D. Robert Davidson
Contact Me:
Current Employment Position
- Partner
Practice Areas:
- Boundary Disputes
- Real Estate Transfers
- Real Estate Title and Quiet Title Issues
- Easements
- Municipal Law
- Farm Succession and Transition Planning
- Wills, Trusts, and Powers of Attorney
- Zoning
- Environmental and Land Use Permitting
- Leases and Agreements
Biography
Rob is a 1986 graduate of Millville High School and a 1990 graduate of Bloomsburg University with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental and Land Use Planning. Upon graduation, Rob went to work for a local engineering and surveying firm, where he rose to Chief of Surveys. Rob also began working for municipalities serving as Zoning Officer, Sewage Enforcement Officer, and Planning Consultant. During that time, he obtained his Surveying License, Sewage Enforcement Officer Certification, and recognition by the American Planning Association as a Certified Planner. Rob continued to serve 11 municipalities while attending law school.
Upon graduation, he joined the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture where he served as Chief of Land Use and Natural Resources and Executive Assistant to three Secretaries of Agriculture. In this role, he worked with the permitting of agricultural facilities, Right to Farm and ACRE laws, Clean and Green, and the State's Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program. Rob served as the Secretary's representative to the State Planning Board, Governor's Inter-Agency Land Use Committee, State Water Resources Committee, Governor's Advisory Council on Rural Affairs, State Transportation Advisory Committee, and Chair of the Commonwealth Agricultural Lands Condemnation Approval Board (ALCAB). He developed, and directed the Center for Farm Transition, helping to transfer farms to the next generation of farmers. Rob also served as the Agencies Open Records Officer and was responsible for assuring that the Department's policies and procedures regarding public access to records were in accordance with the Commonwealth's Open Record Law.
As corporate council for AgChoice Farm Credit Agricultural Credit Association, he represented Pennsylvania's largest agricultural lender, providing legal support in the delivery of appraisals, settlement services, crop insurance, farm accounting, tax planning, and farm succession and transition consulting.
Attorney Davidson's practice emphasizes real estate transfers, title issues, easements, quiet title actions and boundary disputes. He counsels both private and municipal clients in zoning and land use, permitting, and public access to records by the Open Record Law. Rob works extensively with farmers and agribusiness on succession and transition planning, permitting, natural gas exploration and pipeline leases, and solar leases. Rob is a Pennsylvania Resident Title Insurance Agent, Pennsylvania Sewage Enforcement Officer (SEO), and Pennsylvania licensed Land Surveyor (PLS).
Rob and his family reside on a small farm outside of Millville where, after extensively renovating the 1860's barn, he raises sheep. His daughters have been involved with 4H, showing lambs at the Bloomsburg Fair. Rob is a member of the Columbia County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and has been an active member of the Millville Community Volunteer Fire Company since 1986 and he serves as Adjunct Instructor for the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy. Rob is the Millville High School Girls Soccer Assistant Coach and Assistant Scout Master for Millville Scouting BSA Troop 247.
Honors
Pro-Bono Activities
- Millville Community Volunteer Fire Company
- Columbia County Emergency Management Agency
- Columbia County Farm Bureau
- United States Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol
- Millville Lyons Club
Professional Associations
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Chair Agricultural Law Committee
- Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors
- American Planning Association
- Pennsylvania Planning Association
- Columbia County Farm Bureau, Board of Directors Member
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania, 2002
Certifications & Licenses
- Pennsylvania Professional Land Surveyor, Certification Number SU-052919-E
- Pennsylvania Resident Title Insurance Agent, License Number 770869
- American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Certification Number 19134
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; Sewage Enforcement Officer, Certification Number 02438
- National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies; Technician in Underground Utilities Construction, Certification Number 89597 (Expired)
- United States Army Corps of Engineers; Interagency Wetlands Identification and Delineation
- Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Technician, Certification Number 042115
Classes & Seminars Presented
- Legal Descriptions, Pennsylvania Land Title Institute, 01/20/2020
- Real Estate Transactions Toolkit, National Business Institute, 07/15/2019
- Title Law: A to Z, National Business Institute, 12/06/2017
- Estate Planning for Farmers, Columbia County Conservation District, 03/29/2017
- Boundary Dispute Remedies, Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors, 02/25/2017
- Title Workshop: From Examination to Commitment, National Business Institute, 12/05/2016
Published Works
Fraternities or Sororities
Representative Clients
Representative Cases
Ancillary Businesses
Past Positions
- RHP Law Group, Attorney, 2015 to 2019
- AgChoice Farm Credit, Attorney, Vice President, 2011 to 2015
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Chief of Land Use and Natural Resources, Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture, 2003 to 2011
- Construction Engineering Inc., Chief of Surveying, 1991 to 1998