Gawthrop Greenwood, PC announces that it has been appointed solicitor of the City of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Attorney Robert C. Jefferson, IV will serve as lead solicitor. His team includes attorneys Patrick M. McKenna and Stacey L. Fuller, who lead Gawthrop Greenwood’s Government and Education Law Department, providing legal counsel to cities, townships, boroughs, police departments, planning commissions, municipal authorities and zoning hearing boards. The firm advocates at government meetings; advises elected boards on governance, open records and other issues; litigates municipal, school, land development and zoning matters through appeal; and drafts legislative and policy documents for municipal governments.
Gawthrop Greenwood attorney Anthony T. Verwey served as solicitor of the City of Coatesville from 2018 to 2021, until he was elected as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Chester County. Coatesville’s City Council appointed Jefferson at its regular meeting in mid-February.
“This is an exciting time to serve Coatesville, as it undergoes historic change including construction of the new train station and advancement of numerous development projects,” says McKenna, Chair of the Management Committee at Gawthrop Greenwood. “We appreciate the opportunity to continue to support the legal needs of Coatesville as it develops economic opportunity for its residents, business owners and surrounding communities.”
Named to Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch in 2021 and 2022, Jefferson concentrates his law practice in municipal government law, land use, land development and zoning. A former Assistant District Attorney for the Chester County District Attorney’s office, Jefferson’s career in public service and experience navigating the adversarial court system have proven beneficial to public and private sector clients.
Jefferson is a member of the Chester County Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association, where he was appointed to the House of Delegates. He was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2020 and one of Main Line Today‘s Top Lawyers in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Jefferson serves as a board member for the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County and was recently named to the board of trustees for People’s Light. He has served on the Grant Allocations Committee for the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls.
Gawthrop Greenwood attorneys are members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its Municipal Law Section, Chester County Bar Association and its Municipal and Real Estate Law Sections, the Chester County Association of Township Officials, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and the Transportation Management Association of Chester County.
