Focus: Real Estate Committee
For this issue of the newsletter, we interviewed the co-chairs of ABI’s Real Estate Committee – Alec Ostrow from Stevens & Lee PC in New York, Berry Spears with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP in Austin, Texas and John Young with Block Markus & Williams, LLC in Denver – to find out what the committee does and how you can get more involved. As reported elsewhere in this newsletter, we are pleased to report that the Real Estate Committee will co-sponsor an educational program with the Young and New Members Committee at the Winter Leadership Conference in December. We are looking forward to a very exciting program!
What is the focus of the Real Estate Committee?
To analyze and discuss issues unique to the reorganization of commercial real estate businesses, including single asset real estate cases.
Who should want to join the Real Estate Committee and why?
Attorneys and other insolvency professionals representing or wishing to represent businesses involved in or dependent on the commercial real estate economy, including real estate lenders, real estate developers, landlords, lessors, real estate management companies, REITs and hedge funds or other vehicles interested in acquiring distressed real estate. By joining the committee, attorneys and other insolvency professionals representing interests in a distressed real estate business will have up-to-the-minute resources and research materials available to them in order to develop and implement the best strategies for resolving or exiting a distressed real estate situation. Members of the Real Estate Committee will also benefit from the committee’s listserve, which allows them to discuss pertinent real estate issues affecting their insolvency practice on a daily basis. Members of the Real Estate Committee also receive electronic committee newsletters that provide the latest committee news and timely updates on relevant topics and issues affecting or unique to the reorganization of commercial real estate.
What does the Real Estate Committee do during the year?
Throughout the course of the year, the Real Estate Committee organizes and presents educational seminars focusing on issues unique to the reorganization of commercial real estate. These presentations are made at the Annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C., and the Winter Leadership Conference. The committee also maintains a listserve that allows committee members to discuss pertinent real estate issues on a frequent basis. The committee also routinely publishes an electronic newsletter providing its members with the latest committee news and updates on issues affecting distressed commercial real estate.
Is there anything notable that the Real Estate Committee has done recently that you would like highlighted?
We have presented educational programs dealing with diverse and interesting topics on the convergence of bankruptcy and real estate. In the last two years, we have presented topics on relevant changes made by BAPCPA; the management, marketing and disposition of “weird” real estate (obsolete buildings, environmentally distressed properties, unbuildable land); the fight over fixtures (competing rights of mortgagees, landlords and equipment lessors); and interests impervious to bankruptcy (easements, zoning ordinances and condemnation).
How can young or new members of ABI become involved in the Real Estate Committee?
Young or new members of ABI can become involved in the Real Estate Committee through several volunteer opportunities, including assisting in the preparation of articles for the electronic newsletter and speaking at, or helping to organize, one of the two annual educational seminars presented by the Real Estate Committee. We also have been working on a project to develop a model, annotated contract for the purchase and sale of real property in bankruptcy, together with additional documents and court motion papers. The American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) has expressed an interest in working with us on this project. We welcome any interest in participating in this project.