Richard Schkolnick is a dirt lawyer whose practice is devoted to creating value for property owners and developers by expediting site plan approvals and variances from government agencies. He understands that moving projects through the often lengthy approval process is critical. He leads your development team, coordinating the efforts of engineers, planners, architects, traffic experts and environmental consultants.
Richard has over thirty years’ experience in complex land use matters. He is a past Chair of the State Bar Association’s Land Use Law Section and is the creator and moderator of its widely acclaimed “Advanced Topics in Zoning” webinar series, which regularly gathers the leaders of the State Bar’s Land Use Law section to tackle cutting edge legal issues facing the development community. He is a frequent lecturer on the zoning circuit, including regular speaking gigs at the Bar Association’s “Annual Update” and at Rutgers Business School. He has been selected for inclusion for twelve straight years (2012 to 2023) on the New Jersey Super Lawyers list. He is passionate about land use law, having presented his entertaining “New Jersey Land Use Law 101” course over twenty times to groups of engineers, architects and brokers.
Richard also litigates land use and real estate cases, bringing the practical problem solving skills he has honed in dealing with public entities to bear in the litigation process.
Mr. Schkolnick has litigated prerogative writ matters and commercial disputes involving real estate. He secured a unanimous decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of the Township of West Orange in the State’s seminal condemnation/eminent domain case, Township of West Orange v. 769 Associates, LLC, 172 N.J. 564 (2002). His recent successes include representing the developer in a precedent setting decision from New Jersey Appellate Division, Edison Board of Education v. Edison Board of Adjustment and Markim Builders, Inc., 464 N.J. Super 298 (App. Div. 2020), which addressed the novel issue of whether a board of education had standing to seek to overturn a land use decision based on generalized notions of school overcrowding.
Education
- Haverford College (Bachelor of Arts)
- University of Pennsylvania, Fels Center of Government (Masters of Governmental Administration)
- UCLA School of Law (Juris Doctor)
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
Areas of Practice
- Land Use and Zoning Approvals
- Site Plans and Variances
- Planning Board and Board of Adjustment Representation
- Zoning Due Diligence
- Feasibility Studies
- Redevelopment/Area in Need Designations and Objections
- Real Estate and Government Contracts Litigation
- Prerogative Writ Litigation
- Leasing
- Purchase and Sale Agreements
- House of Worship Representation
- Eminent Domain
- Land Use Litigation
- Government Affairs