Residential

Expert Analysis

• In The CFPB Playbook: Abuse Policy, PACE, Payment Apps

  

  From defining "abusive" conduct to implementing green energy financing to policing payment apps, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy last quarter. Akerman's Nora Rigby discusses all this and more in the first installment of bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.

• How To Avoid Flopping When Flipping Fla. Real Estate

  

  As land prices rise, Florida real estate developers are increasingly contracting to flip property to other purchasers for a profit, and they should carefully consider the unique risks and issues associated with the different forms that the process can take, says Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.

• Ghosting In BigLaw: How To Come Back From Lack Of Feedback

  

  Junior associates can feel powerless when senior colleagues cut off contact instead of providing useful feedback, but young attorneys can get back on track by focusing on practical professional development and reexamining their career priorities, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.

• States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements

  

  As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.

• Steps To Success For Senior Associates

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

• Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

  

  At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

• Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit

  

  Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.

• Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice

  

  The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

• LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped

  

  Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.

• How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks

  

  Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.

• Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated

  

  Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.

• Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip

  

  After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

• Home Equity Option Contracts Appear Ripe For Rating

  

  Given that home equity option contracts share similarities with evolving asset types like litigation funding, and that courts continue to characterize them as real estate option contracts, it seems they are poised to be rated in the near future, say Darius Horton and Holly Spencer Bunting at Mayer Brown.