Whether we are serving as Village Attorney to handle day-to-day municipal matters or whether we are retained as special counsel to handle a specific complex matter, the Schain Banks local government practice group counsels local governments on a wide range of legal issues, exercising our experience with the private and public sector to provide our local government clients with the advice they need to advance their goals.
Our attorneys understand the dynamics of the day-to-day operations of a local government and the many roles and responsibilities required of its corporation counsel. Our responsibilities have included advising mayors, elected boards and managers and staff on problems and addressing issues to ensure effective and efficient operations of the local government.
The wide range of issues that arise include, but are not limited to, legislation, land use issues, civil rights, condemnation, contract disputes, construction defects, intergovernmental agreements, property acquisitions, transportation, liquor licensing, environmental remediation, water and sewer agreements, Open Meetings Act issues, Freedom of Information Act requests, drafting of municipal codes and text amendments, and Federal, State and local statutory interpretations. Our attorneys also work with local governments on writing, reviewing, and defending zoning ordinances and on drafting and negotiating annexation agreements.
The Schain Banks local government practice group provides counsel on special municipal financing incentive techniques, such as tax increment financing (TIF) districts, business districts, and special service areas (SSA).
Our attorneys represent a number of local governments on sales tax issues. Our representation has included the drafting of sales tax laws and working with legislators and state legislative staff on sales tax issues that affect units of local government. We work with local governmental staff and elected officials to help them better understand the impact of changes in the tax laws on local government budgets.
Schain Banks’ local government attorneys serve as corporation counsel to several entities and have been retained by numerous governmental agencies to serve as special counsel on a variety of issues, including legislative initiatives.