Commercial

Expert Analysis

• NY's Take On Premises Insurance Policies: What's In A Name?

  

  A New York appellate court's recent decision in Wesco Insurance v. Fulmont Mutual Insurance — requiring insurance coverage for a property owner not named on the policy — strengthens a state case law trend creating a practical exception in premises liability cases to normally strict requirements for coverage, says Craig Rokuson at Traub Lieberman.

• Bankruptcy Ruling Shows Section 363's Magic Has Its Limits

  

  The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel's recent ruling in Groves demonstrates that Section 363 — which allows a debtor-in-possession to sell their property in order to generate cash — fails as a tool when it’s used to turn a nondebtor entities' property into property of a debtor's bankruptcy estate, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.

• In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

  

  As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

• Shifts In The CRE Landscape Demand Creative Loan Solutions

  

  An increase in commercial real estate loan workouts makes it critical for borrowers, lenders and other CRE participants to examine all the available options and remedies, including mortgage and mezzanine foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and property short sales, say attorneys at Goulston & Storrs.

• How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

  

  Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

• A Smoother Process For CRE Receiverships In Conn.

  

  A newly effective Connecticut law concerning distressed commercial real estate provides a number of opportunities and strategic considerations for creditors, and should be watched even by counsel in other states as adoption of the law could become more widespread, say John Loughnane and Steven Coury at White and Williams.

• What Came Of Texas Legislature's Long-Promised Tax Relief

  

  Following promises of historic tax relief made possible by a record budget surplus, the Texas legislative session as a whole was one in which taxpayers that are large businesses could have done somewhat better, but the new legislation is clearly still a positive, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

• CRE Guidance Helps Lenders Work With Struggling Borrowers

  

  In recognition of growing troubles with commercial real estate loans, four federal regulators' recently updated loan accommodations guidance provides a helpful framework for approaching loan workouts without the punitive results of adverse classifications, say Jaclyn Grodin and Muryum Khalid at Goulston & Storrs.

• NYC Cannabis Landlord Accountability Law Has Limitations

  

  A recently passed bill in New York City, aiming to crack down on the illegal cannabis market by levying fines against landlords who knowingly lease to unlicensed sellers, contains loopholes that may potentially limit the bill’s impact and lead to unintended consequences, say attorneys at Falcon Rappaport.

• When Investment Banks Can Sell Real Estate In Calif.

  

  When investment banks sell businesses that own property in California, they may run into trouble if they are not licensed real estate brokers, unless the property is merely incidental to the deal at hand, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Hedging Variable Interest Rates In A Volatile Market

  

  Variable rate loans, which were an advantageous borrowing method prior to the recent Federal Reserve rate hikes and subsequent volatility, are now the difference between borrowers remaining current on their obligations and defaulting due to the sharply increasing debt service requirements of their loans, say attorneys at Cassin & Cassin.

• Parsing FTC's Intercontinental-Black Knight Merger Challenge

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent Article III case challenging a merger between Intercontinental Exchange and Black Knight suggests the agency is using a structuralist approach to evaluate the merger's potential anti-competitive harm, says David Evans at Kelley Drye.

• Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

  

  Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.