With the summer zooming by at Bilzin Sumberg, the summer associates and I have found ourselves in the next phase of the mock real estate transaction. Until now, battle lines were drawn with Eric and me playing the Seller and the Seller’s attorney and Devin, Lucas, and Ben playing joint Buyers and the Buyers’
Some Friendly Competition for World Domination
Towards the conclusion of last week, the 2018 Bilzin Sumberg summer associates began one of the stages of the annual summer associate program: the real estate mock transaction. This exercise will take us through all of the stages of an actual real estate transaction while providing us with a practical dose of legal practice as we take on the roles of buyer, seller, and each parties’ respective attorneys. I will be representing Devin and Lucas, who will serve as the buyers, and Eric will be representing Brianna, who will play the role of our seller. Our fact pattern is (loosely) based on the recent Marvel Avenger’s Infinity War movie, with the buyer’s working to purchase the last “Infinity Stone property” from the seller Thanos’ holding company, “THE BAD GUY LLC”. Devin, Lucas, and I are the only thing standing between Thanos and world domination! As per usual, Jessica Bucshbaum and Betsi Cobas did an outstanding job making the exercise especially interesting by creating a fun scenario for us.
Continue Reading
(Almost) Getting to Closing
Over the summer, we have had the chance to experience every stage of a typical real estate transaction through the Mock Real Estate Transaction program. From the initial contract negotiation to contract amendment, Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow led the summer associates through each step to closing. This week, after preparing a special warranty deed, a general assignment, a no lien affidavit, and a closing statement, we were finally ready! The teams showed up prepared (or so we thought).
Continue Reading
Tagging Along
The summer is definitely in full swing, and there are constant opportunities to learn more about Bilzin Sumberg. Tag alongs are opportunities to accompany attorneys to meetings, depositions, or court, or to listen in on phone calls. Last week, I was lucky enough to go on a tag along with Jay Sakalo and Jeff
The Art of Law: Compromise and Cooking
The art of negotiation is an invaluable skill that many lawyers strive to perfect. Last week, we had an early opportunity to put our negotiation skills to the test during the initial phase of the Mock Real Estate Transaction. Led by Adam Lustig and Phillip Sosnow of the Bilzin Sumberg Real Estate Group,
The Summer War – Let’s Make a Deal
Last week mark
ed the culmination of the Mock Real Estate Transaction–a training program designed to give the summer associates exposure to the full life cycle and many phases of a real estate deal. The summer associates were divided into two teams, buyers (Team Captain America) and sellers (Team Iron Man).
Weekly sessions led by Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow covered each phase of a real estate transaction, from Letter of Intent to Closing. Coaches Manny Gonzalez and Kent Koch were assigned to each team to help us understand and draft documents, as well as advise us in conducting negotiations. After the informative introduction, the teams would conduct a negotiation, attempting to reach a compromise by the end of the session. Buyers and sellers were given unique fact patterns for each phase, highlighting needs and wants to drive negotiation priorities.
The path to closing was not always smooth. In fact, during the Contract Amendment phase, our deal almost broke down entirely. Buyers and sellers fully embraced their roles and negotiations for an extension of the property inspection period got very heated. Personally, I learned a valuable and mildly embarrassing lesson about the importance of stepping out of the room to confer privately. Thinking aloud in role of the seller, I blurted out “what do we think of $X for Y weeks extension?” Buyers enthusiastically embraced my suggestion, my team shot me looks of stunned disbelief, and Adam declared “that sounds like offer and acceptance!” I frantically back-pedaled and thankfully we were permitted to disregard my comment and move on.
Continue Reading
Whose Side are YOU On?
Tuesday was our first day back from the long weekend as well as the first day of a summer-long war: the Real Estate Mock Transaction. When I first heard about the mock transaction, I was excited because I am interested in Real Estate and the Real Estate Practice Group at Bilzin Sumberg is so prominent
Hitting the Halfway Point
Following some of the great times we have had getting to know one another at social events like the Poker Tournament, we have also been gaining valuable work experience in all of Bilzin Sumberg’s different practice areas. This week, we focused on Real Estate Transactions, as the Summer Associates participated in the
“Let the Summer Games Begin”
Last week we began the Real Estate Mock Transaction training program. We met with our coaches and were divided into two teams: Seller’s Team, which includes Camille, Jennifer, and I; and, Buyer’s Team, which includes Jessica and Brendan. After being split up into teams and reading the Hunger Games themed fact scenario, Adam Lustig announced,
Summer Days, Drifting Away
On the first day of summer, we sat in the Bilzin Sumberg boardroom with Marshall Pasternack and Jessica Buchsbaum. Marshall was telling us that the summer program would fly by before we knew it. Well, here we sit nine weeks later and his words have proved prophetic.
The summer experience has been fulfilling in