Douglas S. Stone Named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Land Use and Zoning Law

Best Lawyers® has named Lewis Rice member Douglas S. Stone among its "Lawyers of the Year" for 2024. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Only one attorney in each practice area and designated metropolitan area may receive the honor of "Lawyer of the Year." Doug was named for Land Use and Zoning Law. 

Doug provides both the private sector and municipalities with legal advice and strategic insight on conventional real estate projects as well as incentivized projects using such tools as tax increment financing, transportation development districts, urban redevelopment corporations and community improvement districts. He previously served as special counsel to Kansas City, Missouri with respect to the legal structure and financing of the downtown streetcar starter line, and remains deeply involved in civic discussions of improving public transit in and around Kansas City. Projects for which Doug has helped obtain zoning, incentives, and other governmental approvals include several well-known buildings, including the residential repurposing of the Western Auto Building and the Weld Wheel manufacturing facility in Kansas City, the development of the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives in St. Louis, and Prewitt's Point and Eagles' Landing regional shopping centers at the Lake of the Ozarks. Best Lawyers has included Doug in its annual list since 2016.