Michael is a Partner at Nelson Mullins' Fort Lauderdale office. He is a land use attorney and planning consultant with an educational and professional background in law, engineering, and business administration. He represents private and public sector clients, including property owners, developers, financial institutions, title companies, and large institutional entities such as hospitals and universities, municipalities, and counties in land use, planning, and real estate matters.
Michael advises private sector clients regarding property acquisition, due diligence, and development yield analysis; title examination; analysis and review of restrictive covenants; and the preparation and review of purchase and lease agreements. He provides guidance and advice throughout the development planning and entitlement process on matters that include large-scale master plans, developments of regional impact, site plans, plats, zoning code and map amendments, comprehensive plan amendments, variances, conditional use approvals and development agreements. He appears before county commissions, city councils, community redevelopment agencies, planning and zoning boards, and other permit approval agencies in securing such approvals. He has also served as counsel of record or expert witness in land use and real estate litigation matters, such as certiorari review of local government land use decisions, constitutional due process, takings and other property rights claims, state and federal environmental claims, zoning code enforcement actions, actions to quiet title and release properties from restrictive covenants or other encumbrances, as well as landlord-tenant disputes.
In the public realm, he has worked closely with local governments in developing and drafting comprehensive plans, special purpose plans, zoning codes, and other land development regulations. He has also represented local governments in defending comprehensive plans and land development regulations against both judicial and administrative challenges.
