Real Property Law Section

8:00 a.m.

Check in and Continental Breakfast

8:20 a.m. – 8:25 a.m.

Business Meeting of the Real Property Section | Nomination of Officers

Speaker

Michelle Wildgrube, Esq. | Chair, Real Property Law; Section Nominating Committee

8:25 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Presentation by the New York Bar Foundation

8:30 a.m. – 8:35 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions

Speaker

Shelby D. Green, Esq., Section Chair | Susan Taxin Baer ’85 Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law White Plains, NY

Susan E. Golden, Esq., Program Chair | Venable LLP New York, NY

8:35 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.

Housing Court Task Force: Delays, Frustrations and Proposed Solutions

The Housing Court Task Force will lead a discussion detailing their statistical findings regarding the significant delays currently plaguing our housing courts, the impact and frustrations of owners, tenants and the court as a result of these delays, as well as proposed solutions to address and alleviate the current situation

Speaker

Madison Bishop, Esq. | Elisabeth Haub School of Law White Plains, New York

Paul Gruber, Esq. | Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, P.C. New York, New York

Mary D. Milone, Esq. | Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, P.C. New York, New York

Steven Smollens, Esq. | Smollens Law Office New York, New York

9:25 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.

Bias in Real Estate

Program Description in Process

Speaker

Toni Carlos, Esq. | Westcor Land Title Ins. Co.

9:50 a.m. – 10:05 a.m.

Break

10:05 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Burnett v. National Association of Realtors

The class action lawsuit Burnett v. National Association of Realtors (NAR) has changed the way realtors are compensated for representing home buyers and sellers, with implications for purchase and sale contracts and closings. This presentation will educate attorneys about the case, the settlement and where it applies, new forms of brokerage contracts, and how to address the changes with clients in the contract and closing process.

Speaker

Toni Ann Barone, Esq. | Law Firm of Barone & Barone, LLP Staten Island, New York

Alfred M. Fazio, Esq. | Capuder Fazio Giacoia LLP New York, New York

Neil Garfinkel, Esq. | Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP New York, New York

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Keeping the Trust: Ethics in Preserving Client Funds and Accepting Payment

“Money isn’t everything, but it ranks right up there with oxygen.” Money is both essential for successful law practices and one of the largest sources of disciplinary woes. Real Estate lawyers are among the most active users of escrow accounts. The potential for slip ups is high, even for conscientious practitioners. New technologies and changing norms have modernized the traditional practice, but present opportunities for inadvertent ethics violations. This talk will discuss selected advanced issues in escrow account management and alternative payment arrangements.

Speaker

Randall Tesser, Esq. | Tesser, Ryan & Rochman LLP White Plains, New York