Merle Ochrach, a principal with the firm, has been practicing real estate, banking, and municipal law for over thirty-five years. Merle has represented numerous municipalities, municipal authorities (water and sewer and industrial development authorities), lending institutions, developers and homeowners. Merle represents a number of industrial development authorities with regard to tax exempt financing. Merle is listed in the Bond Buyer’s Red Book. Through the industrial developmental authorities she represents she is able to assist non-profit and manufacturing companies with tax exempt loans ranging in scope from several million dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars. Merle negotiates and settles commercial lending transactions and secures sophisticated financing for borrowers and represents banks alike.
A large part of her practice also includes the negotiation and settlement of commercial lending transactions and the securing of sophisticated financing for borrowers and represents banks alike. Last year, Merle closed over a quarter of a billion dollars in real estate, equipment, commercial and tax-exempt financing matters.
Because of her in-depth knowledge of the requirements of local governments as well as the procedures for obtaining approvals and permits, she is sought after by lenders, developers and homeowners for help with a wide array of issues. Merle has extensive experience in negotiating and drafting commercial leases and has developed an expertise in addressing lease issues for retail, commercial and industrial centers. Additionally, she aids realtors, purchasers and sellers with advice on problematic issues that arise in the course of a real-estate transaction. Merle is Solicitor of the Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA). Merle has been tremendously active in the Montgomery Bar Association, having served as a past member of its Board of Directors, a past Chairperson of its Real Estate/Land Use Committee, a past Chair of the Montgomery Law Reporter Committee, a past Co-Chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee and a past Chairperson of its Municipal Law Committee. Merle also served as a delegate to the Pennsylvania House of Delegates for the Montgomery Bar Association. Merle served as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Development Corporation, a County organization that administers several State loan and grant funds.
Merle has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2021-2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America for Banking and Finance Law. Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers® lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Merle received her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law Camden.