About William F.
William F. Kerr built a career at the intersection of planning and law. He completed a Bachelor of Science at Delaware Valley College in 1979, followed by a Master of Science in City and Regional Planning at Rutgers University in 1982. Nearly a decade later he earned a Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1991, after which he began practicing in Pennsylvania.
Kerr has held partner positions at two law firms. He served as a partner at Blank Rome LLP and later joined High Swartz LLP as a partner. Those roles have kept him engaged in transactional and regulatory work tied to land, housing and development. He practices under Pennsylvania jurisdiction and has worked across matters that touch on municipal approvals, land use regulation and real estate transactions.
His academic background in city and regional planning informs how he approaches legal questions. That training provides a technical grounding for zoning and development issues, while his legal education framed how to translate planning concepts into enforceable agreements and permits. Colleagues and clients have relied on that combination when projects require coordination among developers, local governments and financing sources.
Kerr’s professional activities extend beyond firm work. He has been a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association since 1992 and belongs to the American Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association. Locally, he participates in the Montgomery County Bar Association’s Real Estate Law Committee. He is also involved in sector organizations, including the Pennsylvania Developers Council and the Pennsylvania Housing Alliance Sponsorship Committee. Many of those memberships date back more than a decade and continue into the present.
In practice he handles matters common to real estate development: land use approvals, negotiation of development agreements, subdivision and land planning issues, and legal work tied to housing initiatives. He appears in administrative and municipal settings and works on transactional documents that move projects from concept to construction. His combination of planning credentials and legal practice shapes how he evaluates risk and structures deals.
Kerr’s career reflects steady involvement in the legal and development communities of Pennsylvania. He remains a partner at High Swartz LLP and continues to concentrate his practice on land use, real estate and development matters.
