Real Estate
Jackson Walker Expands in Dallas with Addition of Four Real Estate Partners

News
Jackson Walker announced that Cynthia “Cindy” Brotman Nelson, George C. Dunlap Jr., Kevin L. Kelley and Scott Tuthill have joined the firm as partners in the real estate practice group in the Dallas office.
Buchalter Welcomes Real Estate Shareholders in Scottsdale
News
Buchalter has added shareholders J. Craig Cartwright and Kevin T. Lytle as members of the Real Estate Practice Group in the Scottsdale office.
Barnes & Thornburg Adds Transactional Partner Salvador LaViña in Los Angeles
News
Barnes & Thornburg LLP has added Salvador LaViña as a partner in the Real Estate Department in Los Angeles. LaViña joins from Enenstein Ribakoff LaViña & Pham APC.
Houston Office Vacancies Raise Concerns for Owners Making Loan Payments

News
Estimates are that more than a fifth of Houston office space sits empty as landlords struggle to find new tenants and existing tenants struggle to sublease unused space.
DLA Piper Adds Ying Genève DuBois to Real Estate Practice in Miami
News
DLA Piper announced Ying Genève DuBois to their Real Estate practice in Miami. Her practice focuses on representing US and global investors in their US real estate investments, particularity investors in Asia.
The Law Conference for Hotel Owners and Operators

Event, Jan. 22-23, 2018, Los Angeles
ALIS Law will present its annual conference on Jan. 22-23, 2018, at the Residence Inn and Courtyard Los Angeles. Attendees are expected to include general counsel teams of hotel ownership companies, management companies and brands, as well as law firms that advise hoteliers.
What Does Your Reservation Clause Mean?
Insight
Two Locke Lord lawyers authored a discussion about a court decision that emphasizes the importance of properly phrasing a reservation clause, as to avoid inadvertently granting an interest in a mineral estate.
Capital Outlook for U.S. Real Estate Sector on the Rise, Annual Akerman Report Finds

Insight
Increased confidence in the commercial real estate market has taken hold since the U.S. presidential election, according to a report released today by U.S. law firm Akerman LLP.
Barnes & Thornburg Expands Real Estate Practice in Dallas

News
Will Russ has joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP in its Dallas office as a partner in the Real Estate Department.
Carey Gunn Venditti Joins DLA Piper’s Real Estate Practice in Austin
News
Carey Gunn Venditti has joined the DLA Piper’s realeEstate practice as a partner in the Austin office. Venditti joins the firm from Greenberg Traurig where she was a shareholder.
Hogan Lovells Adds Real Estate Lawyer Lea Ann Fowler in Denver
News
Hogan Lovells announces that Lea Ann Fowler will join the firm’s Real Estate practice as a partner in the Denver office.
J. David Hitchcock Joins Buchalter As Shareholder in Los Angeles Office
News
David Hitchcock has joined Buchalter Nemer’s Los Angeles office as a shareholder in the Real Estate practice group.
Akerman Expands Real Estate Group with Addition of Four Lawyers in Denver
News
Akerman LLP announced the the addition of partners Allison Nelson and Lori Albert and associates William Garehime and Kelly Adams from Fennemore Craig to the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.
Austin Jury Finds Danish Woman Was Defrauded in $1.35M Condo Sale
News
A Travis County jury has returned a verdict against Chicago Title of Texas, LLC and other real estate-related businesses, finding they defrauded a young Danish woman of all proceeds from the sale of her $1.35 million condominium at the exclusive Residences at W Austin, according to a post on the website of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing
Texas Supreme Court Rules Pipeline Can Take Land by Eminent Domain

News
Typically, the power of eminent domain is granted to governmental entities rather than private institutions. Under Texas law, however, a common carrier has the right and power of eminent domain, according to Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.
Trump Pays $25 Million to Settle Trump University Litigation
News
Politico reports that Trump University transferred the funds Tuesday night, providing enough money pay back about half of the funds paid by students for the seminars.
License or Lease? The Contractual Limits of the Sharing Economy

Insight
In an article posted on Commercial Property Executive’s website, Elizabeth Levin of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips explores the implications of contracts and lease agreements pertaining to co-working and short term rental arrangements.
A Settlement Agreement That’s Too Vague Doesn’t Settle Much At All
Insight
Stacey Lantagne, writing in her ContractsProf Blog, uses a recent Florida case to illustrate the importance of specificity when drafting contracts.
5 Points: Arbitration Clauses in Real Estate Contracts

Insight
While consumers may not have many choices when signing agreements that contain arbitration clauses, commercial parties often negotiate every last term of their agreements, according to a post on Shutts & Bowen LLP’s website.
Two New Cases: Fractional Royalty, Fraction of Royalty, or Mineral Interest?
Insight
Two new opinions, one from the San Antonio Court of Appeals and one from the El Paso Court of Appeals, again tackle the task of construing mineral and royalty conveyances and reservations, reports John McFarland in his Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog.