Amanda Lafferty took a somewhat circuitous route to Vermont — via the West Coast, where she grew up and went to college. But when it came time to choose a law school, the prospect of four distinct seasons beckoned. Now, nearly a decade later, she’s found that Vermont’s size and approach to conducting business to be just as big a draw.

As one of the firm's primary points of contact relating to zoning and land use issues, Amanda's role is to represent cities and towns in matters involving land development and the interpretation of zoning ordinances before Vermont's Environmental and Supreme Courts.  In addition, she represents municipalities in other enforcement and civil matters before Vermont's Judicial Bureau and Superior and District Courts. 

Zoning and land use are areas of the law that have become increasingly complex in recent years as the number of procedural and substantive requirements that municipal zoning boards and officials must understand and with which they must comply have multiplied. Amanda sees the daily interactions she has with municipal officials as a way to proactively identify and rapidly resolve issues that may arise in connection with development review proceedings, while helping municipalities fulfill their responsibilities.

In these endeavors, both she and the firm have a unique opportunity to bolster good governance at the local level.

“As a firm, we're at our best when we have the opportunity to interact with our clients on a regular basis.  Not only do these opportunities make it easier for us to get up to speed in a
particular situation, but in many cases we can prevent small problems from becoming large ones that require our full
attention and resources. ”