Owners’ Counsel of America Announces New Directors
News Release from Owners Counsel of America
Attorneys from Alabama and Hawaii have been selected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Owners' Counsel of America, a national organization focused upon defending private property owners in eminent domain, inverse condemnation, regulatory takings and related property rights litigation.
The Owners' Counsel of America, a nationwide network of eminent domain attorneys dedicated to the defense of private property ownership, has elected two new members to its Board of Directors for 2012: Warren C. Herlong, Jr. of Mobile, Alabama and Robert H. Thomas of Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Herlong and Mr. Thomas will serve a three year term and join other practicing eminent domain attorneys from across the country on the Board. Other Board member continuing their terms of service include James L. Thompson of Maryland, Keith M. Babcock of South Carolina, Robert Denlow of Missouri, John Hamilton of Kansas, Edward G. Burg of California and Andrew P. Brigham of Florida, as the association's Moderator.
Warren Herlong is a partner with Helmsing, Leach, Herlong, Newman & Rouse, P.C. in Mobile. His extraordinary career spans more than three decades of law practice with particular focus upon eminent domain, inverse condemnation and land valuation litigation. He has appeared in more than 1,000 hearings, trials and arguments at the State Probate, Circuit and Appellate court levels as well as within the Federal court system. Mr. Herlong frequently lectures, writes and instructs on topics relating to eminent domain, condemnation and land valuation litigation in Alabama and nationwide.
Since 1999, Mr. Herlong has been active in the American Bar Association, holding membership in the Committees on Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use in three ABA Sections: Litigation; Real Property, Probate and Trust; and State and Local Government. From 1999 through 2002, he was Co-Chairman of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Committee on Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use. He is also the Eminent Domain and Condemnation Representative to the Alabama Law Institute’s Real Estate Standby Committee and was influential in drafting proposed changes to Alabama’s 1986 Eminent Domain Code. Among his many honors, Mr. Herlong has been selected for membership in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), the premier organization of U.S. real estate lawyers headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.
Robert Thomas, a Director with Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in Honolulu, concentrates his practice on property and land use issues including eminent domain, regulatory takings, water rights, and voting rights. He has tried cases and appeals in Hawaii, California, and the federal courts, including the Court of Federal Claims. A frequent author of amicus curiae briefs, Mr. Thomas has sought to advance the cause of private property rights in the appellate courts and U.S. Supreme Court. He has authored briefs in support of property owners in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 544 U.S. 528 (2005), and Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, 130 S. Ct. 2592 (2010).
Mr. Thomas is a featured speaker at land use and eminent domain conferences in Hawaii and nationally and he regularly publishes scholarly and practical articles on issues relating to these practice areas. His blog on land use, property, and takings law, inversecondemnation.com, is one of the most widely-read blogs on these subjects. Mr. Thomas currently serves as the Chair of the Condemnation Law Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on State & Local Government Law. He is also the Managing Attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation's Hawaii Center, a public interest legal foundation dedicated to defending private property rights and individual freedom.
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ABOUT OWNERS' COUNSEL OF AMERICA:
The Owners’ Counsel of America is a nationwide network of experienced condemnation attorneys devoted to protecting the rights of private property owners large and small, locally and nationally, and to advancing the cause of property rights. The lawyers affiliated with Owners’ Counsel are in private practice in nearly every state and represent property owners against federal, state, and local governments, utilities, redevelopment authorities and other entities that may be armed with eminent domain power. Additional information about the Owners' Counsel of America is available at http://www.ownerscounsel.com.