Amanda J. Dougherty is an experienced commercial litigator who focuses primarily on real estate-related litigation and property tax assessment appeals.
Amanda J. Dougherty is an experienced commercial litigator who focuses primarily on real estate-related litigation and property tax assessment appeals.
BACKGROUND
Amanda is a tenacious litigator with on-the-ground experience leading bench trials, jury trials, and state and AAA arbitrations. She began her practice with a brief stint in the Montgomery County Office of the District Attorney, then moved on to get extensive experience in Philadelphia courts during her time in the Tax and Claims Units of the City of Philadelphia Office of the City Solicitor. From there, she launched into private practice where she leverage her experience representing governmental entities, including the Commonwealth and City and School District of Philadelphia, to benefit her private clients. Following several years working at a well-known, midsize Philadelphia firm known for its real estate practice, Amanda was appointed by the Philadelphia Board of Judges to sit on the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes. After leaving the BRT, she worked as in-house counsel for a small suburban developer before returning to a Philadelphia-based practice at Orphanides & Toner, LLP. Amanda keeps a blog on Philadelphia real estate assessment appeal law that she regularly updates with legal analysis at www.phillypropertytax.com.
NOTABLE CASES
- Represented a notable Philadelphia developer and property manager by filing the first of ten lawsuits where owners of hundreds of millions of dollars of Philadelphia real estate challenged the City of Philadelphia’s 2018 reassessment of commercial property, only, as a violation of the state constitution’s Uniformity Clause;
- In a Delaware AAA arbitration, successfully pierced the corporate veil of a property developer operating in Belize to hold corporate entities and individuals responsible for breach of contract for failing to build any condominium units for which substantial payments had been made over five (5) years;
- Successfully defended a condominium owner in foreclosure action initiated by the condo association for disputed fees and winning a counterclaim, including attorneys’ fees, following a bench trial; and
- Brought in millions of dollars of additional revenue for the City and School District of Philadelphia as the result of a bench trial in a $75 million tax assessment appeal that was affirmed on appeal.
EDUCATION
Amanda grew up in rural Oklahoma before moving to the Philadelphia area to attend Bryn Mawr College. She studied Mandarin there all four years, studied abroad in Beijing, and took a business-oriented mandarin course at Wharton. She then attended law school at the Temple University Beasley School of Law where she participated in Temple’s trial advocacy program and qualified to compete on Temple’s Trial Team. She was also able to obtain her LL.M. in Chinese Law through Temple’s LL.M. in Asian Law program in coordination with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
PERSONAL
During the summers you can find Amanda camping in Pennsylvania’s forests, primarily Tuscarora and Michaux state forests, where she endures roughing it in exchange for enjoying some of the natural beauty Pennsylvania has to offer. Amanda has fostered and volunteered for both PAWS and the PSPCA in the past, though she devotes her time these days to her own, very needy animals. Amanda is also a former Vice Chair and Chair of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association, where she spearheaded many CLE programs on LGBTQ legal issues.
CONTACT
Ph: 267-236-7504