Board members of condominiums, HOAs / subdivisions, and cooperatives are at a major disadvantage when searching for legal counsel to represent their community association. They may not know which factors to consider or where to even begin. Many simply start by googling “condo attorney” or some similar phrase. Unfortunately, directors who are new to this…
By Robert Meisner In reviewing a recent issue of a statewide legal publication, I noted that a former associate of our firm, who now heads his own firm, had submitted an announcement that he received an award from the “American Institute of Legal Counsel” (AIOLC). Unfortunately, he may have been duped by an unethical “vanity…
In the practice of community association law, attorneys face special ethical considerations with respect to representation of community association clients and the attorney’s relationship with community association management companies. Certain attorneys may receive a large portion of their business through referrals from one or two management companies, and if a dispute arises between one of…
As I have preached for so many years, boards of directors of community associations sometimes think that their job is to spend as little money at whatever cost. This carries over to the retention of legal counsel, and sometimes, their decision is prompted by a misguided simple comparison of billing rates alone and/or an affiliation…
By Robert M. Meisner, Esq. It has always been the position of this law firm that a community or condominium association should get all of the help it possibly can in running its affairs. The directors and officers are generally volunteers who are not compensated for their efforts, are incurring potential liability, and are often involved…
Condominium associations are largely governed by volunteer directors that receive little training with respect to their fiduciary duties and potential ethical issues that they may face. Each director has a fiduciary duty of care and duty of loyalty to act in the best interest of the association. Unfortunately, many directors blur the lines between what…