Archive for May, 2011
2011 Food From the Bar – Comedy Night Kick-Off
Res Ipsa Jokuitor, the 4/28/2011 Comedy Night kickoff event for Food from the Bar, was a rib-splitting success!
The mood in the Back Forty BBQ banquet room was …
May 2011 – The Real Estate Crises
Highlights from the Real Estate issue of the Contra Costa Lawyer include articles on California’s Redevelopment Agencies (Thomas C. Nagle), Receivership (Jerry Hunt and Chris Hunter), 1031 Foreclosures, NOL Tax Refunds, and Stiffing the Second (G. Scott Haislet), as well as Land Use Due Diligence (Michael Patrick Durkee and Thomas Tunny), Courthouse Step Auctions (Amanda Bevins), and Strategies for Settling Fees-Driven Cases (Malcolm Sher).
The Real Estate Crises: Challenges and Opportunities
There is no doubt about it: these are challenging economic times. This is especially true with respect to real estate.
Like our May magazine cover? See the implosion in action…
Last …
Governor Brown’s Plan for California’s Redevelopment Agencies
Jerry Brown, a significantly mellower governor in 2011 than he ever was back in 1975, has once more taken the reins of government in Sacramento with the stated goal of reducing the deficit. One of …
Making Lemonade from Lemons: Using Receivers for Partially Completed Projects
Earn one hour of General MCLE credit by reading the article below and answering the questions of the Self-Study MCLE test. Send your answers, along with a check for $20, to …
Real Estate Potpourri: 1031 Foreclosures, NOL Tax Refunds & Stiffing the Second
1) 1031 Exchanges of Foreclosed Properties
Tax code §1031 provides generally that no gain is recognized on exchange of like kind business or investment property. However, taxpayers sometimes lose 1031-qualifying properties to …
Better a Distressed Property than a Distressed Client: an Overview of Land Use Due Diligence
INTRODUCTION
No one wants to buy property for a particular intended use, only to discover later that it is planned for another use, that it violates the local code, that it cannot be served with public …
Courthouse Step Dwellers: Violating Sherman’s Trust or Assisting Sallie Mae?
What are those people doing on the steps of the Wakefield Taylor courthouse in Martinez?
What most of them are doing is bidding on bank-owned properties that homeowners have had the misfortune to lose through foreclosure …
The Tail Wagging the Dog: Strategies for Settling Fees-Driven Cases
How many times has a defense attorney declared litigation to be “unsettle-able” because plaintiff attorney fees have far exceeded the value of the case? How many times has a plaintiff lawyer responded that the “defense …
Women’s Section Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction [PHOTOS]
The Women’s section annually awards The Honorable Patricia Herron and Honorable Ellen James Scholarship to Bay Area law students who have excelled in school and have been active in benefiting women’s …
Restaurant Review: The Door
We now know that, for a forest, fire is a kind of overheated cleanser. While fire is not regarded as having a similar commercial advantage, that may not be true for
What do you think would have to change for the real estate market to turn around or stabilize?
The real estate market would stabilize if ordinary individuals were given the same incentives for real estate loan losses as the banks are given by U.S. Treasury–80% out of TARP funds to cover their …
Matt’s Column – May 2011
So the idea was to replace “Civil Jury Verdicts” with “Bar Soap”. Not going to happen. We still get reports on jury verdicts, so occasionally let’s have a stand- alone verdicts column. Okay? Otherwise, as …
Call for Board Nominations!
Do you want to be a leader within our legal community as a Director on the Contra Costa County Bar Association Board?
The Board seeks candidates who agree to meet the following …
