May 8 - 14, 2005

Contents

Other Links

Return to John Marshall Home Page

Previous Issues

Center for Real Estate Law Presents Two-day Seminar

Leasing Techniques For Commercial Real Estate was presented by the John Marshall Center for Real Estate Law, the International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate (AECRE) and DePaul University's Center for Real Estate on April 28-29, 2005.

Professor Celeste Hammond was one of the organizers and faculty for the first Leasing Techniques for Commercial Real Estate Seminar. Professor Hammond recruited distinguished adjunct faculty members from The John Marshall Law School for this program, including: Ted Yi, Christine Foh, Arthur Pape, and Stanley Sklar.

Dr. Ron Pollina of Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc. and a member of AECRE, kicked-off the two-day seminar with an overview of negotiating strategies and styles. Both Professor Hammond and Professor Susanne Cannon from DePaul University worked with Dr.Pollina to enhance his outline into a two-day seminar that was extremely well received by the attending business professionals and lawyers alike. The program targeted middle management real estate professionals. LL.M. students from John Marshall and MBA students from DePaul also participated in the highly interactive program.

The first day of the seminar showcased a John Marshall alum and many of the school's faculty. In the morning, Ed Chupak (J.D. `80) Regional Counsel for Equity Office Properties Trust, spoke on how quoted rental rates may be misleading. Chupak is the editor for the Lease Negotiation Handbook co-published by AECRE and ALI-ABA and the course materials for the program. This book was developed as a resource for both attorneys and real estate professionals who work with leasing space.

At lunch, Professor Hammond spoke about Attorney Ethics and their impact on real estate transactions. The afternoon session began with Grace Poe substituting for adjunct faculty member and her partner, Ted Yi of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, speaking about provisions in leases that can provide flexibility to the tenant and landlord. In particular, Ms. Poe highlighted Yi's chapter in the handbook on Options and presented tips on how to structure options, including: renewals, expansions, rights of first refusal, cancellation provisions, and reduction of premises provisions. Later in the afternoon, adjunct faculty member Arthur Pape, of the Pape Law Firm, provided a glimpse into the intricacies of fire and casualty insurance. Mr. Pape warned that you "must read the policy" and reinforced the warning with a poem he had written, "The Dancing Bear," that his students recognized immediately.

The second day of the seminar featured adjunct faculty member Stanley Sklar, of Bell, Boyd, and Lloyd, LLC. He presented an overview of the construction delivery system and how construction contracts are tied to this timeline. He further spent time with the audience discussing work letters and tenant improvements as they related to lease development.

Following Mr. Sklar, the lunch session featured a panel discussion on trends in leasing where adjunct faculty member Christine Foh, Director of Real Estate Legal Affairs for Motorola, Inc., presented her perspectives as both a landlord and a tenant. Joining her on the panel were Peter Livaditis from Trammell Crow, who provided the corporate services perspective on office leasing, and Garry Rossi from the Marmon Group who provided an industrial/office leasing perspective.

Then, Professor Hammond shared her concerns about Letters of Intent - Traps for the Unwary. She explained how they are used to approach agreement in stages and to establish basic deal terms, but that they sometimes create an obligation to negotiate in good faith.

Finishing off the two-day seminar, Professor Hammond, with Professor Cannon and Dr. Pollina, staged a mock-lease negotiation where the audience was divided up into teams of landlords and tenants. These teams then faced off after being given four lease issues based on topics covered in the seminar. The teams were instructed to resolve the problems or "their clients would consider them failures." An open classroom discussion of the negotiated agreements completed the highly interactive program.

Top Of Page

Schedule of Events

May 9 - 18

  • Exams

May 9

  • International Women Associates Group & CIBTL Meeting, Room 1102, 9:00 a.m.
  • Faculty Assembly, Room 1200, 12:15 p.m.

May 10

  • Domestic and Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade Secret and Copyright Documentation Course, 6:00 p.m.

May 11

  • Deans Meeting, Room 1102, 9:30 a.m.
  • Freedom Award Committee Meeting, Room 1200, 12:00 p.m.
  • Board of Trustees Meeting, Courtroom, 1:00 p.m.

May 12

  • Alumni & Development Meeting, Room 1101, 1:00 p.m.

May 13

  • Freedom Award Luncheon, Palmer House Hilton Hotel, 11:30 a.m.

May 16

  • Torts II Multiple Choice Workshop, Room 529, 3:00 p.m.

May 17

  • Chinese IP Attorneys Program, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
  • Chinese IP Attorneys Luncheon, Room TBD, 12:00 p.m.
  • Alumni Association Scholarship Committee Meeting, Room 1101, 4:00 p.m.
  • Domestic and Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade Secret and Copyright Documentation Course, 6:00 p.m.

May 18

  • ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.

May 19

  • ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
  • Center for Real Estate Law M.S. Program Information Session, Room 428, 12:00 p.m.
  • Parma Program, Room 413, 2:00 p.m.
  • Alumni & Development Staff Meeting, Room 403, 2:00 p.m.
  • Lawyering Skills Reception, Room 3East, 4:30 p.m.

May 20

  • ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
  • Cap & Gown Pick-Up, Room 201, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
  • Graduation Photos, Room 300, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
  • Regalia Reception, Room 200, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.

May 21

  • ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
  • Swift School Mock Trial Competition, Room 3East and Courtroom, 9:00 a.m.

May 22

  • Commencement, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water Street, Ceremony at 3:00 p.m.

Top Of Page

Editor's Note

In the Loop is published by The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Copyright 2005

Editor: Assistant Dean John M. McNamara; Contributors: Marilyn Thomas, Director, Public Relations and Advertising; Andrea Koklys, Assistant Director, Public Relations and Advertising

All information to be included in In the Loop must be placed in the INTHELOOP folder on the H drive of the law school's computer network by 12 p.m. each Wednesday. When the volume of submissions exceeds the available space in the printed version of In the Loop, additonal material will appear only in the online version of the Newsletter, which can be found on the law school's website at www.jmls.edu.

Top Of Page