COURSE DESCRIPTION
The real estate industry is fiercely competitive as developers and contractors, investors and lenders, brokers and others—often with the aid of legal counsel—seek advantage. This can easily present real estate lawyers with ethical dilemmas. Conflicts of interest are rife. There are issues of communicating and negotiating with unrepresented parties. There are also concerns related to taking an equity stake in a real estate venture in lieu of fees. Sometimes, too, there is the discovery that a client is engaged in wrongdoing. This program provides you with a real-world guide to common ethics issues in real estate practice.
• Joint representations of a business entity and its owners in a real estate transaction
• Representation of a client with adverse interests in unrelated transactions
• Communications with unrepresented parties—and with represented parties
• Inadvertent disclosure of confidential deal terms
• Receipt of deal equity in exchange for legal services
• Special issues when client fraud is discovered
Speakers: William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management. He is chair of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct Editorial Board. He maintains the website Freivogel on Conflicts. Mr. Freivogel received his LL.B. from the University of Illinois (Champaign). Richard R. Goldberg is a retired partner resident in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr LLP, where he established an extensive real estate practice, including development, financing, leasing, and acquisition. Mr. Goldberg is a Fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, a member of the American Law Institute, past president of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, past chair of the Anglo-American Real Property Institute, and past chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers Law Conference. Mr. Goldberg received his LL.B. from the University of Maryland School of Law.