Ben Emerson practices in the areas of local government, finance, land use and commercial real estate. As a member of Sands Anderson's three person Board of Directors, he is actively engaged in the governing and management of the firm.  He is a member of Sands Anderson's local government practice group and acts as County Attorney to Caroline County and Assistant County Attorney to several other counties in central Virginia, to whom he provides advice on contract, procurement, zoning and land use, tax-exempt financing, economic development and Virginia Freedom of Information Act issues. 

He frequently assists the firm's government clients in financing equipment and infrastructure needs through lease-purchase and tax-exempt financings, as well as in solving cash-flow problems through short-term revenue anticipation financings.

Ben has represented localities in acquiring land and obtaining tax-exempt financing for courthouses, fire and rescue facilities, landfills and public school expansion projects. In addition to financing governmental projects, he has represented issuers and underwriters in private activity and other bond financings throughout Virginia, including such diverse financings as the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, a motorcycle sidecar manufacturing facility in Nelson County and the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy.

Ben advises Sand Anderson's governmental clients on a variety of zoning and subdivision issues including:

Interpretation of state and local land use laws

Cash and non-cash proffers

Special Exception permits

Nonconforming uses

Vested rights

Subdivision requirements

His commercial real estate experience includes many years of representing financial institutions in financing the development of  office, retail and industrial projects throughout Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. His peers named him in Virginia Business' 2007 "Legal Elite."

Ben is a past President and former member of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Club of Richmond, a past President of the Central Virginia Investment Council and a former member of the Board of Directors of the City of Richmond's Alternative Dispute Resolution Center. He is an active member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church where he serves on the vestry and chaired the Every Member Canvas. He continues to sing in the choir and to chair the annual parish retreat. For many years, he has worked with the Boy Scout Troop sponsored by the church in a leadership role, served on the troop committee, and led the troop's annual fundraising efforts. He is on the state council of the Society of Colonial Wars in Virginia and a member of the Children of the American Revolution.

Articles

Nuances of Real  Estate  Acquisitions and  Conveyances by  Local Governments, Journal of Local Government Law, March 2001