The law firm Gawthrop Greenwood announced a merger with community association law firm Steven L. Sugarman & Associates on Aug. 1, forming one of the largest law firms supporting homeowners associations (HOAs), planned communities, condominium associations and cooperatives across Pennsylvania in the residential and commercial arenas.

Community association lawyer Steven L. Sugarman will lead Gawthrop Greenwood's community association law practice joined by attorneys Elliot H. Berton and Robert M. Mulhern Jr., also of Steven L. Sugarman & Associates.

The announcement came seven months after Gawthrop Greenwood announced a merger with the community association law firm Landis & Setzler and attorneys Holly L. Setzler and James D. Doyle. The merger with Gawthrop Greenwood's Community Association Law Department, together with Gawthrop Greenwood's dozens of attorneys from multiple disciplines, provides the comprehensive suite of legal services required to support the intensifying needs of community association board members, builder-developers, buyers, sellers, realtors and municipalities who are grappling with increased accountability to state and federal regulations, as well as homeowners seeking to raise their property values.

A community association law attorney for more than 40 years, Sugarman has played a role in establishing statutory and decisional law governing Pennsylvania's common interest communities. As the chair and an active member of the Community Association Institute (CAI) Legislative Action Committee for many years, Sugarman drafted and advocated for key amendments to Pennsylvania's statutes as community associations became more prevalent.

He also serves as an expert witness on community association matters brought before Pennsylvania's courts and General Assembly. A member of the College of Community Association Lawyers since 2000 and a past president of CAI's regional chapter, Sugarman developed and teaches courses on condominium and homeowner association law as an adjunct professor at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. He is a frequent lecturer at the local and national levels on real estate and community association matters.

Sugarman, Berton and Mulhern will continue to operate primarily from their Berwyn office, adding to Gawthrop Greenwood's current offices in West Chester and its Greenville office in Wilmington, Del.

A complete listing of the firm's practice areas and attorneys, as well as a variety of legal resources, can be found at http://www.gawthrop.com.