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If your board has an attorney serving as a director — or if you're that attorney — this episode is essential. Stewart Wurtzel, member at Tane, Waterman & Wurtzel, walks through the real conflicts that arise when legal expertise meets board duty. He explains why letting your board's attorney review contracts instead of hiring outside counsel can leave everyone dangerously uninsured, how to voice a legal opinion without it becoming legal advice, and why diplomacy is everything. His practical framework for drawing boundaries without drawing battle lines is something every board member needs to hear. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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What happens when a neighbor decides the person living below her is the enemy? In this episode, Emanuela Lupu, partner at Smith Buss and Jacobs, speaks about a case that unfolded over years — one involving hallway confrontations, elevator ambushes, and a dog weaponized on the sidewalk. It's a story that reveals just how much a board needs to get right long before a lawyer ever gets involved, and how one early misstep can force everyone to keep living with the problem longer than they should. Lupu also walks through a separate case with a twist ending that left a co-op holding a bill they thought they'd earned the right to collect. Habitat's Emily Myers conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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Being a co-op board member comes with real legal responsibility — and most people don't realize that until it's too late. In this episode, attorney Ben Flavin, partner at Braverman Greenspun, breaks down the two fiduciary duties every board member is legally bound by: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. Ben walks through exactly what diligence looks like when hiring contractors, why rejecting a sale based on price can land your board in court, and how conflicts of interest — from brokers to contractors sitting on the board — need to be handled. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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When a group of real estate investors decided to purchase a hundred sponsor-owned apartments spread across 28 different co-op and condo buildings — and close the entire deal in a single day — the legal challenges were unlike anything a typical real estate transaction demands. Andrew Freedland, partner at Herrick Feinstein, was the attorney who made it happen, and the lessons from that deal extend far beyond one extraordinary closing. In this episode, Freedland unpacks how large-scale sponsor transactions actually work, what boards can expect when ownership of unsold shares suddenly changes hands, and why the arrival of a new investor isn't necessarily bad news. Whether your building has one sponsor unit or fifty, understanding how these deals come together — and what they mean for everyone else in the building — is knowledge worth having. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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Somewhere in New York City, a condo board found itself staring down a problem with no easy solution — an owner they knew almost nothing about, hiding behind an LLC, and a situation that was quickly becoming every board's nightmare. Leni Cummins, partner at Cozen O'Connor, walks through exactly how that kind of scenario unfolds, and more importantly, what boards can do before they ever find themselves in the same position. The conversation traces the issue from the moment an application lands on a managing agent's desk all the way to the moment a board realizes its options have nearly run out. What Cummins lays out is a practical framework that any condo board can adopt — without a bylaw amendment or a legal battle. If your building hasn't thought about this yet, it probably should. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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When a licensed cannabis dispensary tried to set up shop inside a primarily residential Manhattan condominium, the board found itself in an uncomfortable position: their bylaws, drafted decades earlier, simply hadn't anticipated this moment. The commercial unit owner had rights. The tenant had a potential license. And the board had far less leverage than they expected.

In this episode, Jennifer Miller, managing partner at J. Miller Law, talks about how this dispute unfolded and what it exposed about the way mixed-use buildings are governed. The case raises questions that apply well beyond cannabis — about what happens when the document running your building was written in a completely different era, and what realistic options boards actually have when they want to push back. The answer involves more creativity, negotiation, and luck than most people would expect. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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When co-op and condo boards refuse to hold annual elections, shareholders aren't as powerless as they might think. Thomas Smith, partner at Smith Buss & Jacobs, walks through the legal and political strategies that organized residents use to force boards out of power, from Sunday night meetings in laundry rooms to a little-known provision in the Business Corporation Law that doesn't even require a quorum. You'll discover why lawyers require shareholders to put money on the table before taking their case, when courts will intervene immediately, and how one year-long grassroots campaign in the Bronx ultimately exposed fraud and overthrew an entrenched sponsor. Whether you're watching your own building's dynamics or just fascinated by co-op politics, this episode illuminates how power shifts when residents finally organize. Habitat's Carol Ott conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!

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Most co-op and condo boards are operating with bylaws that haven't been touched since the Nixon administration. Dean Roberts, senior partner at Norris McLaughlin, reveals how outdated bylaws create real legal vulnerabilities for boards, from impossible quorum requirements that can lead to an entire board being ousted, to missing provisions for dealing with disruptive directors. In this episode, Roberts explains why many buildings are particularly vulnerable right now, what warning signs boards miss, and the specific provisions that could prevent disaster. The takeaway? Small preventive steps today can save buildings from dramatic upheaval tomorrow. Habitat’s Emily Myers conducts the interview.

The business of running a building is demanding work that requires making endless decisions — some that can quickly lead your board into a quagmire of legal difficulties. Legal Talk interviews New York's leading co-op/condo attorneys to find solutions, and get some guidance, on these challenges. For more co-op and condo insights, sign up to receive Habitat's free newsletters or become a Habitat subscriber today!