We are proud to share that Kathy Taylor, Associate in Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh’s Land Use & Zoning practice group, will be honored at Bisnow’s 2025 DMV Women Leading Real Estate Awards on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The awards celebrate extraordinary women who are shaping the future of commercial real estate across Washington D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia.

Kathy was recognized in the Excellence in Law and Accounting category for her outstanding work guiding clients through complex land use and zoning matters. Since joining the firm in 2018, Kathy has successfully secured rezonings, special permits, special exceptions, and variances for developers, property owners, and institutional clients across Northern Virginia. Her representative achievements include obtaining a special exception for Virginia Hospital Center’s first freestanding emergency department combined with an urgent care center in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and securing a variance under newly adopted Americans with Disabilities Act provisions. She also assists clients in analyzing and appealing Ordinance Notices of Violation and exploring legislative land use solutions to achieve compliance and community value.

A native of Northern Virginia, Kathy remains active in the legal community through the Fairfax Bar Association, serving on the Board of the Young Lawyers Section and the Committee for the Fairfax Law Foundation’s annual Heroes v. Villains Run for Justice 5K. This recognition underscores her contributions both professionally and within the broader commercial real estate and legal communities.

The 2025 DMV Women Leading Real Estate Awards honor leaders who are driving innovation, championing inclusion, and mentoring the next generation of talent across the CRE industry. Kathy’s work exemplifies the dedication, expertise, and impact celebrated by these awards.

We are pleased to share the full recordings from our recent Estate Planning & Administration Webinar Series, designed to provide practical guidance for planning ahead and navigating estate administration. The series featured members of our Estate Planning & Administration practice group sharing insights and tools to help you manage both current and future estate matters.

1. First Steps After Losing a Loved One & Steps You Can Take to Prepare in Advance
Hosted by Emma Goetzman
Emma covers locating estate planning documents, understanding probate, and navigating funeral expenses — offering practical guidance for both planning ahead and managing a loved one’s affairs.
👉 [Watch the Recording]

2. Understanding the Probate Process
Hosted by Chuck McWilliams
Chuck explains initial filings, timelines, and practical steps to navigate the probate process with confidence.
👉 [Watch the Recording]

3. Probate Avoidance: Trusts, Beneficiary Designations, and Other Estate Planning Tools
Hosted by Will Gibson
Will walks through strategies to help ensure your estate is administered efficiently and according to your wishes, including revocable trusts, beneficiary designations, and other tools to streamline asset transfers.
👉 [Watch the Recording]

We hope these recordings continue to serve as a valuable resource. For more information on estate planning or to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

We are pleased to share that Andrew Painter, a shareholder at Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, will serve as the moderator for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s State of Economic Development in Arlington panel on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

Andrew will lead a discussion with the heads of Arlington’s major commercial districts — including Ballston, National Landing, and Rosslyn Business Improvement Districts — examining how recent economic development wins have shaped the county’s commercial corridors, what’s at stake for landlords and tenants, and how public-private partnerships and adaptive reuse initiatives are creating opportunities for community-focused growth.

The program will explore:

• Arlington’s transformation driven by major relocations and investments, including Amazon, CoStar, and Mastercard

• Adaptive reuse and zoning updates designed to convert older office stock into mixed-use, residential, lodging, and creative workspaces

• Future opportunities for retail, restaurants, and placemaking across the county’s commercial corridors

Event Details:
📅 Thursday, October 30, 2025
⏰ 8:00 – 10:00 AM EST
📍 Monday Properties, 1812 N Moore Street, 22nd Floor, Arlington, VA 22209

Agenda:
8:00 – 8:45 AM: Registration and Networking
8:45 – 10:00 AM: Program

Registration is open until Wednesday, October 29 at noon, or until sold out. 👉 Register to attend HERE.

This panel brings together leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss Arlington’s evolving economic landscape, the future of its commercial corridors, and strategies for converting office vacancy into community value.

We are pleased to share that Lauren Riley, an associate within the firm’s Land Use and Zoning practice group, will serve as a moderator at Bisnow’s DMV 2025 Office Summit on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

Lauren will lead the panel discussion, Office in Flux: Investment Outlook, Federal Workforce Implications, and Analyzing the State of the Sector, which will explore how today’s environment is reshaping investment opportunities, vacancy outlook, and leasing strategies across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia markets.

The program will also cover:

• Adaptive reuse, conversions, and redevelopment of underutilized office assets

• Shifts in leasing dynamics driven by hybrid work and government relocations

• Tenant experience and workplace evolution in a changing office landscape

• Market outlook from leading developers, investors, and public-sector voices

📅 Thursday, October 9, 2025
⏰ 8:00 AM EDT
📍 101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

This event brings together top developers, owners, brokers, and government leaders to discuss how the DMV office market is adapting to vacancy pressures and redefining what successful office space looks like in 2025.

👉 Register to attend HERE.

Effective September 1, 2025, all residential construction contracts in Virginia must now include “A signed acknowledgement by the consumer that the consumer has been provided with and read the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation statement of protection available to consumers through the Board of Contractors.” Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC50-22-260.B.9(h). A copy of the DPOR statement can be found HERE. 

Previously, only residential construction agreements “resulting from a door-to-door solicitation” were required to contain such an acknowledgement. Now, all construction agreements for residential contracting services, regardless of the scope of work or value, must contain the signed acknowledgement from the consumer. A failure to provide the required information and obtain the signed acknowledgement as part of the construction agreement could lead to the filing of charges, and penalties imposed, by the Board of Contractors. 

All residential contractors, including homebuilders of all sizes, would be mindful to review their construction agreements for compliance with the Virginia Administrative Code as most very likely have not had to incorporate such similar terminology previously. Likely, they have not made a practice of providing the DPOR statement of protection available to their consumers either. Attorneys at Walsh Colucci are available to assist in a review of your construction agreement to determine compliance with Virginia regulation, or for best-practices analysis. 

Employment law update-  Virginia Code Section 40.1-28.7:8 has been amended effective July 1, 2025, to expand the definition of low-wage employees to include those entitled to overtime compensation under the provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 207 for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek, which are those classified as non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Previously the statute had restricted Virginia employers from entering into non-compete agreements with “low-wage” employees that had been based on a statutorily defined average weekly wage.  Now, no matter what the salary, if an employee is non-exempt under the FLSA, they cannot be required to sign a non-compete.  Employers who violate the statute are subject to civil penalties as well as costs and attorney fees.

Note that this restriction would not apply for those classified under an FLSA exemption such as an executive, administrative, professional, etc. based on existing FLSA guidance (assuming the salary threshold was met). Additionally, any non competes that were signed (or renewed) before July 1, 2025, are not affected and would not include non-exempt workers among those employees restricted from having a non compete.

Virginia employers should be sure to review all new employees’ classifications under the FLSA and change any policies or practices that would attempt to enforce a noncompete against a low-wage employee.  Also employers must post a copy of the law in the same location where other employee notices required by state or federal law are posted.

On July 15, 2025, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a special exception to permit the establishment of a metal refining operation at an existing industrial warehouse building in Lorton for the purpose of producing gold bullion for retail and commercial use. This will be Fairfax County’s first metal refining operation in collective memory. The site incorporates a 3,000-square-foot leased space at the Newington Business Center on Terminal Road, with minimal exterior modifications needed to accommodate the heavy industrial use.  

 

Many hours were needed to educate County staff, the general public, and policy makers on what is involved with the metal refinement process. Working closely with the operator, Lynne Strobel and Bernard Suchicital meticulously explained the handling of pre-processed gold concentrates and the smelting process to produce 24 karat gold bars. More importantly, in-depth conversations were held at multiple community meetings to reassure the public that all precautionary measures will be in place for pollution control, mitigation of emissions, and security. Environment controls include the utilization of dust collectors, air scrubbers, and a wastewater treatment system. Once formally established, the gold refinement facility will expand the industrial portfolio for Fairfax County into a new direction – further validating the importance of maintaining and promoting industrial uses in Northern Virginia.  

Photo source: Eastman Mineral, Inc. website www.eastmanminerals.com/eastmanrefinery.html  

 

Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh is proud to announce that 9 of the Firm’s attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®. The attorneys who were recognized by Best Lawyers® and their areas of recognition are:

• Thomas J. Colucci: Real Estate Law
• David J. Bomgardner: Real Estate Law
• John H. Foote: Land Use and Zoning Law; Municipal Law; Real Estate Law
• H. Mark Goetzman: Real Estate Law
• Michael D. Lubeley: Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law
• J. Randall Minchew: Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law
• M. Catharine Puskar: Land Use and Zoning Law
• Lynne J. Strobel: Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law
• Garth M. Wainman: Commercial Litigation; Real Estate Law

Best Lawyers in America 2025 is based on a peer-review survey in which more than 50,000 leading attorneys provided more than 6.7 million detailed evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is considered a singular honor.

We are proud to announce that Lynne J. Strobel, Shareholder and Land Use & Zoning Practice Group Leader in our Arlington office, has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in Land Use and Zoning Law in Washington, D.C. by Best Lawyers®.

This recognition is awarded to only one lawyer in each practice area and region, underscoring Lynne’s exceptional reputation and leadership in the field. In addition, she is recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® for her outstanding work in both Real Estate Law and Land Use and Zoning Law.

A native of Fairfax County, Lynne has been with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh since 1988. She has guided clients through all phases of the land use and development process across Fairfax County and neighboring jurisdictions, representing projects ranging from commercial and residential developments to schools, places of worship, and nonprofit organizations.

Beyond her practice, Lynne has dedicated significant time to community leadership. She has served on the boards of Celebrate Fairfax!, Doorways for Women and Families, and Leadership Fairfax, and remains actively engaged in advancing civic and educational initiatives throughout Northern Virginia.

Please join us in congratulating Lynne on this well-deserved honor and celebrating her contributions to both our clients and community.