Michele McDaniel Rosenfeld

I’m the second president of a community advocacy group in Frederick County known as RALE. Michele was our only legal representation in our successful effort to stop a major residential development from happening in a rural part of Southeast Frederick County. Her representation was absolutely brilli...ant, and wound up establishing a precedent in Maryland case law: our case was the first in Maryland where a zoning approval was vacated based upon the judicial finding of an ethics violation by a sitting County Commissioner who voted to approve the development. Our case (75 - 80 Properties, L.L.C. v. RALE, Inc.) began in 2012 when the developer applied for PUD zoning and culminated in August 2020 with our ultimate victory in Maryland’s highest court, The Court of Appeals. Michele was always thoroughly prepared and professional throughout this arduous battle, which encompassed 13 public hearings before the last Frederick County Board of Commissioners and the Frederick County Planning Commission, 2 remand hearings with the new Frederick County Council, and our successful litigations at the Circuit Court, the Court of Special Appeals, and the Court of Appeals. Our case was complex, drawn out and full of intrigue. But it’s what Michele did at the very end of the final public hearing that ultimately led to our improbable and unprecedented reversal of this development. After the BOC president formerly closed the administrative record to any further public comment or cross examination of witnesses, he suddenly read into the record a letter from the Frederick Area Committee for Transportation (FACT) that purported to lend their approval of the development with respect to the enhanced benefits it would bring to the regional transportation network. There was concern among the BOC that the crucial finding of transportation adequacy in the administrative record was deficient and wouldn’t stand up to a subsequent judicial review. While the president was reading the FACT letter Michele got up and walked to the lectern and immediately objected to this last minute introduction of evidence into the record that had just been closed. She also requested the president to make available FACT board members for cross examination, which he denied. To make a long story short, the FACT letter wound up being a fraud. It arose from a prior ex parte conversation that one County Commissioner (who is an attorney himself and was an ex officio board member of FACT at the time) had with 2 of FACT’s board members (one of whom was the father of a person on the developer’s design team) to manufacture evidence of traffic adequacy to bolster the administrative record. As it turned out, the letter was produced without the knowledge of the full FACT board, nor did they support it. Michele instinctively suspected the FACT letter and the timing of its introduction was improper - and she was 100% right! She successfully leveraged it at the Circuit Court to demonstrate an ethics violation by the commissioner. This persuaded the judge that it tainted the administrative record and the proper remedy was to remand the development approval back to the new Frederick County Council for more hearings and fact finding. The new Council failed to resolve the tainted record to the judge’s satisfaction so he vacated the zoning approval. The developer appealed the Circuit Court ruling to COSA and the Court of Appeals, but Michele argued successfully against their appeals and the rest is history! I don’t know how many other attorneys might possess the instincts that Michele had to challenge the FACT letter so tenaciously, but I can’t imagine any other attorney doing a better job than she did. There’s no one I would’ve rather had representing RALE, and I recommend Michele to anyone in need of a land use attorney. And not only is she a very talented attorney, she is a great person and a pleasure to work with.

A large group of local residents was opposed to the County's plan to relocate a school bus depot into our neighborhood. We needed the help of an attorney well-versed in land use issues to help us. Michele was recommended to us by another attorney. She addressed our group explaining the issues an...d the steps we could take to try to prevent this County action. She clearly articulated several paths and the advantages, disadvantages and likely costs associated with each. Her experience working with laypersons in civic groups like ours was extremely helpful. She began very targeted data gathering efforts that served notice to County staff with whom she was acquainted that we were ready to take legal action should the County move forward. The County and County Executive suspended their plan and as of this writing, we are waiting for them to present their promised alternative that spares our neighborhood. I believe firmly that Michele's involvement helped demonstrate our seriousness and that the threat of litigation from an attorney with a proven track record of winning in such cases was a major factor in the County's decision thus far. While the final outcome on this is not yet known, we are confident that Michele's representation has helped us to date and will, if needed, help us again. Michele was very cognizant of the limited funds that a civic group could raise and thus kept her billing to a minimum. Her rates were reasonable and estimated hours were accurate. She was easy to reach and always responsive to our requests and needs. She was able to exude confidence and yet remain very approachable. She allayed the fears of our group and really provided excellent service and representation. Our hope is that this matter is now resolved but in the event the County changes its currently stated position, we will re-engage Michele without any hesitation whatsoever and take the necessary next steps. We are confident in her ability and I am happy to recommend her without reservation.

Michele Rosenfeld has been my non-profit organization's "go-to" attorney since 2008. With her assistance, we have been able to resolve several issues, mostly out of court. Through multiple consultations in person and by phone and email, over the years Ms. Rosenfeld provided solid advice that helped... us to work through uncomfortable situations as well as emergencies. She is intelligent, experienced, and realistic. She works well with clients, public officials, and opponents. She listens carefully to our concerns and injects common sense along with legal advice. Her strengths include integrity, thoughtfulness, research, weighing action pros and cons, and anticipating consequences. I would highly recommend Ms. Rosenfeld as a trusted legal counsel and advocate.

I hired Michele to work with me and with our community's civic association on a very complex and lengthy land use issue. Michele's experience, expertise, critical and strategic thinking skills, and personal demeanor were absolutely the right mix for what we needed at the time. Michele worked dilige...ntly on our case and made suggestions on strategy, while also involving me in a partnership on the case. She allowed me to do the research I could do while tackling the elements of the case that required her knowledge and background. She is ethical in practice and in billing. She never suggested busy work just to increase her invoices. At the same time, she would recommend various courses of action that were crucial to furthering our case. Michele has a substantial history of legal work and is well-respected in her field, even by those attorneys and firms which are often opposing counsel. We ultimately won our case, and obviously that increases my respect for Michele's skills. However, I believe that had we lost, I would still recommend Michele. She is an outstanding attorney and a genuinely good person.