JD Journal » real estate law

Eddings Real Estate Law Firm Closes

jim — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:21:20 +0000

Michael A. Eddings has closed the doors to his real estate law firm due to a bank freezing its trust account and having $470,000 transferred to a court registry. Columbus Bank and Trust filed the documents, which is not the end of the problems for Eddings. He told real estate agents in the area that he is not permitted to work on closing transactions because of an audit being performed on his company’s finances.

“Our title insurance underwriters have suspended our access and ability to close transactions until their report has been finalized and completed,” Eddings said in a statement. “A First American Title Agent will call all offices that we have pending closings with to reset the closing at another Attorney’s Office until we are cleared to resume closing transactions.”

Eddings is a board member for the Charter Review Commission, NeighborWorks Columbus, the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and the Columbus Regional Medical Foundation while owning a couple of local businesses with his wife.

“Michael and his company have always been an affiliate member of our board in good standing,” said Bob Patterson, president of the Columbus Board of Realtor. “No one’s really saying.”

Eddings also said the following in his statement: “The rumors you’ve heard are all false. There has been no arrest, no FBI, no IRS, or anything of the sort. Audits for real estate law practices are very common and routine.”

Eddings has been absent from real estate closings all over town, which has made things very difficult for real estate agents, especially those who worked exclusively with Eddings. Hundreds of clients across the town are being affected by Eddings’ ban from closing contracts.

Any clients who were nearing a closing while using Eddings are allowed to work with a new attorney should the need arise. Many in the industry feel that closings are simple to complete, so a transition to another attorney should not cause any problems at all.

The $472,949 that was transferred to a court registry will remain there until a judge decides how it will be disbursed. The filing, which is known as a petition for interpleader, was not commented on by Bill Tucker, an attorney representing the bank.

Columbus Bank and Trust, in papers filed in Muscogee County Superior Court, cited the following: “considerable uncertainty as to the specific ownership of the funds on deposit” in the account held by Eddings. The filing also stated, “a risk of the funds in question being delivered to persons other than those who have legitimate claims for said money.”

“Given the conflicting information and claims relative to said funds, (the bank) cannot safely pay the funds on deposit to any one respondent or to any one person, until the respective rights of said person or entities have been determined and otherwise adjudicated by the Court,” the bank said.

Pillsbury Gets Five From Orrick

joshua — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:20:21 +0000

Pillsburyhired a five lawyer real estate team away from Orrick in New York, including the only two real estate partners in Orrick’s NYC office. The partners, Marc Shapiro and Jill Block, are joined by counsel Susan Saslow, and associates Jason Schlessel and Christine Roch. This move represents a bet on real estate, a practice that has suffered during the economic downturn. If Pillsbury is right and the market bounces back this year, then the firm will be well placed to take advantage of it in New York.

The acquisition of a group of lawyers has been a trend lately as firms are more particular about who they bring on board. A team of lawyers can hit the ground running more quickly than a single partner and we’ve seen several such moves in the last few months – most recently, Blank Rome picked up a seven lawyer consumer financial services group.

Revenue Declines Slightly at Arent Fox

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:46:14 +0000

2009 looks a lot like 2008 at Arent Fox where revenue fell slightly to $216.5 million from the previous year’s $222.5 million. Profits per partner came in at $800,000, the same as in 2008, and revenue per lawyer was $690,000, a slight drop from 2008. The firm finished the year with the same number of partners as it had in 2008, but kept per partner profits flat despite a slight dip in revenue by cutting 5% from its expense budget and prepaying some 2009 expenses in 2008.

The real estate practice took a hit in 2009 but the decline in real estate law was balanced out by a strong showing in litigation, particularly within the IP practice group.

Arent Fox has nearly 350 attorneys with offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York.

Four Partners move From Paul Hastings to Haynes & Boone

joshua — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:16:11 +0000

Four real estate partners in New York, including Steven Koch, the head of Paul Hastings real estate practice, have moved to Haynes & Boone. Bob Grados, Ken Friedman and Walter Schleimer round out the group.

There is some controversy surrounding the move, with Paul Hastings confirming that Grados, Friedman and Schleimer have left the firm but saying nothing about Koch, while Haynes & Boone have confirmed all four. Koch’s biostill appears on Paul Hastings roster but the other three have been removed, and none are listed yet at Haynes & Boone. This morning abovethelaw reported rumors that the four partners were asked to leave Paul Hastings, but now it appears they left voluntarily.

We will keep you posted as we learn more.

HBJ Gateley Wareing Buys Out Small Firm

joshua — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:16:39 +0000

UK firm HBJ Gateley Wareing has bought out Olivers WS. Olivers, with offices in Edinburgh and Hawick, is a specialized practice composed of 4 solicitors and staff dealing with residential real estate.

The HBJ group was formed in 2006 with the merger of Henderson Boyd Jackson and Birmingham’s Gateley Wareing. It has 500 attorneys working in offices throughout the UK and a base in Dubai.

New Leadership at Sullivan & Cromwell

joshua — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:27:08 +0000

After 10 years at the helm, Rodgin Cohen is stepping down as chairman of New York’s Sullivan & Cromwell. Corporate real estate partner Joseph Shenker will take over the management of the 800 lawyer firm as of January 1.

Cohen has been a force in mergers and acquisitions of some of the largest banks and companies in recent years, representing Wachovia when it was purchased by Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan when it purchased Washington Mutual. He also represented AIG when the government invested in it.

Shenker joined the firm straight out of law school in 1980, made partner at age 29 and joined the leadership committee at 39. He is a veteran of large corporate real estate deals including the purchase of Canary Wharf and the building of a football stadium in The Meadowlands, New Jersey.

Layoffs at Schulte Roth

joshua — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:19:43 +0000

Reports are trickling in, but it looks as though at least 13 associates at Schulte Roth have received pink slips today. We have reports that some of the layoffs at least came from the real estate practice group, but no hard numbers as of yet. We’ll update this as more tips come in. If you have any additional information to share, send us an anoymous tip here.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is one of the top 100 largest law firms by revenue. The firm was founded in New York City in 1969 and launched in London in 2002. The firm also has an office in Washington, DC. Schulte employs nearly 450 attorneys in its three offices.

Outside Counsel Spending Predicted to Decline

joshua — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:08:54 +0000

According to a new report from legal consultants BTI Consulting Group, spending on outside counsel will continue to drop next year. In 2008 spending on oustide counsel averaged out at $20.8 million. This year outside counsel spending average out to $18.5 million and next years average is predicted to by $17.7 million.

Corporate law, real estate law, IP law and tax law groups will be hit the hardest as companies strive to handle more of that in house and the economy remains soft. Regulatory law practice groups can expect to see an increase, however, as companies look for more cost efficient ways to comply with regulations.