West Palm Beach Residents Oppose Downtown Master Plan Update Over Unanswered Infrastructure Questions
West Palm Beach residents are mobilizing against the City’s proposed Downtown Master Plan Update, warning that officials are moving to allow more development without first determining whether the City’s roads, water, sewer, and drainage systems can support it.
In a letter to the City, the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association and West Palm Beach Neighborhood Alliance say they will not allow a repeat of the same approach residents have seen before with the recently approved Related Ross convention-center hotel. There, the City deferred the hotel’s infrastructure-capacity/burden analysis until after permitting. Under the proposed downtown plan, the City would again leave those questions until after the development process begins.
“The City repeatedly treats infrastructure analysis as something that can wait until after the decisions are made,” says counsel William A. Brewer III, attorney for the neighborhood groups. “Clearly, ‘we’ll study it later’ isn't planning .”
The groups are asking the City to conduct the infrastructure and other analysis before advancing the plan and to retain safeguards that measure how much development downtown can support. Unless those concerns are addressed, they recommend denial of the Downtown Master Plan Update.
Miami Herald Highlights Legal Fight Over West Palm Beach Related Ross Hotel as Residents File Writ Challenging City Approval
The Miami Herald reports on the escalating fight over the proposed convention center hotel, highlighting a recently filed petition for writ of certiorari challenging the City of West Palm Beach’s approval of the eighteen-story project. The suit is brought by an Alliance of residents who are asking the Circuit Court to halt the project while alleging the city violated its own rules in approving the hotel.
The story details the filing on Sept. 30, by the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association and West Palm Beach Neighborhood Alliance, challenging the 400-room Curio Collection by Hilton hotel. Residents argue the city approved the project without the findings required to support key issues – such as traffic, infrastructure, and other public impacts.
The article also underscores the scale of the public financial support behind the project. Palm Beach County recently approved a multimillion-dollar purchase-and-leaseback arrangement with Related Ross. The plan, approved by West Palm Beach commissioners, gives up more than $1 million a year in property-tax revenue tied to the hotel.
“Just look at the sequence: required infrastructure questions left unanswered, critical safety measures deferred, and the parking plan depended on a County lease that had not yet been approved,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel for the petitioners. “This is not about a neighborhood being precious about its zip code – it is local government treating legally required steps as inconveniences.”
Margaret Frazzini, president of the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association and the Alliance, told the publication: “We are not taking legal action because we’re against growth,” she said in a prepared statement. “We’re filing because somewhere along the way, residents became an obstacle to a decision that was already made.”
Read more here.
WPBF 25 News Details West Palm Beach Residents’ Bid to Undo Related Ross Hotel Approvals
WPBF 25 News reports on West Palm Beach residents’ effort to quash the city’s approval of Related Ross’ proposed 18-story, 400-room Curio Collection by Hilton hotel, spotlighting allegations that key reviews were left incomplete before the project was allowed to move forward.
The story centers on a petition for writ of certiorari filed by the Grandview Heights Neighborhood Association and the West Palm Beach Neighborhood Alliance. The filing requests that the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit reverse the City’s approvals and block building permits while the case is reviewed. The petition also argues that the city failed to meet the requirements under its own code – including findings detailing whether public infrastructure could support the development.
William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel to petitioners, told WPBF that the city should have undertaken more extensive review before the final vote. “They abandoned the master plan. They are not acting in view of our clients as people that protect the public,” he said.
The article also details the petition’s concerns, including allegations that commissioners disclosed contacts with Related Ross without fully sharing what was discussed.
“Have full, fair, open discussion about whether or not the city should be granting approval, whether this program…is in the best interest of the community,” Brewer told WPBF.
Read more here.
Brewer Foundation Announces Partnership with Cornell University Speech and Debate Team
September 22, 2026 — The Brewer Foundation proudly announces that Cornell University's Speech and Debate Team is the newest collegiate partner of the International Public Policy Forum (IPPF). Cornell debaters will serve as judges throughout this season's written rounds, bringing collegiate-level rigor to a competition built for high schoolers tackling real policy questions.
The IPPF, now in its 26th year, pairs written and oral debate in a format found nowhere else in international high school competition. Founded by the Brewer Foundation in 2001, and now jointly run with New York University, the competition draws student teams from countries across the world every season.
Sam Nelson, Director of the Cornell University Speech and Debate Team, said the partnership reflects the program’s mission: “Public policy debate teaches students to combine conviction in their own arguments with genuine respect for the strongest opposing views. That is exactly the kind of thinker IPPF aims to develop, and we are proud to support that effort.”
William A. Brewer III, Chairman of the Brewer Foundation and Founder of the IPPF, welcomed Cornell’s participation. “Each partner school we add to IPPF raises the level of competition for our students. Cornell’s debate program has a strong reputation, and its judges will challenge competitors to argue with greater precision.”
Each October, teams submit qualifying-round essays. The IPPF judges select the top 64 teams, who then compete in a single-elimination written bracket that narrows the field to 32, 16, and ultimately the “Elite Eight.” The Brewer Foundation welcomes those eight teams to New York City for the live Finals rounds. The 26th annual IPPF Finals Weekend will take place April 16-17, 2027, when the IPPF World Champion will claim the Brewer Cup and a $10,000 prize.
This year’s teams will debate a resolution with real stakes: Resolved: The United Nations should prioritize protecting the rights of women and girls over respecting state sovereignty. Cornell’s involvement adds depth to a season that already asks students to examine where global obligations end and national sovereignty begins.
Learn more about the IPPF here: International Public Policy Forum | Global Dialogue
William A. Brewer III Writes for Texas Lawyer on the Price Markets Pay for Political Volatility
In a Texas Lawyer commentary, partner William A. Brewer III examines a new study by Felix Stolze analyzing the economic consequences of populism and looking beyond the ballot box to how political volatility reverberates through markets, boardrooms, and commercial agreements.
Using the recent electoral gains of Germany’s Alternative for Germany as his starting point, Stolze analyzed 129 elections across the EU and OECD, finding measurable economic, climate, market, and corporate consequences following right-wing electoral victories.
The broader lesson from Stolze's analysis, Brewer argues, extends beyond any one election or political movement. Changes in energy, tax, and trade policy can reshape investment decisions, disrupt supply chains, and upend the assumptions underlying commercial agreements.
“Markets are constantly repricing the world politicians create,” Brewer writes. “A change in energy policy can alter the economics of an industrial plant. A change in tax policy can move millions in capital across borders. A change in trade policy can upend supply chains.”
For companies and their counsel, that volatility can ultimately become a legal problem. “Contracts, after all, possess no built-in shock absorbers for sudden ideological warfare,” Brewer observes.
Ultimately, Brewer argues that political rhetoric may offer simple answers, but markets are governed by the cold arithmetic of risk and return: “So if you want simple solutions to complex problems – be careful what you wish for.”
Read more here.
William A. Brewer III Recognized Among Lawdragon’s 2027 500 Leading Litigators in America
September 14, 2026 – NEW YORK – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announces that founding partner William A. Brewer III has been named to Lawdragon’s 2027 500 Leading Litigators in America.
The guide recognizes leading lawyers who excel in advocacy before juries, judges, and other decision-makers on behalf of their clients. Brewer is recognized for his work in commercial litigation, hospitality, lender liability, antitrust, and plaintiff-side matters.
Lawdragon selected this year’s honorees following a record-breaking number of submissions.
View the full list of 2027 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America here.
Plaintiffs: New York Attorney General May Not Represent Half of Divided Board of Election Commissioners in New York Even Year Election Law Challenge
Sept. 9, 2026 – Plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge to New York's Even-Year Election Law ("EYEL") wrote to the court today arguing that the New York Attorney General may not advance the position of two commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections in connection with their anticipated motion to dismiss the case.
The case is brought by the New York State Republican Committee, the Nassau and Suffolk County Republican Committees, the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, and a coalition of local candidates. Plaintiffs allege the EYEL violates the First Amendment by forcing local elections onto even-year ballots dominated by national and statewide races, burying local candidates and issues beneath the avalanche of information associated with federal contests. Plaintiffs also complain that the EYEL carves out an exemption for New York City and the five boroughs.
In the Second Amended Complaint filed July 9, 2026, Plaintiffs name as Defendants the four individual commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections in their official capacities: Henry Berger, Essma Bagnuola, Peter Kosinski, and Anthony Casale.
The Attorney General notified the Court of an intent to move to dismiss on behalf of Commissioners Berger and Bagnuola. The other two named Defendants, Kosinski and Casale, are absent from that effort. Both publicly urged Governor Hochul to veto the EYEL in 2023.
Under New York law, the Attorney General represents state officers in their official capacities, and the client in that role is the office itself, not the Commissioners individually. New York Election Law reinforces the point directly: any official action by the Board requires the affirmative vote of three of its four commissioners.
With only two of the four named Defendants behind the motion, Plaintiffs argue there is no institutional authorization for the Attorney General to file a motion to dismiss the suit — only the preference of half the Board. Plaintiffs ask the Court to deny leave for the motion altogether, or, at minimum, to treat whatever is filed as the position of Berger and Bagnuola alone.
"The positions advanced in Court must reflect the Board of Elections' authorized position, not the preference of a fraction of its officeholders," said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the Plaintiffs. "New York required three votes for any action by this Board precisely to ensure fairness and equal representation between the two parties. We are asking this Court to deny leave for this motion altogether — or, at the very least, to recognize it for what it is: the position of two commissioners, not the Board."
Business Insider Names William A. Brewer III Among New York’s Best-Dressed Lawyers
NEW YORK – William A. Brewer III, founder of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, was named one of New York’s best-dressed lawyers by Business Insider.
Brewer is among nine attorneys selected for Business Insider’s feature on the city’s standout legal style. The profile highlights Brewer’s signature approach to dressing – from Bruce Cameron Clark shirts and tailor-made Oxxford Clothes and Zegna suits, to his collection of watches and affinity for embroidered Ralph Lauren jeans. The profile notes that his “old-school polish” has become a hallmark of the firm.
During the interview, Brewer also discussed his longstanding appreciation for watches and the tradition of gifting them to members of his leadership team. Last Christmas, he purchased more than a dozen watches from Ralph Lauren. “You give somebody a timepiece, you’re telling them their time is now,” Brewer told Business Insider.
“William’s style shines in the details: the tailoring, the ties, and even the watches,” said Joi-Marie McKenzie, judge and Editor-in-Chief of Life at Business Insider. “He stood out to me, however, for how he can expertly move from a traditional suit to a casual look without feeling like he’s trying too hard. He just gets it.”
Read more: Meet 9 of New York City's Best-Dressed Lawyers - Business Insider