Beware That Lawyer on the Board Who Represents a Seller in the Building

Jan. 19, 2016 — Here’s a sticky one: a member of your co-op board is a real estate lawyer who has agreed to represent a fellow shareholder in the sale of his apartment in the building.

“These responsibilities conflict,” Marc Luxemburg, a real estate lawyer with the firm Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, tells Ask Real Estate in the New York Times.

Suppose the board decided to reject a potential buyer, a situation that would clearly go against the interest of the lawyer’s client. The lawyer would have to recuse himself from participating on behalf of either side – the seller or the board – if a dispute were to arise, says Luxemburg. And since this is New York City real estate, disputes are a virtual certainty.

As a rule, lawyers who sit on boards should not represent buyers or sellers in the building, Luxemburg advises. At the very least, it gives the impression that the lawyer is using his position to further his career.