I am honored that Steeg Law has once again been included in the 2021 edition of U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” ranking the firm a Metropolitan Tier 1 Law Firm in New Orleans for Real Estate Law, Commercial Finance Law, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions/UCC Law and Litigation – Real Estate.
I am delighted to shine the community spotlight on Agenda for Children and the School Readiness Tax Credit program.
Agenda for Children has been a champion for Louisiana’s children for more than 35 years. The organization works with officials at all levels of government to advocate for policies and programs that support Louisiana’s children, their families, and early child care providers.
My firm, Steeg Law, has been a long-time sponsor of Agenda for Children. I would like to make you aware of a unique program that benefits this organization to consider for your end of the year giving, the School Readiness Tax Credit. Businesses with a Louisiana Tax ID are eligible to receive a 100% refundable state tax credit up to $5,000 for contributions to Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs), including Agenda for Children.
A recent presentation by ULI Louisiana (ULI) highlighted the intersection between civil rights, affordable housing, and community real estate development.
The story starts sixty years ago, on November 14, 1960. Some readers might recognize this as the date that six-year old Ruby Bridges desegregated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Covid-19 has brought business changes and legal challenges to the field of real estate. In a Q&A with the editor of Steeg Law’s newsletter, I discuss some of these legal issues.
I am delighted to shine the community spotlight on the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), which reopened on July 8, 2020. As a Trustee of NOMA, Chair of the Acquisitions Committee and Member of the Executive Committee, I am excited to share the news that the Museum will be launching the Creative Assembly Program Series later in July. The new monthly online forum will bring together thought leaders, community representatives, and interdisciplinary creatives to explore the role of social justice and racial equity in the museum field.
Real estate is one of the business sectors that has been hardest-hit by COVID-19. Below is a quick summary of some of the ways that real estate lawyers and title insurance professionals are adjusting, so that real estate transactions can continue to take place.
The legal concept of “force majeure” has vaulted from near-obscurity to intense scrutiny, all due to the novel coronavirus. Here is a general outline of how it applies to leases, purchase agreements and other contracts in today’s world.
I am delighted as the managing partner of Steeg Law to shine the community spotlight on the Civil Rights pioneer Leona Tate and her organizations, the Leona Tate Foundation for Change and Tate Etienne Prevost Interpretive Center.
At the most recent meeting of the Louisiana chapter of the Urban Land Institute, two back-to-back presentations highlighted how “new urbanism” can transform huge (over 1,000,000 square feet) buildings into vibrant centers of urban life. The speakers showed how this unique kind of urban development has already taken place in Memphis and how it is expected (hoped) to take place in New Orleans.
Servitudes are making their way lately into quite a few cases being decided by the appeals courts of Louisiana. I recently wrote an article, "Apparent Servitudes: When Purchasing Property, Take Note Of What You See," about a case, Naramore v. Aikman, that was decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit. It demonstrated some established but little known principles of Louisiana law that every person dealing with real estate in Louisiana should be aware of. Now, a case decided by the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Brunson v. Crown Brake, LLC, sets forth some important principles governing servitudes.
I recently returned from a national conference of title insurance agents. The agenda included traditional, technical topics like underwriting standards and title insurance claims—very helpful, even if not the most exciting, topics. But, there were several presentations that were entirely different. The real stars of the show were about the future of real estate law, title insurance, and real estate transactions in general. As everyone tries to keep up with—or perhaps even get ahead of—the curve of rapidly advancing developments, here are my main takeaways:
A recent case, Clement v. Menard, illustrates the pitfalls to be avoided so that a person enjoying a right-of-way (servitude) over adjoining property does not inadvertently lose those rights. It is an important lesson for developers, property owners and property managers.
As a Trustee of New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), I am excited to share the news that the six-acre expansion of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA reopened to the public on May 15, 2019.
Hurricane season began on June 1. With reminders like Hurricanes Michael and Katrina fresh in our minds, many of us have taken steps for hurricane preparedness in our homes and offices. Have you also considered that you need to do the same for your real estate agreements? Now is the time for people involved in real estate to check and make sure that their documents are completely up-to-date with various measures that anticipate the possible effect of storms like these.
If you ask 10 real estate professionals about the future of retail real estate, you’ll get 10 different answers (maybe 12 if some brokers are in that group). The answer seems to be—flexibility and vision. The following article, “The New Mall Tenant Is Your Office,” which recently appeared in The New York Times, demonstrates yet another adaptation—the incorporation of office space into retail developments, or even in full replacement of retail uses.
It is a welcome development, that Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business is now joining with its School of Architecture to offer an MBA and master’s degree in sustainable real estate development.
A recent case, Naramore v. Aikman, decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit demonstrates some established but little known principles of Louisiana law that every person dealing with real estate in Louisiana should be aware of.
In a recent case decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, a landlord put into its lease all of the proper provisions to relieve the landlord from liability for injuries inside the leased premises, but those provisions still could not prevent the tenant from having her day in court to try to impose liability on the landlord.
I recently ran across an article in Forbes, “Urban America Just Got A Trove Of New Real Estate Data,” that may be of interest to homebuilders, homebuyers and other people involved in real estate.
I recently had an article, “Hurricane Preparedness for Commercial Real Estate Agreements,” published in New Orleans CityBusiness. As I cover in this piece, hurricane season begins on June 1. With reminders like Hurricanes Harvey and Katrina fresh in our minds, many of us will begin to review steps for hurricane preparedness in our homes and offices. Have you also considered that you need to do the same for your real estate agreements? Now is the time.
