Mark has practiced as a land use litigator/transactional lawyer for more than forty years. A typical client of Mark’s owns or wishes to develop, litigate, zone or sell a commercial property worth $1,000,000 or more and faces:
Mark has also served as local counsel to the Virginia Department of Transportation in some of the most complex eminent domain litigation. One of Mark’s clients had purchased property for development, only to have the local government acquire the bordering property and then block access to the client’s land. Another was facing litigation over a local government decision to refuse water and sewer service because it disliked the proposed use of the property. Mark has also worked with local governments and HOA’s looking to acquire property for utility easements.
Mark advises clients throughout Northern Virginia and says that development plans which had long been focused on the outer counties is now moving back toward the older close-in suburbs. This leads to entirely new issues as to property valuation.
“The best situation is one where everyone gets along. But disputes test not only different points of view, but often economic interests. The role of a good attorney is to resolve those disputes in the most efficient and least costly way for the client.”
— Mark Moorstein
Mr. Moorstein has done international work in land use (in Cambodia) and business development in Europe (Germany, Holland, Russia). He speaks fluent German and passable Russian and French.