyers have undergraduate and graduate degrees in environmental science or engineering, which help them to solve complex environmental problems and work with and coordinate the efforts of consultants and scientists.

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Land Use

Babst Calland lawyers advise our municipal clients on both the routine and the complex.  On a daily basis we counsel local land use officials on the processing of building, grading, occupancy and zoning permits and zoning, subdivision, building and property maintenance code enforcement matters.  We also regularly advise them on large subdivision, planned residential, commercial and residential developments. 

Our lawyers have successfully defended, as both solicitor and special counsel, municipal ordinances from exclusionary zoning and other substantive validity challenges, and have obtained for our municipal clients favorable results in litigation involving controversial uses ranging from telecommunications towers to group homes to quarries. 

In keeping with our proactive philosophy, Babst Calland’s Public Sector Services Group lawyers draft land use ordinance amendments, and, where appropriate, entirely new zoning and subdivision and land development ordinances, in order to preempt potential litigation.

Using the knowledge and experience we have gained representing public entities, our lawyers are able to effectively guide developers through the myriad of zoning, subdivision and land development, stormwater management, grading, and other local regulations governing land development activities.   In the first instance, we strive to obtain for our clients the necessary local governmental approvals in the most expeditious, cost-effective and amicable fashion possible.  However, where opposition has stymied our clients’ development efforts, we have successfully obtained court adjudications as varied as “deemed approvals" of development applications,   a monetary judgment for violation of the Federal civil rights laws and a ruling permitting the expansion of a non-conforming commercial office building.

Lawyers in Babst Calland’s Public Sector Services Group are officers and participants in numerous bar and municipal associations, and speak frequently to these associations on land use related matters at seminars and conferences.  Babst Calland’s lawyers served on the advisory committee with respect to implementation of the Commonwealth’s “growing greener" legislation. Babst Calland lawyers also regularly participate in instructional programs for newly elected public officials on multi-municipal planning and other land use matters.

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