Client Examples
I recently led an effort to advocate for a client whose business was in the process of losing their license to operate resulting from a dispute with the local fire chief and codes officer. My client did not have a relationship with anyone in municipal government and little expertise in how to communicate with elected and appointed officials.
The city council had voted twice to not renew my clients operating license and we faced one final vote. I worked with my client to identify each of the critical issues of concern to the municipality, assess what needed to be done to satisfy their concerns and agree on a price tag we would be willing to accept to resolve the issues.
Prior to the final council vote, I drafted a letter for my client to send to council members which included an analysis of the key issue in dispute, our commitment to fixing the fire and code concerns and our sincere regret over past misunderstandings and communication lapses.
The Council voted unanimously to give my client a 30- day extension on their operating license/permits which provided the opportunity to work with the fire chief and codes officer on a plan to resolve the issues. We were able to keep the doors open and establish working relationships with key city leaders going forward.
I have a client in the engineering space who has twenty-five offices across the country with 1200 professionals serving many businesses including developers, major utilities, pharmaceutical companies and other sectors of the economy. My role is business development- creating opportunities for my client to meet decision makers in major corporations.
I recently organized a meeting with a global airline company to discuss how my client works with airport authorities and the airline industry around the country on facility expansions, environmental remediation, compliance and other matters.
Our Zoom call included ten leaders at the airline and six leaders from my client’s organization. We were able to review key challenges faced by the airline and where we could be helpful. We spoke to the right people, and we know that this is the beginning of a relationship my client had been unable to ignite over the last several years.
Another client is a national developer/builder of housing and has constructed and managed 10,000 housing units around the country over the last decade. The company is working to build a 100 unit apartment complex on a site which will require environmental remediation and ultimately agreement with the municipality on issues including underground parking, requirements for affordable units, height, and other issues. I am working closely with the local mayor and have advised my client on selection of attorneys, engineers and architects who will be part of our team. My client will soon be selected as the “redeveloper” of the site by the town council.