Former Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb Joins McNees
January 8, 2024
Press Releases
PITTSBURGH — McNees today announced that former longtime Pittsburgh City Controller Michael E. Lamb has joined the firm’s growing western Pennsylvania team.
Lamb served as the independently elected City Controller for the past 16 years and, prior to that, as Allegheny County’s last elected Prothonotary. He also has extensive experience in public finance, public-private partnerships and government services.
“Michael is a highly skilled and accomplished public finance attorney, advising local governments, authorities and agencies across Pennsylvania on a wide range of legal and financial matters,” said McNees Chair Brian F. Jackson. “From shepherding governments through public financing initiatives and operating as bond counsel to counseling financially distressed municipalities, he has built a long record as a trusted and respected advisor to his clients.”
He added: “We are thrilled Michael has chosen to join our growing McNees team in Pittsburgh, as he will certainly bring great value to clients across the region.”
Through his experience in both private practice and public service, Lamb has developed a keen understanding of the legal, regulatory and financial processes specific to municipal finance. In addition to his extensive knowledge of legal matters pertaining to municipal securities and financing of public projects, he also has extensive experience with public pension fund guidance and the development and governance of special districts and authorities.
“I have spent my entire career guiding and advising local governments – large and small – through complex financial issues,” Lamb said. “Whether it’s improving accountability and transparency or helping to find innovative ways to overcome difficult fiscal challenges, my goal is the same – to help strengthen the communities I serve. With McNees, I have found a firm that shares my commitment to both client service and community.”
Lamb will practice from McNees’ Pittsburgh office in the Public Finance and Government Services Group – a growing practice area of the firm. Last year, McNees served as bond counsel to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority in its sale of almost $400 million of revenue bonds to fund critical investments in water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure.
Lamb earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, his master’s degree from the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and his J.D. from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. He is also a graduate of the Local Government Academy in Pittsburgh.
Prior to his career in elected office, Lamb served as chief of staff to former Pittsburgh City Councilman Michael Coyne and as staff assistant to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). When he was in private practice, he worked at two Pittsburgh-based firms and interned with the Allegheny County Public Defender’s Office.
Lamb has long been an active leader in his community. He co-founded The Congress of Neighboring Communities, an organization that brings together the City of Pittsburgh and its neighboring municipalities to implement public policies that improve the urban core of the region. He also serves on the board of 3Rivers Wet Weather, where he works with the city and 82 other municipalities to implement a regional solution to combined sewer outflows.
Lamb also co-founded A+ Schools, a nonprofit organization that advocates for increased student achievement, parental involvement, after-school programming and stronger leadership in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
He is an adjunct professor of public policy at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Board of Fellows at the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics. He has also served as an instructor of Pennsylvania civil procedure for continuing legal education seminars.
A lifelong resident of Allegheny County, Michael and his wife Jill Lamb reside in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
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McNees is a multidisciplinary law firm founded in 1935 with more than 150 attorneys representing businesses, associations, institutions, municipalities and individuals. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Devon, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Pittsburgh, Scranton, State College and York, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; Frederick and Towson, Md.; and Washington, D.C. McNees is a member of the ALFA International Global Legal Network.
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