Leahy & DeSmet, LLC is the right firm to help you navigate the policies and regulations that govern within the State of Maryland, its counties and municipalities. Today, administrative agencies of the executive branches of state and local governments regulate more   aspects of every day life than ever before. County administrative agencies regulate, for example, building permits, permits to operate a business, employee grievances and entitlement to pensions and disability benefits. The State regulates everything from your   occupational and driver’s licenses to your corporate protections and responsibilities. The volumes that contain the State statutes, Code of Maryland Regulations, and appellate opinions interpreting them can fill a very large library.

Given the great discretion of administrative agencies in formulating regulations and adjudicating disputes, it is essential to understand the distinctive statutes and/or ordinances which govern them, their operational rules and regulations, hearing procedures, and the nature of judicial review where applicable.  The  members of Leahy & DeSmet have appeared before numerous boards and commissions, including the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals, the Maryland Public Service Commission and the Maryland Real Estate Commission. 

In 2007 Andrea Leahy-Fucheck served as Chair the Administrative Law Section Council of the Maryland State Bar Association. She has experience both inside and outside government advising clients on the application of open meeting laws, access to records, and the Administrative Procedure Act. As Chief Legal Counsel to former Governor Parris N. Glendening, Ms. Leahy-Fucheck also guided statewide regulatory reform efforts in numerous areas, including procurement, utility, ethics and minority business regulations.   From 1989 to 1992, Ms. Leahy-Fucheck served as Assistant County Attorney and Lead Counsel to the Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources where her responsibilities included enforcing the building code and drafting and reviewing construction contracts.