Steven M. Whitley

Attorney Pronouns: he, him, his

Steven M. Whitley

Attorney Pronouns: he, him, his

Phone: 603.792.7434 Fax: 603.716.2899 Email: swhitley@dwmlaw.com

670 N. Commercial Street, Suite 207 Manchester, NH 03101

Assistant: Dominique Bolduc Email: dbolduc@dwmlaw.com

About

For nearly 17 years, Steven Whitley has been advising clients on a wide variety of municipal and land use legal issues. Steven takes great pride in helping his clients effectively serve their communities, especially since many municipal decision-makers (often volunteers) lack the specialized knowledge and experience to avoid or navigate the myriad of legal issues that frequently come up.

With deep expertise in many key areas, Steven counsels New Hampshire cities, towns, village districts, counties, and school districts on a range of issues including zoning and land use matters, public utilities, town governance, annual town meetings, Right to Know law, and public finance. He also regularly represents municipal clients in New Hampshire District, Superior, and Supreme Courts, and before state administrative agencies.

Steven’s depth of experience is a tremendous asset for his clients. For example, Steven successfully represented five New Hampshire municipalities along with hundreds of other similarly interested parties before the state Site Evaluation Committee to deny the Northern Pass transmission line project. Steven’s representation lasted more than a year and required an adjudicative hearing that spanned over 70 days. Steven also obtained a favorable outcome representing a municipality before the Board of Tax and Land Appeals in a 10-day tax abatement proceeding involving a large natural gas utility.

Steven enjoys spending time with his wife and their son, mountain biking, listening to live music, traveling, cooking, and relaxing around the fire pit with friends. Dedicated to serving his community, Steven is also a member of the Selectboard and Economic Development Committee for the Town of Hopkinton.

Education

Vermont Law School, J.D., 2007

Tulane University, B.A., 2001

Tulane University, M.S., 2002

Representative Clients & Matters

  • Represented five NH municipalities (along with other similarly interested parties) and successfully sought denial from the State of NH Site Evaluation Committee for the Northern Pass transmission line. Consideration of the Northern Pass project took more than a year, involving hundreds of parties, thousands of documents, and an adjudicative hearing that required 70 days to complete over a calendar year.
  • Received a favorable outcome at Board of Tax and Land Appeals in a tax abatement proceeding involving large natural gas utility – a 10-day trial that involved very technical testimony of expert witnesses on both sides.
  • Helped a client with years long zoning enforcement case to obtain court order to cease violations, award of all attorney fees, and significant sum of civil penalties.
  • Successfully defended an inverse condemnation claim for a client that denied entity from mining dimension stone.

Community/Public Service

Town of Hopkinton
Selectboard (2017-Present)
Economic Development Committee (2017-Present)

Past Presentations

From

NHOPD Spring 2024 Planning and Zoning Conference

Attorneys Christine Fillmore Johnston, Matthew Serge, and Steven Whitley presented at the 𝗡𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗗 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, which took place online, on May 11, 2024.

From October 9, 2024 12:00 pm

2024 Bradley F. Kidder Law Conference: Financing Via Lease Purchase Agreements

From October 4, 2023 8:00 am

2023 Bradley F. Kidder Law Conference

From October 19, 2022 11:00 am

Planning Law Updates, 2022 NNECAPA Planning Conference

From October 12, 2022 9:00 am

2022 Bradley F. Kidder Law Conference

From November 4, 2021 9:00 am

2021 New Hampshire Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference (NHGFOA) Annual Conference

From September 17, 2021 9:00 am

Municipal Management Association of New Hampshire 2021 Annual Conference

From November 18, 2020 1:00 pm

2020 New Hampshire Municipal Conference & Exhibition (Virtual)

From October 31, 2020 12:00 pm

NH Municipal Association and NH Office of Strategic Initiatives 2020 Virtual Land Use Law Conference