William Anaya

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner William J. Anaya authored an article titled “New Wine in Old Bottles? Something Old and Something New in Environmental Due Diligence Standards – ASTM International Proposes Due Diligence Standards.” The article discusses how the ASTM is currently in the process of modifying current standards of material disposal for the fifth time since 1993. Mr. Anaya also discusses what is on the horizon for proposed changes to material disposal.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Samuel Sheldon

Steven Appelbaum

Arnstein & Lehr Miami Associates Samuel M. Sheldon and Steven M. Appelbaum recently secured a victory for three firm clients in a trial before Judge Robert Mark of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The plaintiffs, who had bought a condominium unit from the clients, had initially brought suit in state court alleging fraudulent concealment of latent defects. Following the clients’ bankruptcy filings, the plaintiffs brought adversary proceedings seeking non-dischargeability of the asserted debts arising from the clients’ alleged fraud. Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Appelbaum moved for judgment on partial findings after the presentation of plaintiff’s case at trial. The court granted their motion, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the clients knew of any latent material defects, and entered final judgment in the clients’ favor.

Justin Weisberg

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Justin L. Weisberg chaired the Engineers Joint Contract Document Committee (EJCDC) Meeting in Portland, Oregon, ending his one-year tenure as the chair of the organization. This week, the organization approved a comprehensive narrative on the construction family of documents for publication and continue to develop a national form for Public Private Partnership agreements that is anticipated to be released in 2014.

During Mr. Weisberg’s one-year tenure as chair, EJCDC released the new construction family of 20 form contracts, which included a new document, the construction subcontract. Mr. Weisberg was the document chair and was one of the primary drafters of the new subcontract form. Considerable progress was made on new ventures such as Public Private Partnerships (P3) and Construction Management forms and set the Design Build family of documents on track for a new version. Courses were also given on public contracting and the EJCDC families of documents in Fort Worth, Texas during the National Construction Institute Symposium and at the Construction Super Conference in San Francisco, California.

Lori Adelson

Arnstein & Lehr Fort Lauderdale Partner Lori Adelson spoke at a CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) event on June 6, 2013 in Fort Lauderdale.  Ms. Adelson was one of three women on a panel discussing legal/tax/ADA real estate changes.

Joshua Atlas

Stuart Sakwa

Arnstein & Lehr West Palm Beach Partners Joshua M. Atlas and Stuart H. Sakwa recently authored a blog post for the Construction Today Blog titled “New Law Permits Contractual limitations of Personal Liability for Florida Designers.” The post discusses a new Florida law which allows architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, surveyors and geologists to contractually limit their personal liability for negligence claims arising from professional services contracts. The new law, which amends several existing statutes, takes effect July 1.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Barry R. Katz

Chicago Partner Barry Katz was quoted in a June 3 article titled “Six Lease Agreement Amendments to Make Airbnb Work for You (Not Just Your Tenants)” for Software Advice. Airbnb is a website where users may post their apartment to be rented out to travelers, as one would when booking a hotel room. Mr. Katz offers his thoughts on what landlords can do to legally protect themselves.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Competitive Relationship Clarified in Unfair Trade Practices Ruling

Robert E. McKenzie

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie presented a webinar on May 28 titled “U.S. Tax Agent Program, IRS Fresh Start Initative.” Mr. McKenzie also spoke in Reno, Nevada on May 31 – June 1, 2013, to the California Society of Enrolled Agents on IRS representation.

Konstantinos Armiros

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Konstantinos Armiros was one of three instructors teaching a video webcast titled “Commercial Leases: Drafting, Reviewing & Litigating” for the National Business Institute. Mr. Armiros’ program, “How Bankruptcy Affects the Lease” took place on May 30, 2013. This video webcast is geared toward attorneys involved in negotiating commercial leases. It also benefits landlords, property managers and business owners.

Samuel Levine

Joshua Atlas

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Samuel H. Levine and West Palm Beach Partner Joshua Atlas recently published articles for the May 2013 edition of “Building Knowledge,” the newsletter published by the Section on Construction Law for the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). Mr. Levine’s article, “Protecting the contractor rights in bankruptcy” discusses bankruptcy issues that are most often encountered in construction settings. To read the article in full, please click here. Mr. Atlas’ article, “Subcontractor rights under the Miller Act: A case study” takes a look at how The Miller Act affected the ruiling of Capital Computer Group, LLC v. The Gray Insurance Company.  To read the article in full, please click here.

Samuel Levine

On May 30, 2013, Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Samuel H. Levine served as a speaker for a program on Insurance, Surety Bonds and Bankruptcy Issues. He spoke on performance bonds, payment bonds and construction bonds, and served as a moderator. The seminar was sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Construction Section and the ISBA Commercial banking Collections and Bankruptcy Section.

To learn more about the program, please click here.

William Anaya

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner William J. Anaya offered his thoughts on the latest regulation on fracking that was passed in the Illinois State Senate on Friday. Illinois’ new fracking law is the product of a collaboration involving industry, labor, and environmental groups. This law in Illinois is remarkably different and more complicated than the law in other states.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Prior to co-founding Montero Wolkov LLP, Mr. Montero worked as a corporate attorney at several firms including Greenberg Traurig, White & Case and Broad & Cassel.

Mr. Montero brings with him 15 years of experience working in Miami with foreign and domestic corporate clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and international business planning. He also represents domestic and foreign franchisors with general corporate matters and provides growth strategies for start-up franchise concepts. In addition, Mr. Montero serves as general counsel for several Miami-based businesses, where he advises business-owners on their general commercial legal needs.

Mr. Montero can be reached by phone at (305) 428-4546 and by email at jfmontero@arnstein.com.

Mr. Poliakoff, who was formerly a partner at Becker & Poliakoff, rejoins his long time law partner, Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, who will serve as his co-chair, to help oversee the firm’s vibrant local government practice.

“The addition of Keith Poliakoff and his team is a huge win for the firm and further exemplifies our commitment to expanding and advancing the capacity of our governmental practice throughout the state,” said Jeff Shapiro, Florida managing partner for Arnstein & Lehr. “Members of this team have extensive experience in issues pertaining to land use, government law and lobbying and have strong ties with local governments in South Florida, making them a valuable asset to our clients and the firm as a whole.”

As a well-known and respected attorney in Broward County, Mr. Poliakoff has considerable experience with all aspects of Florida governmental entities.  He brings with him his substantial knowledge of representing local governments, and his extensive experience in representing parties before local governments throughout the entire state, including the representations of developers, communities opposed to certain developments, and all aspects of municipal code enforcement.

Mr. Poliakoff’s team includes Michelle Klymko, an experienced litigator, who focuses her practice on several areas including municipal liability, conflict resolution, government procurement, ethics, and zoning. She also has experience working with public agencies and private companies doing business in the governmental arena.

Ms. Capri Kalliche has extensive experience in both residential and commercial real estate transactions.  She provides comprehensive representation to the Town of Southwest Ranches on all of its real property issues including negotiating contracts and closing all real property acquisitions and dispositions, plat reviews, right-of-way issues, easements and Development Agreements.

Arnstein & Lehr’s Municipal & Governmental Practice Group represents both public and private clients in a multitude of matters. The firm has been successful in obtaining administrative and legislative decisions through both litigation and negotiations with local, county and state governments.

Summary of the New Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Law

After considerable debate involving dueling interests, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act into law in Illinois — providing Illinois with a remarkably new regulatory program designed to support the interests of the oil and gas industry and to provide for responsible stewardship of the environment.

According to Arnstein & Lehr’s Environmental Practice Group Leader Bill Anaya, “The new law is not for the uninitiated. It involves a complex registration, application and enforcement process, and the key for either side — most assuredly for those seeking to participate in the fracking process — will be to make an administrative record that supports the process in the very likely event of a challenge.”

Arnstein & Lehr Attorney Matthew Cohn, who worked for several years as a geologist before entering the legal profession, says “Illinois’ low permeability shale formations have not been the source of much oil and gas historically, but recent advancements in fracking and horizontal drilling technology have improved the chances of developing the New Albany Shale formation in southern Illinois as a new source of energy. This new law keeps up with the new technology and the new opportunities.”

While fracking in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania resulted in an oil and gas boom in that state, it remains to be seen whether fracking in the New Albany Shale in Illinois will have the same impact. However, if oil and gas are found reasonably accessible in the New Albany Shale, Illinois will benefit with new jobs, additional revenue and remarkable opportunities.

Arnstein & Lehr LLP is prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Illinois’ new fracking law is the product of a collaboration involving industry, labor, and environmental groups. Illinois’ fracking law is remarkably different — and more complicated — than the law in other states. Indeed, Illinois’ new fracking law arguably involves some of the strongest environmental controls and the greatest transparency associated with fracking operations anywhere in the nation.

Under the new law, fracking operations in Illinois are regulated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources through an elaborate registration, application, permitting, financial assurance, public participation and enforcement process. In addition, the new law includes a complicated taxation feature designed to augment the public fisc.

To learn more about the new “fracking” law in Illinois, please contact Bill Anaya at 312.876.7109 or wjanaya@arnstein.com or Matthew Cohn at 312.876.7188 or mecohn@arnstein.com. For a more complete summary of the new law, please click here.

Randall Sidlosca

Arnstein & Lehr Miami Partner Randall L. Sidlosca was quoted in an article published on May 28, 2013 for the Daily Business Review titled, “Focus Latin America: Latin American Developers Turn To Florida Attorneys For Help.” In the article, Mr. Sidlosca notes how he can provide a “one-stop shop” for individuals who want to transition their families to the United States. In addition to providing legal guidance, he provides clients with advice and information on the city of Miami.

To read the article in full, please click here.

John Ropiequet

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner John L. Ropiequet has published an article in the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report entitled, “Fair Lending Litigation and the Impact of Wal-mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes.” The article discusses the historical development of litigation by private litigants which has alleged racial discrimination by lenders in both mortgages and auto finance, and how the Supreme Court’s decision in Dukes in 2011 seemingly has put an end to major fair lending class action cases, but how enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have continued unabated despite that ruling, which called into question the statistical evidentiary basis for both private class actions and government enforcement activities.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Barry R. Katz

Robert J. Taylor

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partners Barry R. Katz and Robert J. Taylor authored the article “Managing Commercial Real Estate Leases: Illinois” for the Practical Law Company. The article is a technical Q&A guide to Illinois state laws and customs on managing real estate leases in Illinois.

To read the article in full please click here.

Colleen Chinlund

Thomas McGuire

Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partners Colleen A. Chinlund and Thomas F. McGuire presented a seminar titled “Helping Aging Loved Ones” on May 23, 2013 in the Chicago office. This informative discussion offered practical and helpful tips to assist attendees in planning the financial and legal considerations of their aging loved ones.