Potluck Reminder - November 18, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010
Bannan Hall (Lobby), 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM

Don't forget to participate in our potluck tomorrow at noon and at 5:00 PM! There is  a cupcake surprise involved. Feel free to pick whichever time fits your schedule better. RELS representatives will be present to answer whatever questions you may have, as well as let you in on some of the initiatives planned for next year!

Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Event - January 21, 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011
TBD, Morgan Hill, CA

Dear RELS Members,

Back by popular demand, the RELS Board has organized a second Habitat for Humanity volunteer day! The trip is scheduled for Friday, January 21st and we will be working at the same Morgan Hill site that we worked at in October. On the 21st, we will most likely meet somewhere near school at 7:00 am and be back by around 5:30 pm.

RELS has secured fifteen volunteer spots with Habitat, but seven spots are already filled. So, if you’d like to be one of the eight other people to come and volunteer, send an e-mail ASAP to: Morgan Laird at morgan.laird@gmail.com. We will be filling the spots on a first e-mail/first serve basis (and don't reply to this e-mail, send one to Morgan).

More specific details about where to meet, carpooling, what to wear, etc. will be sent out closer to the 21st.

Sincerely,

RELS Board

P.S. – Check out how much fun our October trip was at: http://scurealestatelawsociety.blogspot.com/2010/10/habitat-for-humanity-volunteer-event.html

Potluck - November 18, 2010

Thursday, November 18, 2010

TBD, 12:00 PM and 5:00 PM

RELS Members,


We’d like to thank all of you, who came to listen to Mr. Peter Brewer. And there is more coming your way!


We have a potluck, with a cupcake surprise involved, planned on November 18 at noon and at 5:00 PM. Feel free to pick whichever time fits your schedule better.


We will send you the exact potluck location soon, so for now just mark your calendars.


Best regards,
RELS Board

Volunteers Needed! - Fair Housing Law Project

Dear RELS Members, 

Everybody knows that foreclosures are a huge problem in today’s economy. Many home owners in distress try to modify their loans as a way to escape foreclosure. Unfortunately, many of these homeowners pay advance fees to “foreclosure consultants” who offered them a “guarantee” that they would prevent their foreclosure and get their loan modified. Too often, however, the “consultant” does NOTHING for the homeowner. By the time the homeowner finds out that the consultant never contacted the lender, it is too late to prevent the home from being foreclosed. In some cases, the consultant instructed the homeowner not to pay his or her mortgage payments and actually caused the home to go into foreclosure. 

The Fair Housing Law Project at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is organizing clinics to assist people who are the victims of loan modifications scams, and they need our help! They are holding four clinics on November 9, 11, 16 and 18 and they need volunteers to interview clients and possibly assist clients with their small claims court cases. The clinics will be held in the evening on these dates, starting at 5:00 PM. 

If you’re only available on one of these evenings to interview clients, that’s okay! But, assisting in writing a small claims court pleading is a wonderful opportunity and is certainly not one that comes around everyday. 

If you’re interested in participating in the clinic, please e-mail Morgan Laird, RELS Treasurer, at morgan.laird@gmail.com. 

Thank you to all who are able to help! 

Best,

Morgan Laird
RELS Treasurer

Classroom Speaker Event - Mr. Peter N. Brewer

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Bannan Hall 241, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Dear valued RELS members:

We began the year striving to deliver as many meaningful real estate law opportunities as possible. As a continuing effort to achieve our goals, we welcome you to join us on November 10, 2010 from 12:00-1:00 PM in Bannan Hall 241 to hear our keynote speaker, Mr. Peter N. Brewer.

Mr. Brewer has been a lawyer for over 25 years, and is also licensed by the California Department of Real Estate as a broker. For five years he was a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of one of the nation's biggest real estate lenders, giving him unique experience and expertise in real estate, business and lending matters, both large and small. More recently he worked in the real estate and litigation division of Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil, a 22-lawyer firm in San Jose.

Since starting his own office in Palo Alto in 1995, he and his firm continue to serve the legal needs of real estate and mortgage brokers, agents, brokerages, title companies, developers, investors, other real estate professionals, and their clients. He and his firm also represent clients in debt collection, breach of contract matters, and other litigation and transactional work.

In addition to the Juris Doctor degree awarded to him by Santa Clara University School of Law in 1979, Mr. Brewer holds a Bachelor's degree from California State University in San Jose in metallurgy and machine tool technology.

Mr. Brewer frequently sits as a Judge Pro Tempore on the Santa Clara County Superior Court, and is a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association's Fee Arbitration Committee. He currently serves as the Chair of the Real Property Committee section of the SCCBA as well.

For more information about our guest speaker, please visit http://www.brewerfirm.com/attorney-peter-brewer.html/.

Thank you for your continued interest in the RELS. We look forward to seeing you. In the meantime, please stay posted for updates and don’t forget to visit our blog.

Best,

RELS Board

Update - 2nd Annual Real Estate Symposium (SCCBA)

Please click here for the schedule of the 2nd Annual Real Estate Symposium that is being hosted by the Santa Clara County Bar Association this Friday.


NOTE: The price for law students is only $20!

Bar Association of San Francisco's Solo & Small Firm Committee is presenting "Strategies for Launching and Running a Small Law Firm"

Saturday, October 23, 2010

8:00 AM - 2:00 PM, San Francisco, CA

Details 

What: Strategies for Launching and Running a Small Law Firm

Where: BASF Conference Center – 301 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA

Cost: $75 BASF Committee Members, $95 BASF Members, $115 Others (all prices increase $10 the day of the program)

Breakfast and lunch provided.

Click here for more information and to register.

2nd Annual Real Estate Symposium (SCCBA)

Friday, November 5, 2010

7:30 AM - 5:00 PM, San Jose, CA

 

On November 5th the Santa Clara Bar Association is hosting the 2nd Annual Real Estate Symposium featuring a roundtable discussion of latest cases and statutes affecting real estate law.

Santa Clara Law speakers: Professor Dorothy Glancy, Professor Cynthia Mertens, and Construction Law Lecturer Jon T. Anderson.

Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Event - Building New Homes!

Friday, October 8, 2010

8:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Morgan Hill, CA

RELS appreciates the help of the active volunteers who helped us on Friday, October 8, 2010 for our Habitat for Humanity project event in Morgan Hill. During the course of the day, the RELS volunteers joined in the effort to build six new homes for low income residents. Their hard work entailed roofing, framing, moving, insulation mounting, house support nailing and much more.  During the process, the volunteers also witnessed the new installation of environmentally friendly technology and formed networks with the surrounding home building community. For those that were not able to attend, the RELS appreciates your valued support and interest.

Classroom Speaker Event - Mr. Brad O’Brien

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Bannan Hall 241, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

By invitation from Professor Cynthia Mertens and Professor Althouse who teach Real Estate Development, RELS members were able to experience the life of real estate law practice beyond school walls. Mr. Brad O’Brien, a partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati specializing in real estate and environmental law, delivered a wonderful interactive Q&A lecture session on the practical underpinnings of his real estate law and life experience.

About Mr. Brad O’Brien:

Brad O'Brien plays a leadership role in the real estate and environmental practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Brad's practice focuses on real estate transactions, representing developers, lenders, and corporate users of commercial and industrial facilities. His areas of particular expertise include real estate finance, joint venture development, ground lease practice, facility acquisition and disposition, and complex leasing transactions. Brad assists the firm's corporate clients in acquiring, developing, and financing projects to satisfy large facilities requirements, including corporate campus development. Brad has experience in such varied transactions as the sale of a major ski resort, the development of hotel/casino, riverboat, dockside gaming operations in several states, the sale of a major theme park, and the purchase of large coastal land holdings for open space protection.

In addition to his client work, Brad also has been responsible for the business and legal aspects of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's facilities requirements, including site selection, deal structure, and negotiation of leases for more than 20 office facilities.

Brad has practiced in Silicon Valley since 1976, joining Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1981. He regularly teaches courses in commercial leasing and recent developments in real estate practice for the California Continuing Education of the Bar. He also is active in community affairs, providing pro bono representation to a variety of community organizations, including Peninsula Open Space Trust, Eastside College Preparatory School, and Ronald McDonald House.

Please click here to view his profile.

Real Estate Law Society Meet-N-Greet

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Bannan Hall 241, 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

The Real Estate Law Society is pleased to invite you to our upcoming Real Estate Law Society Meet-N-Greet on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 in Bannan Hall 241. We look forward to informing you about our Habitat For Humanity volunteer opportunity and providing a friendly atmosphere to "meet and greet" your fellow colleagues and board members who all share a passion for real estate. The Real Estate Law Society prides itself on supporting an interactive approach to broadening our real estate network. Please join us at this edifying, enlightening and entertaining event.

Keynote Speaker Event - Mr. Garth Pickett

Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Bannan Hall 238, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM


In alliance with the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, the RELS board welcomes members to attend a special speaker event. Mr. Garth Pickett, Department Chair of Hopkins & Carley Real Estate Department, will be presenting on “How to Live a Balanced Life within the Demands of Law.”

About Mr. Garth E. Pickett:

Mr. Pickett holds memberships in the State Bar real estate section, the construction law and commercial lease subsections, the American Bar Association, and the ABA Forum of the Construction Industry and the real estate and tax sections. Mr. Pickett has lectured for the California Continuing Education of the Bar and has been a speaker at various seminars on real estate and construction subjects. He leads many training programs for commercial real estate brokers. He participates on the executive board for the Pacific Skyline Council Boy Scouts of America and was a founder of PilotLegis, an RPG E&O insurance company and continues to serve on its board of directors. Previously, he served on the board of directors for California Security Bank and held membership in the National Construction Industry Dispute and Resolution
Task Force.

Mr. Pickett holds a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford University Law School, where he sat on the board of the Stanford Law Review. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972. Prior to joining Hopkins & Carley, Mr. Pickett was an associate with Los Angeles-based law firm Overton, Lyman & Prince.


Click here to learn more about the speaker.

RELS Bi-Annual Kick-off Meeting

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bannan Hall 238, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

The RELS felt privileged and honored to welcome many new members. We delivered an introductory glance at the RELS mission, goals and opportunities. Professor Mertens, Professor Althouse, Professor Armstrong, and Professor Glancy each discussed his/her experience in the realm of real estate.

Congratulations to our new Vice President Natalie Korthamar and Secretary Sebastian Wisniewski for filling in the position of our resigning board members!