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Philadelphia zoning and real estate attorney Stephen Pollock has taken his practice to local construction boutique Horn Williamson.

Pollock, who joins Horn Williamson as a partner, will establish and lead the firm's zoning, land use and development practice. He was most recently a shareholder at Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy for five years, and has previously practiced at other locally based firms including Ballard Spahr and Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.

“I always wanted to hook up with a construction firm,” Pollock said. “I always get people permission to start building something, but I can't help them any more once they start building.”

He mentioned a client, K4 Associates, as an example. K4 is in the process of planning and building a mixed-use development of 10 buildings along the Delaware River, and is expected to break ground by the end of this year.

“That's the kind of client that really needs help on the construction end,” Pollock said. “I looked at it and thought it would be great to work with the team at Horn Williamson on the construction end.”

“There are invaluable synergies among zoning, land use and development, and our commercial construction practices,” Horn Williamson founder and managing partner Jennifer Horn said in a statement. “Our clients will greatly benefit from his know-how.”

Additionally, Pollock said, after five years at Zarwin Baum, it was time to “refresh and reinvigorate” his practice by joining a new firm. Having practiced law for 42 years, he said, Horn Williamson may be a “final place for my career.”

Pollock said he has known Horn for several years through working on related construction and zoning issues. Horn left another locally based construction firm, Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, in October 2015 to establish Horn Williamson with partner Carter Williamson.

Also playing a role in his decision to leave Zarwin Baum was the departure of partner Darwin Beauvais and senior associate Meredith Ferleger, who both joined Dilworth Paxson just under a year ago. His practice was not intertwined with theirs, but they helped each other out, he said.

Pollock is a co-chair of the zoning, land use and code enforcement committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and has served more than two decades as chairman of the Municipal Planning Commission and the Municipal Zoning Hearing Board. He also has served on the Pennsylvania State Planning Board, to which he was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell.

Zarwin Baum declined to comment on Pollock's departure.

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