LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Lieb at Law is Hiring | Real Estate Attorney | Unique Opportunity To Run Transaction Practice | Smithtown

Transaction Attorney: Resumes to careers@liebatlaw.com

Lieb at Law, P.C. seeks an experienced transaction attorney to join our boutique firm as we rapidly expand our footprint. This is the right position for an attorney looking to leverage our 7,000 + contacts in the real estate brokerage world. If played right, you can be the most sought after commercial and residential transactional attorney in the Long Island / NYC region.

The firm services the New York Metro area, inclusive of the Hamptons and Manhattan, and represents the largest real estate brokerage and title companies in the State of New York. Moreover, the firm’s sister company is one of the largest real estate schools in the state offering in-person and digital continuing education classes to real estate brokers and salespersons. In the summer of 2018, the firm is moving to Smithtown and opening up a new state of the art training facility and headquarters. We are looking for someone to lead and grow what can be the largest transaction department in the State. Those that succeed and prove themselves have the opportunity to become a partner at the firm.

The firm’s practice areas include:

Litigation: Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Real Estate Brokerage Litigation, Title Litigation, Plaintiff Personal Injury, Landlord/Tenant, Discrimination and Estate Litigation.
Legal Compliance for Regulated Industries: Outside Compliance Counsel for regulated professions, Policy Drafting, Policy Implementation, Auditing, Corporate Compliance Trainings. Focus on real estate brokerage and title insurance industries.
Estate Planning and Probate: Last Wills, Advance Directives, Trusts, and Probate Administration.
Transactions: Commercial and Residential Real Estate Purchase and Lease Transactions, Business Transactions and Negotiations.
Qualifications:
Lieb at Law’s transactional practice represents commercial clients and individuals in real estate and business transactions. Candidates must have a minimum of 4 years of experience drafting, structuring and negotiating contracts and leases. Be prepared to explain the legal bases for specific title exceptions and your strategy to clear these title issues if you want the job. Candidates must be impeccably organized and technologically savvy as the firm is a paperless office that leverages cloud based systems to streamline operations. Most importantly, the candidate must be a hustler, who wants to leverage substance rather than emotion, when getting the job done yesterday. The firm’s motto is “no case, no statue, no talk”.
Commercial and Residential Transactions:
  • Purchases & Sales for Single Family / Vacation (Second) Homes, Multi-Family Homes, Co-ops, Condos, New Construction, Short Sales, Vacant Land 
  • Commercial Sales / Purchases for Stand Alone Buildings, Shopping Centers / Strip Malls, Hotel / Motels, Entity Transfer Agreements, Religious Institutions, Operator / Master Tenant Agreements and more… 
  • Commercial / Residential Leasing 
  • Deed Transfers 
  • Land Use & Zoning Advice & Applications 
  • Promissory Notes & Mortgages 
  • Property Management
Business Transactions and Negotiations:
  • Purchases & Sales (UCC Filings / Bulk Sale Transactions) 
  • Drafting & Negotiation of Commercial Contracts 
  • Drafting Legal Viability Reports for Business Planning 
  • Business Structuring & Startup Counseling 
  • Organization of New Businesses, Formation of Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs and more
  • Shareholder / Membership Agreements 
  • Drafting Form Contracts 
  • Drafting & Advice for Policy Manuals 
  • Intellectual Property Copyright / Trademark Filings & Licensing Agreements 
  • Regulatory Advice, Compliance & Advocacy


Lieb at Law is Different:
The law firm’s sister company, Lieb School, offers in-person and digital courses throughout New York State and Connecticut. Lieb at Law, P.C. attorneys draft curriculum and teach at the school where they have the opportunity to establish themselves as topical experts and drive the future of the real estate brokerage industry.  Lieb Attorneys will have the opportunity to leverage the firm’s state of the art training center for business development.

About the Firm:
The firm was founded in 1977. In 2009, Andrew Lieb acquired control of the firm and transformed its legal services from a general practice to a commercial litigation and transaction boutique focusing on real estate and legal compliance for regulated industries.

The firm’s litigation practice is driven by leveraging informational imbalances to win cases. This is a substance first law firm where data drives decision making and strategy.

To achieve the firm’s information focused litigation culture, staff have access to cloud-based legal research platform so the latest cases are available to our legal team everywhere, including within the courtroom. Next, a secure, cloud-based case management system catalogs every thought and action on each client’s matter. As a result, case facts are readily accessible through the stroke of a computer key, instead of being locked away in one attorney’s memory or private paper notes in some desk draw. Finally, enterprise file sharing, storage and collaboration software is utilized to enable the efficient collaboration between attorneys where case strategy and document preparation benefits from fresh and innovative group think.

Lieb at Law’s latest research and collaboration tools extend to the firm’s transactional team, which ensures that contractual language is driven by our real life experiential learning from our contractual litigating practice.

Lastly, we publish and teach the law that we practice in order to always stay on the cutting edge. Lieb at Law’s work product is a derivative of embracing education and technology to provide a modern law firm that is at the vanguard of representation.

About the Transaction Practice:
Lieb at Law ensures that contractual language is driven by the real life experience of our litigation practice. As a result, we advise and negotiate by performing a cost-benefit analysis for each provision that goes into our client’s contracts. Knowing the cost of litigation and likelihood of success on the merits for each term, through first-hand experience, enables us to succinctly know when to push and when to give in to achieve favorable agreements. Simply stated, we are a substance-based law firm, not a "because that’s how it's done" shop.

We are on the cutting edge of the law and frequently give lectures and continuing education to attorneys and real estate professionals throughout New York State. Our attorneys have drafted and published a complete set of transactional forms for the largest brokerage companies in the state, including policy manuals and the like. The firm’s Managing Attorney oversees the transactional practice and is a prolific author on real estate law topics, has served as the Chair of the Real Property Committee to the Suffolk Bar Association and is a regular contributor to the Journal of Real Estate Litigation and Condemnation of the American Bar Association, The New York Real Estate Journal, The Huffington Post, Dan’s Papers, Behind The Hedges, The Nassau Lawyer and The Suffolk Lawyer.


Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The End of Yellowstone Injunctions

The Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled on an issue of first impression in 159 MP Corp. v. Redbridge Bedford, LLC, that commercial tenants may waive declaratory judgment remedies in their written lease agreements and as such, landlords can now avoid Yellowstone injunctions through carefully crafting their lease agreements. All landlord’s counsel should include a provision in their leases mirroring the operative lease language. It would be wise for landlord’s counsel to expressly set forth broad consideration for the waiver of declaratory relief so that it is not subject to unconscionability analysis. 

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Brand New FREE Lieb CE | Listing Agents - Claims of Ownership | Southampton


Date: April 19, 2018
Time: 3:30pm to 7:15pm
Instructor: Andrew Lieb Esq
Price: FREE, FUN WITH FOOD*
Location: 230 Elm in Southampton

*FOOD Provided by Class Sponsors: Douglas Elliman Real Estate, DE Title Services, Citizens Bank and Behind The Hedges (DANS PAPERS)

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

Lieb at Law is Hiring | Litigation Attorney | Complex Motion Writer | Legal Strategist | Smithtown


Lieb at Law, P.C. seeks an experienced attorney to join our boutique firm as we rapidly expand our footprint and seek new high quality litigators. The firm services the New York Metro area, inclusive of the Hamptons and Manhattan. In the summer of 2018, the firm is moving from Center Moriches to Smithtown and opening up a new state of the art training facility. We are looking for a complex motion writer / legal strategist to join our team. This is an opportunity for someone who wants to work on interesting and complex cases with endless career opportunities. This person will manage high profile commercial litigation cases (Plaintiff & Defense).

The firm’s practice areas include:

  • Litigation: Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Real Estate Brokerage Litigation, Title Litigation, Plaintiff Personal Injury, Landlord/Tenant, Discrimination and Estate Litigation.
  • Legal Compliance for Regulated Industries: Outside Compliance Counsel for regulated professions, Policy Drafting, Policy Implementation, Auditing, Corporate Compliance Trainings. Focus on real estate brokerage and title insurance industries. 
  • Estate Planning and Probate: Last Wills, Advance Directives, Trusts, and Probate Administration.
  • Transactions: Commercial and Residential Real Estate Purchase and Lease Transactions, Business Transactions and Negotiations. 


Qualifications: 

Candidate must be seasoned in motion practice, oral arguments, depositions, and trial preparation. Appeals and Trials are a plus, but not required. Must be technologically savvy as the firm is a paperless office that leverages cloud based systems to streamline operations. Most importantly, the candidate must be a strategic and technical litigator who leads with substance rather than emotion. The firm’s motto is “no case, no statute, no talk”.

Lieb at Law is different: 
The law firm is a part-owner of a New York State Licensed Real Estate School, Lieb School, which offers in-class and digital courses throughout New York State and Connecticut. Lieb at Law, P.C. attorneys draft curriculum and teach at the school where they have the opportunity to establish themselves as topical experts and drive the future of the real estate brokerage industry.  

About the firm:
The firm was founded in 1977. In 2009, Andrew Lieb acquired control of the firm and transformed its legal services from a general practice to a commercial litigation boutique focusing on real estate and legal compliance for regulated industries. 

The firm’s litigation practice is driven by leveraging informational imbalances to win cases. This is a substance first law firm where data drives decision making and strategy.

To achieve the firm’s information focused litigation culture, staff have access to cloud-based legal research platform so the latest cases are available to our legal team everywhere, including within the courtroom. Next, a secure, cloud-based case management system catalogs every thought and action on each client’s matter. As a result, case facts are readily accessible through the stroke of a computer key, instead of being locked away in one attorney’s memory or private paper notes in some desk draw. Finally, enterprise file sharing, storage and collaboration software is utilized to enable the efficient collaboration between attorneys where case strategy and document preparation benefits from fresh and innovative group think.

Lieb at Law’s latest research and collaboration tools extend to the firm’s transactional team, which ensures that contractual language is driven by our real life experiential learning from our contractual litigating practice.

Lastly, we publish and teach the law that we practice in order to always stay on the cutting edge. Lieb at Law’s work product is a derivative of embracing education and technology to provide a modern law firm that is at the vanguard of representation.

Notable Clients:
  • Largest Real Estate Brokerage firm in the State of New York
  • Largest Title Insurance company in the State of New York
  • Lieb School: New York State / Connecticut Real Estate School
  • Small and medium size businesses and property owners 
  • High net worth individuals
To apply: Email Cover Letter & Resume to careers@liebatlaw.com 

Monday, February 26, 2018

DOJ Launches Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative


The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice announced a new initiative that brings local law enforcement, legal service providers, and DOJ officials together in order to encourage victims to report instances of sexual harassment, increase awareness, assist in obtaining necessary resources for relief, and ultimately, continue the vigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act’s ban on sexual harassment.

This initiative stemmed from four cases in 2017, wherein DOJ recovered over $1 million in damages for claims of sexual harassment and violations of the Fair Housing Act. Two of those cases are U.S. v. Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority and U.S. v. Tjoelker.

On September 29, 2017, DOJ executed a settlement agreement resolving a case against Kansas City Kansas Housing Authority (KCKHA). The Complaint alleged KCKHA employees engaged in a pattern or practice of sexually harassing female housing applicants and residents. One defendant even admitted in sworn deposition testimony that he exposed himself to multiple females. In the agreement, the fourteen aggrieved females were awarded $360,000 in monetary damages. In addition, KCKHA was ordered to implement a written policy against sexual harassment, including a formal complaint procedure to be approved by DOJ and to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States.

On October 3, 2017, DOJ also executed a settlement agreement against Frank Tjoelker, owner and/or manager of rental dwellings in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Complaint also alleged that he engaged in a pattern or practice of sexually harassing actual and prospective female tenants. Allegations include unwelcome sexual comments and advances, unwanted groping or touching, offers for housing benefits in exchange for sexual favors, and taking or threats of taking adverse housing actions for those who object to such harassment or refuse to grant sexual favors. Under the settlement agreement, Tjoelker was ordered to pay $140,000 to compensate the ten victims and a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States.

Although DOJ only executed settlement agreements to obtain resolutions on the above-mentioned cases and such agreements are binding only among the parties involved, it is likely that DOJ will apply similar penalties in future settlement agreements or decisions on violations of the Fair Housing Act’s sexual harassment ban. See U.S. v. Bailey, U.S. v. Barnason, and U.S. v. Bathrick.

In this regard, as evidence of good faith compliance with the Fair Housing Act, real estate professionals are encouraged to establish written policies against sexual harassment, to train their employees and agents to identify and refrain from engaging in acts of sexual harassment, and to establish procedures for handling complaints.