Elissa D. Levan, Esq.

Partner

Telephone: (443) 853-9009

Email: elevan@levanruff.com

Elissa serves as general counsel to several Maryland cities and towns. She also consults with other local governments in many areas including personnel, zoning and land use, and ethics matters.

Elissa has been representing municipal governments since 1992. During her career as a municipal lawyer, she has been active in the Maryland Municipal League (MML) and Maryland Municipal Attorney’s Association (MMAA). For several years, she served as liaison to the MML’s Legislative Committee. She is presently the MMAA’s representative on the League’s Board of Directors. She has also been a member of the Maryland State Bar Association’s Local Government and Administrative Law Sections, serving on the governing Councils for both sections. She is a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation. Elissa also spent a year with the Office of the Attorney General, representing the twenty-four Maryland sheriffs and their sworn deputies.

Clients rely on Elissa as a trusted voice and confidant who understands local government law’s unique issues and regulations.

Bar Admission

Maryland Court of Appeals, 1988

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, 1989

U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997

 

Education

George Washington University School of Law, Washington, D.C., J.D. with Honors.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, B.A. with Distinction. Near Eastern and North African Studies

Experience

General Counsel to:

  • City of Bowie

  • City of Mount Rainier

  • City of Westminster

  • Town of Chesapeake Beach

  • Town of Church Hill

  • Town of North Beach

  • Town of Sykesville

Types of Municipal Boards and Commissions Represented

  • Boards of Zoning Appeals

  • Planning Commissions

  • Ethics Commissions

  • Advisory Planning Commissions

Professional Affiliations

  • Maryland State Bar Association, State and Local Government Section, Section Council (2001-2005, 2010-2014, 2021-current); Administrative Law Section, Section Council (2000-2009),

  • Maryland Municipal Attorneys Association

  • Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, Attorneys’ Committee (2006-2009)

  • Maryland Bar Foundation, Fellow (2006-present)