William E. Benner
William E. Benner received his education at Dickinson College and at the Villanova University School of Law, where he graduated with honors in 1969 as a member of the Villanova Law Review and the Order of the Coif. Bill is an active member of the Bucks County and Pennsylvania Bar and has been admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
Bill began his legal career in the United States Navy, serving in its Judge Advocate General’s Corps. In 1974, he joined the Doylestown law firm of Power, Bowen & Valimont where he concentrated his real estate practice representing clients in tax assessment appeals, zoning and land development, and in various transactional and environmental matters. In 1995, he and Ed Wild formed Benner and Wild.
Bill has represented individuals and large and small corporations over his professional career in matters ranging from residential closings to complex commercial transactions, involving leasing, financing, and acquisitions and sales. He has similarly represented both individuals and corporations in tax assessment appeals, eminent domain matters, and in zoning and land development matters from small residential variances to highly complex land developments. Some examples of these more complex projects include: Neshaminy Interplex (Office Campus, Bensalem Township); Greenwood Square (Office Campus; Bensalem Township); Neshaminy Square (Shopping Center, Bensalem Township); Mercer Square (Shopping Center, Doylestown Township); Valley Square (Mixed Use, Warrington Township); and expansions to Neshaminy Mall (Bensalem Township), Feasterville Mall (Lower Southampton Township), Quakertown Farmers Market (Richland Township), Oxford Valley Mall (Middletown Township), Hilltown Plaza (Hilltown Township). Additionally, Bill has represented his clients in environmental regulatory matters before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.
Bill has designed and presented Continuing Legal Education seminars sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, National Business Institute, and the Bucks County Bar Association. These have included: A Practical Guide to Residential Real Estate, Land Use Issues in Telecommunications Cases Arising Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Major Land Use Laws in Pennsylvania, The Effect of Zoning and Land Use Laws on Real Property Development in Pennsylvania, and several others involving current issues in Land Use Practice.
Like his partner Ed, Bill has achieved the AV Preeminent rating, the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell. The AV Preeminent rating is the pinnacle of professional excellence earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating process.
Bill has lived in Doylestown Township with his wife, Verlyn, for 36 years.