Our firm represents clients in land use and environmental cases in administrative agencies in Maryland and Washington, D.C., Maryland’s trial and appellate courts, the federal trial courts in Maryland, the federal appellate court in Richmond, and appellate courts in Washington, D.C. Mr. Nelson has been recognized as a Maryland “Super Lawyer” in the area of Environmental Litigation since 2015. Mr. Nelson’s associate Grant Giel graduated from Cornell Law School in 2018 and joined the firm in June 2019, and is a Maryland “Rising Star” in the area of Land Use/Zoning. Mr. Nelson’s associate Alex Votaw graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 2021 and joined the firm in November 2021, and is a Maryland "Rising Star" in the area of Environmental Law.
RECENT MAJOR VICTORIES
February 15, 2024 – The firm opposed the installation of a storage facility next to residential properties in Carroll County. We successfully caused the applicant to withdraw their development plans and lobbied for legislation, enacted in February 2024, that limited the height of future storage facility installations.
2022 and 2023 – The firm has recently negotiated multiple high-value settlements throughout the state of Maryland involving industrial developments, and in doing so has protected the interests of many affected homeowners.
November 29, 2023 – The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled against the approval of an Amazon development in Charles County in Elbert v. Charles County Planning Commission, expanding the state's jurisprudence on administrative articulation.
September 29, 2023 – The Anne Arundel County Administrative Hearing Officer, and subsequently the county Board of Appeals, ruled against the proposal for a Rifle, Pistol, Skeet, and Archery Range on property located between a children's baseball field and a private school.
May 1, 2023 – The Howard County Circuit Court upheld the Howard County Zoning Board's denial of a developer’s Request for Amendment of the Columbia-New Town Preliminary Development Plan for a Major Village Redevelopment.
February 25, 2022 – The Appellate Court of Maryland (then known as the Court of Special Appeals) struck down a Howard County council bill, CB‑9, in Howard County v. McClain, on the grounds that it constituted an illegal special law.