Debra Herman, Section Head
The Real Estate, Facilities, Recreation and Culture Section provides legal advice to assist the County in navigating a broad range of real estate and property development matters. Our uniquely multidisciplinary real estate and facilities team handles all aspects of real estate transactions, including due diligence, title issues, financing, land use, and environmental matters. We have provided counsel in development projects ranging from major public facilities such as stadiums, shopping centers, and industrial distribution facilities, to leases and conveyances for community interest projects, libraries, and parks. Our highly accessible team provides day-to-day guidance to assist in the handling of the County's extensive real estate portfolio, including routinely rendering advice on hundreds of leases, covenants, and contracts.
We are not only transactional attorneys, but also litigators who handle extensive and complex real estate litigation, including disputes arising from transactions and quiet title actions. The team has successfully recovered substantial sums of money for outstanding County liens in tax deed litigation. Our eminent domain group has successfully acquired property required for vital County projects, including the creation and expansion of highways, bridges, rail, and public facilities. Our involvement does not begin in the courtroom, but rather at the inception of a County project, providing counsel for pre-condemnation planning and design to promote cost savings and assistance with legal issues arising from negotiations for property acquisition. Our lawyers also provide counsel involving a broad array of issues arising from the functioning of the County's governmental facilities. Our experienced and highly specialized attorneys handle complex litigation, regulatory issues, and transactional matters for several County departments, including Water and Sewer, Animal Services, and Solid Waste. This representation involves all levels of advocacy, from administrative to state to federal tribunals. Our services are diverse, ranging from the enforcement of animal welfare laws to protect animals and promote animal services, to hands-on assistance serving the broad spectrum of legal needs of one of the largest water and sewer utilities in the United States. Working collaboratively as a team, we share the common goal of helping to provide vital services to the community in an efficient, effective, and professional manner.
The following are attorneys who specialize in this practice area: