Elizabeth C. Trahos

Elizabeth Trahos focuses her practice on commercial real estate development, land use, government regulation, and wealth transfer planning. Using her natural abilities for building consensus, she regularly represents developers, builders, property owners, and local governments in land use and municipal law matters.

She frequently appears before city councils, planning commissions, and boards of adjustment representing clients seeking or opposing rezonings, special and conditional use permits, subdivisions, annexations, variances, text amendments, and code interpretations in North Carolina and Virginia.

Ms. Trahos has been involved in the solar boom in the southeast and has assisted in the land use permitting of more than 200 utility-scale solar farms representing more than a gigawatt of new energy production for the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

She also helps clients through the complicated legal considerations of estate planning. Ms. Trahos works to ensure that a will or trust integrates smoothly with life insurance policies, retirement-plans, and co-tenancy assets with an eye toward minimizing transfer tax burdens.

Education:

• University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law, JD (1997)
• Virginia Commonwealth University, MURP (1997)
• University of Richmond, BA, Political Science (1994)

Admissions:

• North Carolina
• Virginia

Professional Activities:

• North Carolina Bar Association, Land Use Section
• Virginia State Bar, Real Estate Section
• Wake County Planning Board, Member (2002-2010); Chair (2006-2008); Vice-Chair (2004-2006)
• Joint Legislative Study Commission on Municipal Annexation (2009)
• North Carolina Association of Municipal Attorneys’ Association, Board of Directors (2006-2008)