Doug Dillard is one of Georgia’s most accomplished zoning and land use attorneys. He has helped clients for more than four decades resolve matters involving zoning, planning, land use, local government law, annexation and land use litigation. His experience with land use issues include complex zoning changes, special use permit applications, site plan reviews, subdivisions, easements, covenants, litigation and appeals. Doug has litigated and won many of the landmark zoning cases decided by the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He also has worked proactively with local government officials, civic associations and business organizations to draft ordinances, statutes and local legislation as it affects land use. Doug actively promotes land development approval processes and regulations that support green building, affordable housing, and smart growth principles. He has served on the Mixed Income Communities Initiative for the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership to promote, create and preserve mixed-income communities in the greater Atlanta Region. Best Lawyers’ included Doug in its Georgia Best Lawyers list for 2016 – 2018 and named him Lawyer of the Year for Land Use Litigation in 2014 and 2018. His peers included him in the Georgia Top Lawyers list for 2016, which was published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Martindale-Hubbell awarded him the highest preeminent rating, and from 2012 -2018 named him a Georgia Top Rated Lawyer for Zoning, Planning and Land Use. Doug is currently listed in the Best Lawyers in Georgia as published in the Wall Street Journal. Before joining Pursley Friese Torgrimson as a partner in 2015, Doug served as a partner with Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco. Previously, he practiced with Dillard & Galloway, LLC for 14 years, and formerly with Peterson Dillard Young Self Asselin and Powell. He is a co-author of Zoning and Land Use in Georgia, a reference book for Georgia’s zoning and land use laws, and the only book of its kind in Georgia. Publications featuring his legal articles include Georgia State University Law Review, The Atlanta Lawyer and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. The Journal of Applied Real Estate Analysis includes him on their Editorial Advisory Board. Doug served as a guest lecturer at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Florida State University, the University of Georgia, Georgia State and the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He also served as an instructor for the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association, the Georgia Bar Association, the National Business Institute, the Georgia Real Estate Institute, the Dixie Land Title Association, Lorman Education Services and Law Seminars International. He is affiliated with many legal, real estate and civic organizations. Previously he served on the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Georgia and the Board of the Atlanta Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. In the Atlanta community, Doug has participated in Leadership Georgia and the Regional Leadership Institute, and served as the Chairperson of Leadership DeKalb. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of Furman University, Chairman of the Board of Visitors for the Walter F. George School of Law Mercer University, and Treasurer, Board Member and Chair of the Council for Quality Growth. A champion of smart growth and religious freedom, Doug has fought to protect the rights of mosques and other houses of worship seeking to locate in areas where to best serve the needs of members. The New York native also is a strong supporter of the urban farming movement. His family operated one of the largest organic farms in North Georgia.
