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Dorritie_Megan

Megan K. Dorritie

She/Her/Hers
Partner
  • Rochester and Corning
  • 585.231.1115

With a focus on providing strategic and synergistic legal advice that aligns with her clients’ business and operational goals, Megan leverages her experience counseling both plaintiffs and defendants to help her clients achieve the right outcome. Megan concentrates her commercial litigation practice mainly in the areas of intellectual property, real estate tax assessment challenges, and municipal law.

Commercial and IP Litigation
Megan represents companies of all sizes in a wide range of business and IP disputes including breach of contract, tort, unfair competition, and trade secret matters.

Real Estate Tax Assessment and Exemption Challenges
Megan manages the tax certiorari docket for several local municipalities and school districts. She also represents a variety of taxpayers including automobile dealers, financial institutions, and supermarkets in tax assessment challenges and appeals. Megan’s tax exemption challenge experience includes representing not-for-profit organizations and energy companies in securing real property tax exemption status.

Municipal Law
Megan has extensive experience representing towns and other municipalities on all aspects of municipal law, including governance, procurement, PILOT agreements, Article 78 proceedings, the SEQRA process, and land use and zoning.

Megan currently serves as Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Firm’s Corning office, Practice Group Leader for the Specialty and Industry Specific Litigation Group, is a member the HSE Inclusion & Equity Committee, and is co-chair of the Firm’s Associate Mentoring program.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Co-Organizer, Women in Tax Assessment, New York State
  • Member, New York State Bar Association
  • Co-Manager, Rochester Youth Hockey Pee-wee Team
  • Manager, VolleyFX National Travel Team
  • Former Planning Committee Member, The EquiCenter, Inc.

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Recognized by Chambers USA in 2021-2023 in the field of Litigation: General Commercial (Upstate NY)
  • Named to The Daily Record’s Power 20 in Litigation list, 2022
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation; Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law; Land Use and Zoning Law; Litigation – Municipal; Municipal Law
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, 2017-2023
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorney,” Award, The Daily Record, 2013
  • Empire State Counsel Honoree, New York State Bar Association, 2011

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Commercial and IP Litigation

  • Won $7.4 million arbitration award for software development company in contractual indemnification/ IP dispute.
  • Secured a $3.3 million arbitration award for a software development company in a breach of contract claim by a client who improperly terminated a contract prior to the delivery of the software.

Real Estate Tax Assessment Challenges
Municipalities

  • Manages tax certiorari dockets for several municipalities and school districts through every stage of the process. Frequently negotiates settlements that require no tax refunds from the municipalities, but also has tried many cases where the parties were unable to reach a settlement.
  • Serves as special trial counsel for local municipalities, often achieving settlement in the course of the trial.

Taxpayers

  • Successfully negotiated nearly $200,000 in tax refunds and additional tax savings of $400,000 in a real estate tax assessment challenge for a credit union.
  • Handled tax assessment challenges for entire portfolio of local apartment developer, achieving tax savings in excess of $200,000.

Real Property Tax Exemptions

  • Successfully negotiated a settlement for $600,000 in tax refunds and savings for a hospital system in a tax-exempt matter concerning the facility’s parking garage.
  • Secured real property tax exemptions for a variety of clients, including drug treatment facilities, energy companies developing agricultural digester facilities, conservation groups, and a glider soaring club.

Municipal Law
Municipalities

  • Represented municipal client that was considering a proposal for a wind farm development, when the Town was sued once by a local citizens’ group and twice by the development company. All three cases were dismissed in the Town’s favor.
  • Secured a judgment in excess of $400,000, including attorneys’ fees, for the Town of Irondequoit against claims brought by a prior owner and operator of the now defunct Medley Centre Mall that the PILOT agreement was unconstitutional and invalid.

NEWS

PRESENTATIONS

  • “Solar Power Considerations for Municipalities,” Harter Secrest & Emery webinar with Stantec, May 20, 2021

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • New York State courts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern and Western Districts of New York

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Michael A. Telesca, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of New York

EDUCATION

  • University at Buffalo School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
  • Hartwick College, B.A., magna cum laude

With a focus on providing strategic and synergistic legal advice that aligns with her clients’ business and operational goals, Megan leverages her experience counseling both plaintiffs and defendants to help her clients achieve the right outcome. Megan concentrates her commercial litigation practice mainly in the areas of intellectual property, real estate tax assessment challenges, and municipal law.

Commercial and IP Litigation
Megan represents companies of all sizes in a wide range of business and IP disputes including breach of contract, tort, unfair competition, and trade secret matters.

Real Estate Tax Assessment and Exemption Challenges
Megan manages the tax certiorari docket for several local municipalities and school districts. She also represents a variety of taxpayers including automobile dealers, financial institutions, and supermarkets in tax assessment challenges and appeals. Megan’s tax exemption challenge experience includes representing not-for-profit organizations and energy companies in securing real property tax exemption status.

Municipal Law
Megan has extensive experience representing towns and other municipalities on all aspects of municipal law, including governance, procurement, PILOT agreements, Article 78 proceedings, the SEQRA process, and land use and zoning.

Megan currently serves as Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Firm’s Corning office, Practice Group Leader for the Specialty and Industry Specific Litigation Group, is a member the HSE Inclusion & Equity Committee, and is co-chair of the Firm’s Associate Mentoring program.

PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Co-Organizer, Women in Tax Assessment, New York State
  • Member, New York State Bar Association
  • Co-Manager, Rochester Youth Hockey Pee-wee Team
  • Manager, VolleyFX National Travel Team
  • Former Planning Committee Member, The EquiCenter, Inc.

HONORS & AWARDS

  • Recognized by Chambers USA in 2021-2023 in the field of Litigation: General Commercial (Upstate NY)
  • Named to The Daily Record’s Power 20 in Litigation list, 2022
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation; Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law; Land Use and Zoning Law; Litigation – Municipal; Municipal Law
  • Selected to the Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, 2017-2023
  • Recipient, “Up and Coming Attorney,” Award, The Daily Record, 2013
  • Empire State Counsel Honoree, New York State Bar Association, 2011

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Commercial and IP Litigation

  • Won $7.4 million arbitration award for software development company in contractual indemnification/ IP dispute.
  • Secured a $3.3 million arbitration award for a software development company in a breach of contract claim by a client who improperly terminated a contract prior to the delivery of the software.

Real Estate Tax Assessment Challenges
Municipalities

  • Manages tax certiorari dockets for several municipalities and school districts through every stage of the process. Frequently negotiates settlements that require no tax refunds from the municipalities, but also has tried many cases where the parties were unable to reach a settlement.
  • Serves as special trial counsel for local municipalities, often achieving settlement in the course of the trial.

Taxpayers

  • Successfully negotiated nearly $200,000 in tax refunds and additional tax savings of $400,000 in a real estate tax assessment challenge for a credit union.
  • Handled tax assessment challenges for entire portfolio of local apartment developer, achieving tax savings in excess of $200,000.

Real Property Tax Exemptions

  • Successfully negotiated a settlement for $600,000 in tax refunds and savings for a hospital system in a tax-exempt matter concerning the facility’s parking garage.
  • Secured real property tax exemptions for a variety of clients, including drug treatment facilities, energy companies developing agricultural digester facilities, conservation groups, and a glider soaring club.

Municipal Law
Municipalities

  • Represented municipal client that was considering a proposal for a wind farm development, when the Town was sued once by a local citizens’ group and twice by the development company. All three cases were dismissed in the Town’s favor.
  • Secured a judgment in excess of $400,000, including attorneys’ fees, for the Town of Irondequoit against claims brought by a prior owner and operator of the now defunct Medley Centre Mall that the PILOT agreement was unconstitutional and invalid.

NEWS

PRESENTATIONS

  • “Solar Power Considerations for Municipalities,” Harter Secrest & Emery webinar with Stantec, May 20, 2021

PRACTICE AREAS

ADMISSIONS

  • New York
  • New York State courts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern and Western Districts of New York

CLERKSHIP

  • Honorable Michael A. Telesca, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of New York

EDUCATION

  • University at Buffalo School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
  • Hartwick College, B.A., magna cum laude
Dorritie_Megan
Megan K. Dorritie