We assist with governance, legislative formation, board configuration, policy development, program planning and implementation, transactions, financing matters, real property management and disposition, fiscal matters, bidding and procurement procedures, audit control, audit implementation, labor and employment issues, counseling zoning and land use boards, as well as general litigation.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys have extensive litigation and appellate experience in federal and state courts and handle virtually any type of dispute. Our attorneys have represented municipalities and agencies in countless claims, including tort liability, municipal liability, administrative proceedings, New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) proceedings, zoning and land use matters, Article 78 proceedings, §1983 civil rights matters involving police departments, sheriff’s departments, county jails, and district attorney’s offices, construction disputes and contractual matters.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys have vast experience in the areas of land use, zoning and development, real property acquisition and financing, architectural and construction contracting, public works projects, municipal law and leasing. Particularly with municipal clients, an understanding of community dynamics is important. We assist municipalities in forming and amending their comprehensive land use plans and zoning legislation, and counsel legislative boards, planning boards, zoning boards, architectural review boards and various appointed boards and commissions in all areas of land use and zoning law, New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA).

Additionally, as zoning and development counsel to property developers, the firm is available to assist, as needed, in all phases of a project, including all aspects of site acquisitions (which can be done by negotiated purchase or government assisted condemnation), financing for the project (which may include conventional construction and permanent mortgage loans or lease financing), negotiation of agreements with architects, engineers, general contractors and/or construction managers, negotiation of leases and assistance in the local government land use approval processes, including zoning, site plan, subdivision and environmental approvals.

Harris Beach Murtha assists municipalities with exercising their condemnation powers governed by New York’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law. Harris Beach Murtha has broad experience in condemnation proceedings and coordinating public hearings, arbitrating disputes, building coalitions, providing real property valuation and serving as litigation counsel when needed.

We represent a variety of clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, leasing and financing of property. This includes purchase and sale agreements, easements, licenses and access agreements, zoning, land use and development approvals, architectural and construction contracting, joint ventures, financing packages, equity and syndications, and the formation of the appropriate entity structures to implement transactions.

We negotiate agreements with architects, engineers, construction managers and contractors. We also provide services related to contract administration, assisting with claims, litigation and arbitration, bid process and contests, mechanic’s liens, surety claims, payment and performance bond claims, insurance, labor disputes and contract rights analyses.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys are highly experienced in the administration and capture of business/developer tax incentives. We work on complex projects at the state and federal levels involving taxable and tax-exempt bond financing, Payment-in-Lieu-of-Tax (PILOT) Increment Financing, Tax Increment Financing, Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credit, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Empowerment Zone Incentives, Renewal Community Incentives and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits.

We represent municipalities throughout New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other states on a full range of matters. We have served as general obligation bond counsel to municipalities, school districts, special improvement districts and fire districts. We also counsel local and state financing authorities and industrial development agencies (IDAs) on their economic development initiatives. In addition, our public finance attorneys serve as counsel to underwriters in relation to bond and note issues of municipalities, school districts and authorities.

We provide counsel on debt limitation, reserve requirements, issuance authority, disclosure requirements, rating agency concerns,

Harris Beach Murtha is listed as a recognized bond counsel firm in the “Municipal Bond Attorneys” section of The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace and has rendered opinions in thousands of transactions involving in excess of $100 billion.

Governmental and quasi-governmental agencies offer economic development incentives to attract business activity and development growth, create and retain employment, encourage investment and revitalize distressed districts or regions. Harris Beach Murtha helps municipalities, along with private sector companies, not-for-profit organizations, industrial development agencies (IDAs) and local development corporations (LDCs) deploy, and participate in, economic development incentive programs.

Our attorneys and non-legal economic development professionals leverage their government experience to help identify, secure and manage local, state and federal incentives in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and around the nation. We provide ongoing advice on reimbursable capital expenditures, long-term bonding and methods of minimizing or eliminating negative arbitrage.

Harris Beach Murtha represents Community Development Entities (CDEs), project borrowers, investors, leveraged lenders and other participants in all aspects of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. Our attorneys have closed NMTC transactions aggregating hundreds of millions of dollars of both Qualified Equity Investment (QEI) and Qualified Low-Income Community Investment (QLICI) transactions, supporting billions of dollars of development project costs.

This wealth of experience with all sides of NMTC transactions gives our attorneys insight into the competing interests and transactional issues that typically arise in structuring and closing NMTC transactions. We assist NMTC participants in creating innovative investment and development strategies to use this credit in combination with other tax incentives to achieve their community, business development and investment goals.

Our transaction-level experience includes structuring of NMTC enhanced financings, coordinating related capitalization sources and coupling these transactions with other incentives, including historic tax credits. We also provide in-house training on program compliance and the nuances of NMTC-financed underwriting.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys represent a diverse group of clients, including municipalities, Fortune 100 corporations, privately held businesses, public benefit corporations and not-for-profit organizations, with energy-related projects.

We help secure project funding, maximize renewable and alternative energy incentive programs and ensure compliance with evolving state and federal energy regulations. Representative clients in the public sector include local governments, public benefit corporations, municipal distribution agencies, and Local Development Corporations (LDCs) and industrial development agencies (IDAs) involved in the generation, transmission, purchase and sale of conventional and alternative energy.

Our work includes development, permitting and financing matters involving both conventional and alternative energy production facilities – such as solar, ethanol, biodiesel, biogas and wind facilities.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys provide legal counsel to municipalities and public benefit corporations on a broad range of environmental law issues. We advise clients on the responsibilities, exposures and liabilities that result from federal, state and local environmental legislation and regulations. We guide clients through environmental impact review processes under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA). We also handle regulatory issues relating to land use, hazardous substances and asbestos.

Our proven track record includes helping municipalities maximize brownfield site redevelopment opportunities. We work with municipalities to identify specific development opportunities and counsel on the acquisition, disposition, remediation and financing of brownfield remediation and redevelopment projects.

Our comprehensive approach to municipal brownfield planning and project implementation blends federal, state and local economic incentive programs and coordinates efforts for remediation and redevelopment to achieve community and stakeholder objectives in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Harris Beach Murtha takes a comprehensive and strategic approach to brownfield site acquisition, remediation and redevelopment. Through the strategic blending of federal, state and local economic incentive programs that spur investment, our attorneys assist with the remediation of contaminated property with safeguards to protect public health, producing aesthetically pleasing redevelopment projects and creating thriving businesses contributing new tax revenue.

Our attorneys assist the private and public sector with mixed-use, retail, residential, office, community park complex and other redevelopment projects. Whether the issues involve soil concerns, groundwater concerns, asbestos, reporting obligations, site access, the balancing and allocating of remedial costs and potential liabilities, financing, public infrastructure needs or marketing an economic or community development opportunity, we take pride in finding proven Brownfield site solutions.

The Public Authority Accountability Act (PAAA), Procurement Lobbying Act, Public Employees Ethics Reform Act (PERA), Public Authorities Reform Act (PARA), Public Integrity Reform Act (PIRA) and many state regulatory acts are among the statutes governing how municipalities and other local agencies conduct business.

Harris Beach Murtha’s attorneys counsel municipal, agency and authority clients on compliance and public oversight, with specific guidance on organizational and operational issues, including governance, ethics, freedom of information law, open meetings law, procurements, property dispositions and compliance reporting requirements.

Our attorneys also assist with legislative formation, board configuration, policy development, program planning and implementation, financing matters, real property management and disposition, contracting, fiscal matters, bidding and procurement procedures, audit control and audit implementation.

Local governments are often one of their region’s largest employers. With one of the most active labor law practices in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, Harris Beach Murtha handles all aspects of labor and employment law and litigation for management, including collective bargaining, negotiations, union organizing, labor contract administration, employment discrimination, employee benefits, occupational health and safety and personnel policies.

Our attorneys have extensive trial experience with all types of discrimination claims, including age, gender, sexual harassment, national origin, race, religion and disability matters. Just as important, we partner with you to help prevent issues, claims and conflicts by developing sound policy, delivering training and strengthening positions at the bargaining table.

The fair market value of real estate is a crucial issue for municipalities concerned about the loss of tax revenue. Harris Beach Murtha attorneys recognize the high stakes in the valuation of real property.

We provide our municipal clients with knowledgeable and aggressive representation in tax assessment disputes and condemnation proceedings, whether bringing parties together to negotiate settlements or litigating the matter in court in tax certiorari or other proceedings. We also provide “of counsel” services to municipal attorneys.

Our work includes tax assessment disputes, where we provide an initial evaluation of the merits of the potential claim and offer guidance in negotiations to resolve the dispute, assistance in the selection of appraisers and advise on potential acquisitions and dispositions relative to real property tax issues.

We also handle condemnation proceedings, working with the condemning authority to define the scope of the project, publish required notices and, if needed, represent the condemning authority against challenges of determinations and findings.

Many municipalities, local agencies and similar organizations apply for grants to maximize funding options for projects or other needs. Harris Beach Murtha provides comprehensive grant writing services, including planning, data and resource research, proposal writing, packaging, submission and follow-up.

Harris Beach Murtha attorneys and professionals have wide-ranging experience with intergovernmental affairs, municipal privatization and grant administration on the federal, state and local levels. We administer grant and loan programs through the federal Economic Development Administration, the Empire State Development Corporation and its Restore New York Communities Initiative, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the New York Governor’s Office for Small Cities and the Community Development Block Grant program. We also coordinate and administer grants through New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program and the Environmental Quality Bond Act.

Experienced Harris Beach Murtha attorneys for years have counseled local municipalities and agencies on a number of matters and understand the challenges they face on a regular basis. Our attorneys and consulting professionals help municipalities improve organizational structure, communication and overall management with the goal of eliminating redundancies and cutting operational costs to deliver better government service to the public.

We support our municipal clients with strategic and analytical advice aimed at achieving greater operational efficiencies. This includes formulating and implementing such measures as inter-municipal agreements, shared services and staff arrangements, early retirement programs, functional consolidations and the privatization of municipal services.

Municipalities and local agencies are often targeted by cyber criminals. Harris Beach Murtha offers a dynamic combination of legal and technical support to protect digital assets and business interests, as well as a rapid response team in the event of a cybersecurity breach.

Our cybersecurity team provides a full range of data privacy and cybersecurity services: compliance counseling and legal risk assessment, guidance on following the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) protocols and other state and federal regulations, defense in litigation and investigations, and rapid response in the event of breaches. Our attorneys, along with our information security and communications professionals, partner with you to reduce risk and defend your data.

Harris Beach Murtha established our First Response Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Team recognizing that, in the event of a catastrophe, response time is critical to manage liability exposure. This team also helps clients prepare detailed emergency plans to mitigate risk before a crisis occurs. Our team is available to help with evidence preservation all the way through the post-disaster investigation. Our 24-hour, on-the-scene legal guidance provides the insight, perspective, experience and required coordination to manage critical legal issues, as well as media coverage that could expose your organization to significant liability and reputational damage.