Attorneys representing public housing authorities (“PHAs”) must be familiar with the multitude of federal laws, regulations, notices, and policy guide books that govern PHAs, as well as state and local laws that govern the activities of public bodies.
We have provided training seminars for public housing officials at the local, state and national levels on various topics, including, but not limited to: conflicts of interest, open meetings and closed sessions, public records, fiduciary duty, corporate organization, commissioner liability, trespass policies, pet policies, fraud policies, reasonable accommodation policies, common use property policies, grievance processes, Violence against Women Act (“VAWA”), Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (“HERA”), Neighborhood Stabilization Program, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”), low income housing tax credits, municipal finance, mixed-finance developments, Section 8, Moving To Work, smoking bans, federal and state procurement, Rental Assistance Demonstration (“RAD”), FHA insured financings, and executive compensation.
We are legal counsel to dozens of PHAs in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia and as such, we attend working sessions, committee meetings, special board meetings and regular board meetings of our PHA clients and provide advice on a variety of issues on a regular basis.
In addition to reacting to legislative and regulatory changes, we have been involved in several litigation matters related to the procurement of developers, contractors, consultants, and others. We have also defended lawsuits and potential lawsuits against clients alleging discrimination and non-compliance with housing programs.