Amanda J. Dougherty

Amanda’s dynamic approach to litigation has already earned her a reputation for being an astute, forceful advocate. She began her career as a prosecutor and has since leveraged that experience to successfully litigate a myriad of cases, including state and federal court trials, administrative-level cases and AAA arbitrations. While Amanda has handled matters ranging from multimillion-dollar real estate matters to simple collections actions, from international real estate development arbitrations to consumer protection actions, she primarily concentrates her practice on litigation involving real estate issues.

Following her work as a prosecutor, Amanda’s time with the City of Philadelphia Tax Unit gave her invaluable insight into Philadelphia tax and real estate issues, including tax assessment appeals, foreclosure actions, tangled title concerns. Amanda has built upon that foundation and now utilizes her knowledge and expertise to assist private individuals and businesses in the greater Philadelphia area with a variety of real estate matters, including litigation spurred by misrepresentations in real estate deals, tax assessment appeals, condominium assessment disputes and code enforcement issues. Because she is proficient in Mandarin, having earned her Master’s degree in Chinese Law at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Amanda can and has helped native Chinese Philadelphians navigate various legal problems.

Amanda’s time as a prosecutor and as a Philadelphia Law Department City Solicitor gave her both confidence and comfort in the courtroom, so she is not afraid to meet her opponents in court when settlement is off the table. Still, because she understands the time, stress and expense her clients will face in taking a case to verdict, she can sit with clients from the very beginning to help them understand the risks and create a litigation plan that works for them, even if it means settling through a well-crafted pre-litigation demand letter.

Amanda regularly updates her blog, Philly Tax Jawn, with posts and discussions dealing with Philadelphia real estate taxes. Amanda is also Chair of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association (formerly known as GALLOP) where she works to support and promote Philadelphia’s LGBTQ attorneys through networking and educational events. She created the current website, along with its content, and published its first-ever newsletter.

Moderator, “Professional Inclusion: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Rule 8.4(g), Prohibiting Discrimination ‘In the Practice of Law,‘” August 24, 2020

Quoted, “LGBTQ Attorneys Move Forward With New Initiatives,” Philadelphia Gay News, August 19, 2020

Quoted, “‘A Day Of Immense Celebration’: Local Leaders React To Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling Protecting LGBT Workers From Job Discrimination,” CBS Philly, June 15, 2020

Author, Delving into the Philly Suburbs, Philly Tax Jawn, July 25, 2019

Press Release, “Amanda J. Dougherty Elected to the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes,” May 24, 2019

Author, Reassessments and Unintended Consequences, Philly Tax Jawn, May 1, 2019

Presenter, “Philadelphia Real Estate Taxes,” PBA Annual Bench-Bar Conference, October 12-13, 2018

Co-author, Philadelphia Property Tax Reassessment: What It Means and How to Respond,” with co-author Corinne Brennan, 2018 Pennsylvania CPA Journal, June 4, 2018

• Successfully litigated real estate tax assessment appeals at the trial court, one of which resulted in over $3 million of additional revenue to the client and was successfully defended on appeal to the Commonwealth Court.
• Successfully represented a client in an international AAA arbitration against a real estate developer who was found to have made numerous fraudulent misrepresentations prior to the subject real estate deal.
• Successfully defended several Conservatorship Action claims to keep properties in the hands of their owners for future development.
• Represented numerous clients in the construction industry for collections actions.
• Forced a condominium association to withdraw its complaint against a client medical practice for unlawful condominium assessments.
• Led discovery in a UCC dispute for a major publicly-traded corporation.