The land development process in Frederick County and its municipalities has become increasingly complex and adversarial as the County's population continues to grow and the state continues to extend and expand its participation and control into the historically local areas zoning, development and land use. Many long-standing zoning and land use regulations are being rewritten with greater detail, complexity, regulation and expansion of governmental authority in land use matters. The struggle between government regulation and private property rights is increasing in intensity with governments becoming increasingly more willing to exercise downzoning, "Use it or Lose it", and moratorium authority to stop or slow growth. Citizens organizations opposed to growth and development are well pervasive throughout the County, well organized and funded, active and willing to challenge land use decisions administratively or through the court system. Environmental regulations, adequate public facility laws, and other growth related legislation has transformed many routine administrative hearings on land use applications into major confrontations requiring the assistance of legal counsel. This atmosphere has also placed a premium upon obtaining land use approvals and building permits within reasonable periods of time and that will withstand administrative and judicial review. The function of legal counsel in the land use process is to work closely with the development team and the government staff to fully prepare the land use application for presentation to the administrative body and to advocate for the client for the success of that application.
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A form contract is fine as long as the parties get along perfectly, no disagreements or disputes arise, the title is good and marketable, the property condition is good, and the closing timely occurs with the seller satisfied with the price received and the purchaser satisfied with the price paid and the property purchased. Unfortunately, this rarely, if ever occurs. However, in a residential real estate transaction, the local association of realtors has developed a form contract that is used in all residential transactions in which member brokers are involved and this form is generally fair to both the seller and the purchaser. However, there is information in that form that needs to be properly completed, so you should have an attorney review the contract and any addendums before signing it. In a commercial transaction, a form should never be used. The contract should be drafted by your attorney and tailored to the specifics of the transaction and with maximum protection of your interests as either the purchaser or seller.
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Depending on the circumstances of the representation, the firm typically does charge for initial consultations with clients. The initial consultation charge depends on the lawyers involved in the consultation. A typical fee would be $250 for a one-hour consultation.
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The firm typically does not handle criminal matters, divorce or other domestic relations disputes.
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Yes. The firm typically executes a standard retainer agreement with its clients. The standard retainer agreement describes the firm's services and sets forth the terms of the firm's representation including the hourly rates charged by the attorneys, the firm's charges for litigation related expenses, and the initial retainer requirements.
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Due to the nature of the disputes and the type of litigation involved, most of the firm's representation of clients is on an hourly rate basis. Depending on the circumstances of an individual case, the firm will undertake representation on a contingency fee basis.
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