Before opening an art supply business in 2012 I worked as a state and local government attorney for about five years and specialized in zoning and related issues like eminent domain and affordable housing. I still work as a freelance legal writer and consultant, and I’m proud to announce my two latest legal achievements:
First, I have a new law review article (In the Zone of Fire by Amy M Lavine) that discusses zoning restrictions on shooting ranges and gun shops, covering various state and local law issues as well as constitutional concerns regarding the right to bear arms. Although this is my first article dealing with the Second Amendment, it continues a long-held interest of mine in zoning for controversial land uses, like payday lenders, student housing, and formula businesses, which I’ve written about before.
Second, I was interviewed by the Syracuse Post-Standard about the proposed merger between Syracuse and Onondaga County. There are tons of issues to be worked out if the city-county consolidation is approved, like the exact form the consolidated government would take and the procedural requirements for the mayor, the common council, and the state legislature. As the article explains: “Would the state require a home rule message from the city council before it reduced Syracuse to a mere ‘shell’ of a city? That's hard to predict, said lawyer Amy M Lavine, who researched municipal consolidation in 2007 while she was a staff attorney at the Government Law Center of Albany Law School.”
First, I have a new law review article (In the Zone of Fire by Amy M Lavine) that discusses zoning restrictions on shooting ranges and gun shops, covering various state and local law issues as well as constitutional concerns regarding the right to bear arms. Although this is my first article dealing with the Second Amendment, it continues a long-held interest of mine in zoning for controversial land uses, like payday lenders, student housing, and formula businesses, which I’ve written about before.
Second, I was interviewed by the Syracuse Post-Standard about the proposed merger between Syracuse and Onondaga County. There are tons of issues to be worked out if the city-county consolidation is approved, like the exact form the consolidated government would take and the procedural requirements for the mayor, the common council, and the state legislature. As the article explains: “Would the state require a home rule message from the city council before it reduced Syracuse to a mere ‘shell’ of a city? That's hard to predict, said lawyer Amy M Lavine, who researched municipal consolidation in 2007 while she was a staff attorney at the Government Law Center of Albany Law School.”