As a professional problem solver, Daniel brings more than a law degree to any matter he takes on. For his corporate clients, it is a drive to understand core business objectives (something he cannot shake from years in sales). For his municipal clients, a multicultural background to see competing viewpoints from all positions. For hospitality clients, the same comfort behind a desk as in the kitchen. For international clients, the understanding needed to bridge cultural and language gaps.

Municipal

Daniel advises municipalities and school districts on a broad array of legal issues. Daniel serves as Solicitor for the Boroughs of Avalon and Ben Avon, and Ross Township Civil Service Commission. He serves as Special Counsel to the Township of Cranberry (Venango County) on zoning and property maintenance code matters. From providing advice at public meetings, drafting complex ordinances that are defensible in court to prosecuting code violations, Daniel believes his role as Solicitor is to help elected and appointed government officials fulfill their official duties and protect their communities.

Corporate and Investment Management

Daniel advises owners of early-stage companies with entity selection and registration, preparing operating agreements for LLCs, LPs, contract drafting and review, raising capital, buy-sell agreements, and other commercial transactions. Daniel’s practice also includes counseling registered investment advisers, national banks, and federal savings institutions on a broad range of regulatory, compliance and transactional matters.

Liquor Licensing

Daniel represents breweries, clubs, hotels, and restaurants with liquor license acquisitions and transfers and understands the local dynamics of inter-municipal transfers. He also advises hospitality clients on complying with liquor regulations and laws and defending protests before the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), and citations by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE).

Prior to entering private practice, Daniel worked as a Judicial Intern for the Hon. David S. Cercone of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; Judicial Intern for the Supreme Court of Costa Rica, and as a Law Clerk for the City of Pittsburgh, Law Department.

Daniel was born in Chicago, IL but raised in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and cannot remember whether he spoke English or Spanish first as a child.

• Provide on-going counsel to municipalities and school districts on issues that arise under the PA Sunshine Act, Ethics Act, Borough Code, Second Class Township Code, Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), Uniform Construction Code (UCC), Right to Know Law, and Public School Code of 1949.
• Provide on-going counsel to regional food and beverage chains and single-location restaurants on a wide array of legal matters, including liquor license transfers, drafting and negotiating commercial leases, vendor contracts, and asset purchase agreements.
• Representation of a second-class township in the prosecution of property maintenance and zoning code enforcement actions from magisterial district courts through appeals to Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court.
• Represented real estate developer in a successful application for a zoning dimensional variance to build a 9,000 square foot grocery store for a national retailer. This representation included negotiating a settlement agreement with neighboring objectors.
• Advised grocery store on ballot referendum question to allow the retail sale of liquor in a “dry” municipality. Following passage of the referendum question, representation included the acquisition and successful transfer of the first retail liquor license to the municipality.
• Represented restaurant in a successful inter-municipal transfer of a retail liquor license to a previously "dry" Borough. This liquor license was the third of its kind ever transferred to the municipality.
• On-going representation of school districts and individuals in tax assessment appeals for residential and commercial properties before the Board of Property Assessments Appeals and Review (BPAAR) and Court of Common Pleas, Board of Viewers (BOV).
• Represented a national specialty hospital in a successful defense of a multi-million-dollar business privilege tax assessment in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
• Represented franchisee in the selection of a business entity, review of franchise agreement, loan documents, and commercial lease.
• Represented non-profit entity in filing formation documents, preparing bylaws, licensing agreements, and state nonprofit tax eligibility filings.
• Represented a federal stock savings institution with half a billion dollars in assets with the formation of a service corporation and related applications to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
• Advised banking technology firm that provides cash sweep solutions to insured national banks and state-chartered banks on compliance with Regulation 9 of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
• Provide on-going advice to a bank holding company and affiliate investment management entity on Compliance with Bank Holding Company Act, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the broker-dealer provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Securities Act of 1933, and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) regulations.

• “Keep Calm and Call the Lawyer: Understanding the Role of a Municipal Solicitor,” Borough News Magazine, December 2017
• “Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: First Responders Get a Break on Local Taxes,” Borough News Magazine, April, 2016. “Right to Privacy for Public Employees,” Borough News Magazine, December, 2016
• “How to Draft an Ordinance,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, December 1, 2015
• “Superior Court Holds Act 91 Notice Published by the Pennsylvania Finance Housing Authority is Defective”, 15 DUQ.BUS.L.J87, 2013