Real Property Section
Message From 2021-22 Chair Teresa Hillery
I am honored to serve as the 2021-2022 Chair of the Real Property Section (RPS), as the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) holds a special place in my heart.
When I joined the legal profession, LACBA sent congratulatory remarks and invited me to a reception for new admittees. I was surprised because I had no connections to the Los Angeles area; I graduated from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. Why was LACBA reaching out to me? Setting out to answer that question changed my life!
I attended the reception and received a free membership to join LACBA. I loved the energy of downtown so much that I bought into the motto of “Live, Work, and Play in Downtown LA.” I moved to DTLA and started my legal career. Sadly, I did not take advantage of LACBA’s membership benefits for years until I met Norm Chernin, the then-Chair of the Real Property Section.
The Norm Effect
Norm and I worked for the same company. I was new to the real estate industry, and Norm was very generous in sharing his title insurance knowledge with me. Then one day Norm said, “Are you a member of the RPS?” Norm not only invited me to join the Section but included me in a meaningful way. I started helping him with the Section’s newsletter. From there I advanced to Editor, Vice Chair of Communications, Vice Chair of Programming, and now Chair of the Section. I believe Norm’s simple act of inclusion changed the trajectory of my career, and I set out to do the same for those who are not capitalizing on the numerous benefits of belonging to and connecting with a group of stellar real estate attorneys throughout Southern California and beyond.
Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion
Membership, diversity, and inclusion are our focus areas this year. As Chair, I want to grow our membership by 15% and ensure we are diverse and inclusive in all aspects. The RPS is a provider of exemplary CLE programs. With six subsections – land use and environmental, finance, title insurance, construction, commercial development and leasing, and general real property law – we offer a broad range of exciting and relevant educational topics. As a member, however, you can participate beyond attending a MCLE program! You can serve on a subsection planning committee, help plan a program, or share your expertise with others. If you love socializing with people, there are opportunities to help plan social events and our first Membership Appreciation Day. Would you like to lend your voice to the racial injustices conversation that sparked a national dialogue? We plan to continue our initiative “A Call for Racial Justice” with programs that tackle racism in the world of real estate and one-on-one conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion to be shared on our YouTube Channel. How about providing career advice to law students and newer attorneys? If this is of interest to you, there will be opportunities to participate in our A Day in the Life Career Path Speaker Series. There are so many ways to make the most of your membership.
My Invitation to You
The Executive Committee meets every first Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom (Meeting Registration - Zoom). You don’t have to get into your car and drive anywhere! You can attend our meetings in the comfort of your place of choice. I invite you to join one of our meetings. Come hear for yourself what we do and why we do it. I believe our dynamic group will spark your desire to become more involved with the Section. I also believe a simple act of inclusion will change the trajectory of your career like it has mine! I hope you will accept my invitation.
All in,
Teresa Y. Hillery
Chair, Real Property Section
Teresa.Hillery@fnf.com
The Real Property Section focuses on all aspects of real property law, both transactions and litigation.
The Section also publishes a monthly Newsletter highlighting recent developments in real estate law, and a quarterly Review, with substantive articles of interest to real estate practitioners.
Our Subsections
The Real Property Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association is organized into several subsections. Each subsection is responsible for the lifeblood of the Section - the planning and implementation of substantive programs for Section members, as well as members of the Bar at large. Following are short descriptions of each subsection.
General Real Property Subsection: The goal of the General Real Property Law Subsection is to provide newer attorneys with a basic understanding of the transactional practice of law, practical advice on transactional matters and an overview of important legal trends.
Land Use Planning and Environmental Law: The Land Use Planning and Environmental Law Subsection Provides a forum for continuing legal education on topics pertinent to real estate practitioners whose work includes land use planning and/or environmental law issues or who wish to know more about those areas, with programs designed for relevance to real estate practice.
Title Insurance: The Title Insurance Subsection hosts regular lunches to provide members an opportunity to network and to share knowledge about topics of interest to those practicing in the title insurance and or escrow fields. Our programs are highly topical and bring the title insurance bar together with title and escrow companies, as well as lenders, brokers and other professionals in the real estate community.
Construction Law: The goal of the Construction Law Subsection is to provide continuing education in both a legal and practical format so that the practitioner will be advised of the current state of the ever changing construction law and to provide practical information to use in their everyday practice.
Commercial Development & Leasing: This Subsection provides attorneys who represent landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers, owners and developers programmatic information to effectively consummate transactions for their clients.
Real Estate Finance: The Subsection is dedicated to providing periodic programs by the leading practitioners in the field of real estate finance designed to create a forum for legal and other real estate professionals to maintain and enhance their knowledge and understanding of topics of interest and importance in real estate finance and secured transactions.