Adam E. Laver

Adam E. Laver
Partner
Real Estate

Biography

Adam Laver is a partner in the firm’s real estate practice where he advises clients on matters related to real estate development, zoning and land use, and real property tax minimization. He works regularly with elected officials throughout the Philadelphia area and with key municipal agencies, including the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, and the Streets Department.

He works with these agencies to obtain zoning, use, building, and related permits for both regional and national developers, owners, and users of real estate.  

Adam also represents taxpayers in connection with real estate tax exemption, abatement, and market-value assessment appeals before the Board of Revision of Taxes and other boards of assessment appeals.

Chambers USA has recognized Adam in the field of real estate, zoning, and land use, noting that he has been praised by clients and peers as “very client-focused and a class act,” and “someone who is always fully prepared … [who] understands the law and respects the processes.” A client shared, “Adam is my go-to person on any legal advice because his very steady demeanor is always reassuring.” Another Chambers source stated that he “is incredibly responsive and knowledgeable … and he works incredibly hard.”

Experience

Adam represents real estate owners, developers, and stakeholders on a broad range of local and national transactions. His representative experience includes the following:

  • A national real estate investment firm, in extensive, high-profile, mixed-use redevelopments throughout Philadelphia.
  • A well-known restaurant chain, in obtaining zoning and related approvals for its restaurants in Philadelphia’s Center City District.
  • A hotel developer, in securing approvals and financing for new Philadelphia-area hotels.
  • A regional real estate developer, as land use counsel in connection with its multi-family development projects throughout the Philadelphia area.
  • A national luxury home builder, in securing significant tax savings in connection with real estate tax abatements and assessment appeals.
  • A hotel chain, as liquor license counsel in securing licensure from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

News & Views

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Recognitions

  • First Judicial District of Pennsylvania’s Pro Bono Honor Roll and has received pro bono service awards since the inception of the Honor Roll in 2006
  • AV Preeminent®, listed in Martindale-Hubbell®
  • 2023–2025, Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law in Philadelphia, listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2021–2024, Band 1: Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use Law, listed in Chambers USA
  • 2024, Israel Bonds Philadelphia’s Legal & Financial Services Division Award
  • 2018, Best of the Bar Award, by Philadelphia Business Journal
  • 2015, Benjamin F. Levy Community Service Award by the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society for “sustained commitment to serving the legal and broader community”
  • 2008, “Lawyers on the Fast Track,” listed in the Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly, a designation given to only 35 lawyers throughout the Commonwealth under the age of 40 determined to have influenced the legal community
  • 2008, National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s MS Leadership Award.
  • 2008, Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies’ Distinguished Service & Leadership Award
  • 2007, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Young Leadership Award
  • 2007, Jewish Business Network’s “Lights of Tomorrow” Award

Affiliations

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
Professional Activities

Adam is general counsel to the Committee of Seventy and serves on its executive committee and board of directors. He is also a founding member of the Urban Land Institute’s Philadelphia Housing Council. Adam serves as an investigator in the Investigative Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, which helps to set standards for judicial service on Philadelphia’s Common Pleas and Municipal Courts and, by communicating its findings to the public, helps to ensure an informed electorate.

Adam is a past chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and currently serves on the boards of directors of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society and its Foundation. Adam also serves on the regional boards of directors of the State of Israel Bonds and Jewish National Fund. He is a past chairman of the Board of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia and is on the boards of directors and trustees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court - New Jersey
  • Supreme Court of New Jersey
  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Education

  • Columbia University, BA
  • Rutgers University School of Law, Newark, JD

A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.

No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

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