Real Estate Law for Non-Lawyers Course
Real Estate Law for Non-Lawyers
Future dates TBA, Fall 2024
Every Wednesday
6 - 8 p.m. MST
Do you wish you had a better grasp of real estate legal issues? Do you need a better understanding and appreciation of the laws and regulations that govern the U.S. real estate industry? Do you need tools to enhance your relationship with the lawyers who work on behalf of your company? The University of baby直播app Real Estate Center, along with the University of baby直播app Law School, is offering a new, seven-week, 14-hour online evening course, 鈥淩eal Estate Law for Non-Lawyers鈥, that will demystify law for the real estate professional or the student who wishes to become one. Taught by members of the baby直播app of the University of baby直播app Law School and legal professionals in the field who can explain in practical terms the issues facing people who work in or with real estate, from developers and landlords to listing agents and insurers.
Those who should attend include students seeking a real estate concentration, real estate professionals already in the field, paralegals who work with lawyers on real estate matters, and anyone considering a career in real estate.
Module Schedule:
Wednesday, October 25 | 6 - 8:30 p.m. MST | Introduction to U.S. Law
Taught by Gabrielle Marks Stafford
*Please note that this class session will run from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. MST*
In order to understand many of the legal doctrines to come, it helps to have an overview of the basic principles of the U.S. legal system, from the structure of our courts and adversarial legal system to the roles and responsibilities of local, municipal, state, and federal laws and regulations that play a role in real estate.
Wednesday, November 1 | 6 - 8 p.m. MST | Contract Law
Taught by Rabea Benhalim
This module will cover the fundamentals of contract law most relevant to real estate professionals, including offers, counteroffers, and acceptance; leases; mortgages; contract breaches; and remedies for breaches. Participants will walk away with an understanding of the core issues that can arise in the real estate context relating to contracts.
Wednesday, November 8 | 6 - 8 p.m. MST | Property Law
Taught by Michael Pappas
This module will cover the fundamentals of property law most relevant to real estate professionals, including property servitudes (easements and covenants), adverse possession, co-ops, and condominiums.
Wednesday, November 15 | 6 - 7 p.m. MST | Insurance Law (Part I of II)
Taught by Nick Budor
(Nearly) everyone has some type of experience with Insurance. But insurance is only one part of a complete risk management strategy. By having a basic risk management framework to work with, real estate professionals can set themselves apart as trusted advisors to their clients. This course is intended to lay the foundation for risk management thinking with real examples focusing on insurance.
Wednesday, November 15 | 7 - 8 p.m. MST | Title and Closings (Part II of II)
Taught by Rabea Benhalim
This module will cover the more technical details of how rights to property can transfer between parties, including the legal documents of a closing (what they and why they鈥檙e necessary); the effect and importance of deeds/mortgages; quiet title actions (when they are necessary, what they look like, and why); and more.
Wednesday, November 22: No class due to the Thanksgiving Holiday break
Tuesday*, November 28 | 6 - 8 p.m. MST | Construction law *Note: This class only will be held on Tuesday.
Taught by Henry Bangert
Construction involves almost every major area of the law, from contracting around construction risks, to negligence and insurance coverage, to statutes and regulations, to liens on real property, and to dispute resolution. This class focuses on the legal principles applicable to projects in the built environment and will give you an overview of the ways in which construction law interacts with the principles you have learned in your other classes.
Wednesday, December 6 | 6 - 8 p.m. MST | Real Estate Tax Law
Taught by Sloan Speck
Taxes play a crucial role in structuring real estate deals. This course unpacks tax considerations over the life cycle of real estate investments, from acquisitions to operations to exits. A particular emphasis is given to financing considerations, the 20% pass-through deduction, and transactions involving real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Wednesday, December 13 | 6 - 8 p.m. MST | Negotiations and Mediation
Taught by Jennifer Sullivan
Sometimes, conflicts occur in real estate: a buyer backs out of a contract; a contractor performs a poor job; an insurance company refuses to pay after a disaster destroys a property. This course will help lay out the various options that exist to resolve (or even avoid) these disputes, from the interpersonal and the informal up through mediations and court proceedings.
Key Takeaways from the course:
- Gain a general understanding of key legal concepts in real estate
- Understand key legal issues that give a clearer picture of rights of both tenants and landlords
- Analyze details of a contract or leads with more precision and awareness of key provisions
- Learn about key U.S. court cases and the implications it has on commercial real estate
Are you ready to register?
Faculty List
Academic Director
Director of Executive and Community Learning Programs
University of baby直播app Law School
Boulder, CO
Matthew Cushing organizes the White Center鈥檚 Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, in conjunction with the course Education and the Constitution. He also runs the Appellate Advocacy Practicum and administers baby直播app Law鈥檚 Mini Law School program, an eight-week series that introduces non-lawyers to interesting legal issues that impact their day-to-day lives.
Instructor
Legal Writing Professor
University of baby直播app School of Law
Boulder, CO
Prior to joining the baby直播app at the baby直播app Law School in 1999, Gabrielle Stafford taught legal writing at Chicago-Kent College of Law and practiced law for eight years. During her four years in private practice, she focused primarily on commercial litigation and bankruptcy law. She specialized in public and private housing law during her years as a legal aid staff attorney and as counsel for the City of Albuquerque鈥檚 housing authority.
Professor Stafford received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and her JD from Boston University School of Law in 1991.
Instructor
Associate Professor
University of baby直播app School of Law
Boulder, CO
Rabea Benhalim is an Associate Professor at the University of baby直播app Law School. Prior to joining the baby直播app baby直播app, she was the 2017-2019 William H. Hastie Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She teaches a variety of law courses including Contracts, Secured Transactions, and Islamic Law. Her research focuses on two areas of inquiry: (1) The development of Jewish and Islamic law in the modern era and (2) the application of Islamic law in commercial contexts. Within these areas, her current work investigates how secular environments affect interpretations and development of religious law, especially for minority religions.
Professor Benhalim's prior work experience as a lawyer and policy expert includes positions at the Brookings Institution, Mayer Brown LLP, Maersk Oil, and the Carter Center. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas, an L.L.M. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, a Master of Public Policy Degree from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Educational Background:
L.L.M. The University of Wisconsin Law School 2019
J.D. The University of Texas Law School 2009
M.P.P. The University of Michigan 2005
B.A. The University of Texas at Dallas 2004
Instructor
Professor of Law
University of baby直播app School of Law
Boulder, CO
Michael Pappas is a Professor of Law at the University of baby直播app Law School. Professor Pappas teaches primarily in the areas of property, natural resource, and environmental law. His scholarship draws upon interdisciplinary influences associated with baby直播apps and political economy, and his work explores the nature of property expectations, governmental responsibilities, and private rights in managing resources such as land, energy, water, wildlife, fisheries, and food.
Prior to joining CU, Professor Pappas spent a decade on the baby直播app of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development from 2017-2020 and where he was voted Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year in 2014. Professor Pappas was also a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center in 2021, and he has taught at Tulane University Law School and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Professor Pappas holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature from Stanford University, and he received his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He clerked for the Hon. James L. Dennis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Instructor
President
Wall Street Insurance
Edwards, CO
Nick Budor is the President of Wall Street Insurance, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Edwards, baby直播app. As a full-service, independent insurance agency, Wall Street Insurance serves clients from coast-to-coast with all of their business and personal insurance needs.
Before founding, acquiring and growing several insurance agencies beginning in 2015, Nick practiced law for 15 years following graduation from The University of Michigan Law School. Beginning in 2000 in San Francisco, Nick was an associate with the international law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, working on mergers & acquisitions, capital market transactions and general corporate matters. In the mid-2000鈥檚, nick transitioned to an in-house counsel practice, beginning as Associate General Counsel to Orange Glo International, Inc. Following the successful sale of Orange Glo, Nick founded the legal department at Rally Software Development, based in Boulder, CO. After 7 years of growth, Nick was part of the leadership team that executed Rally鈥檚 IPO on the NYSE in 2013. It was during his time at Rally that Nick began guest lecturing at CU Law as well as his alma mater in Ann Arbor. Following his professional transition to insurance, Nick modified his guest lectures and has been introducing insurance and risk management concepts to students at CU Law, Leeds and Michigan Law for the last several years.
Instructor
Founding Partner
BBG Construction Law
Greenwood Village, CO
Henry Bangert grew up in the construction business, working alongside his family in heavy civil construction throughout the Midwest and Mountain West. His first jobs were on airport and bridge projects in and around St. Louis and Denver. Henry鈥檚 close family members still work in various sectors of this industry. Consequently, Henry鈥檚 work for construction and engineering clients is a personal passion. Having lived through the ups and downs of the industry, he understands what critical negotiations, disputes and litigation mean from the perspective of the business owner, management, operations, as well as the litigator.
Following law school at the University of baby直播app, Henry joined the construction practice group at Sherman & Howard, L.L.C. in Denver. It is with Sherman & Howard that Henry received his legal training from Mike Cook, Bret Gunnell, Charlotte Wiessner, and many other well-respected construction attorneys. For six years, up until opening day of Beltzer Bangert & Gunnell LLP, Henry worked as Legal Counsel 鈥 U.S. Operations for PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc. As Legal Counsel for PCL, Henry worked with the most talented construction attorneys and consultants across the US, on both sides of the table.
Today, Henry counsels clients in contract planning, negotiation, administration, and dispute resolution nationally in the construction and engineering industry. He frequently advises clients in contract and legal risk management through the project life cycle. He has represented clients in the drafting and negotiation of numerous complex construction contracts priced between $1 million and $1.7 billion. Henry has significant experience in government contracting issues and has represented clients nationwide in dispute review boards, mediations, arbitrations, trials, and state and federal court.
Instructor
Associate Professor
University of baby直播app School of Law
Boulder, CO
Sloan Speck joined the University of baby直播app Law School baby直播app in fall 2015 as an Associate Professor. Professor Speck鈥檚 research interests are in tax law and policy, with an emphasis on corporate and international tax, legal and business history, and the ways in which taxation informs and structures the relationship between state and society.
Before joining baby直播app Law, Professor Speck was an Acting Assistant Professor of Tax Law at New York University School of Law. Previously, Professor Speck practiced in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, where he advised on tax aspects of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, joint ventures, real estate transactions, bankruptcy restructurings and workouts, and financings. While at Skadden, Professor Speck taught as an adjunct professor at the DePaul University College of Law.
Professor Speck received an LL.M. in taxation from NYU School of Law, a J.D. and M.A. (History) from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. from Rice University. During law school, Professor Speck was an articles editor for The University of Chicago Law Review and a board member of the Japan Law Society. Before law school, Professor Speck taught mathematics at Salesian High School in Richmond, California, where he also coached football.
Instructor
Mediator and Senior Assistant Dean for Administration & Program Development
University of baby直播app School of Law
Boulder, CO
Jennifer Sullivan is the Senior Assistant Dean for Administration and Program Development at the University of baby直播app Law School. Prior to joining baby直播app Law, Jennifer was a commercial litigator at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, where her practice focused on claims of breach of contract, fraud, misappropriation and other business torts, and fiduciary relationship disputes. Twice named a Rising Star by baby直播app Super Lawyers magazine, Jennifer served as a law firm associate, partner, and counsel, and maintained an active pro bono practice devoted primarily to asylum and post-conviction work. Jennifer graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1999, and clerked for the Honorable W. Royal Furgeson, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Jennifer serves on the Advisory Council to the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, as well as the board of directors of Focus Reentry, a Boulder-based non-profit that helps people integrate into society following incarceration. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys her husband and four children, and occasionally escaping them to swim, read, and write.