LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Showing posts with label attorneys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attorneys. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Closing Attorneys Can Get Referrals from Associates who are Brokers

The NYSBA just released Ethics Opinion 1273 which opines that "[a] lawyer may accept real estate clients referred by an associate in the lawyer’s firm who is also a licensed real estate broker, provided the lawyer does not share legal fees or real estate commissions with the broker/associate and the lawyer obtains the client’s informed consent, confirmed in writing."


However, attorneys should remember that Rule 1.0(j) defines "informed consent" to "denote[] the agreement by a person to a proposed course of conduct after the lawyer has communicated information adequate for the person to make an informed decision, and after the lawyer has adequately explained to the person the material risks of the proposed course of conduct and reasonably available alternatives."


Consequently, simply alerting the client of the situation is not enough. There must be "adequate" explanation of the risks and other options - which theoretically includes hiring an attorney from another firm.


While this opinion will likely be well received by brokers and transactional attorneys alike, it's still filled with a litany of problems because any scorned client is going to claim that they did not receive an adequate explanation to make an informed choice. It's also important to note that the opinion is about the associate referring her client's to the attorney, but what about referring the other side of the deal? That's not addressed by the opinion and it's theorized that would be non-waivable because of the concurrent conflict of interest, but who knows.





Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Courts to Begin Limited In-Person Operations on Long Island

On May 18, 2020 the New York State Court System resumed limited in-person operations in upstate counties. Today Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced that in-person operations will expand to Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester Counties on May 27, Ulster and Sullivan Counties on May 28, and Nassau and Suffolk County on May 29. 

These re-openings are consistent with Phase 1 re-opening guidelines set by the Governor's Office and can be expanded as Phase 2 and further guidelines are met. 

Phase 1 operations permit judges, chambers staff, and some other limited personnel to return to their physical offices while operating in a manner consistent with current health and social distancing guidelines. Public in-person appearances will be limited to filings of emergency applications and the adjudication of matters that were previously identified as essential. In-person appearances for non-emergency and non-essential matters will be deferred to the courts' expanded virtual capabilities. 

Our court system is more capable than ever. Virtual conferences and the clearing of pending motions has put the courts in a position to handle the influx of new cases that will be filed now that non-essential matters can be commenced and in-person operations are returning. Chief Judge DiFiore has signaled that the expanded use of virtual court operations will be maintained by the courts for the foreseeable future as courthouses look to push as many public visitors as possible away from its doors and onto their computers screens. 

The Court System's official press release can be found HERE. The transcript of Judge DiFiore's latest message can be found HERE. A summary of the current state of online and in-person operations can be found HERE.


Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Ethics for Real Estate Attorneys

Tonight, 12.11.19, I am teaching the CLE Course Ethics for Real Estate Attorneys as sponsored by my good friends at First American.

The supporting materials for the course can be found here.