Legal Orientation Information
Eight Reasons to Think of Legal Affairs
1. A REALTOR Association has been sued. NAR provides professional liability insurance that covers state and local associations, their staff and volunteers for activities typical to a real estate trade association (e.g., professional standards hearings, committee activities, and employment matters). Information on the renewal of this policy is sent annually at the end of January. Questions? Call Finley Maxson x8381.
2. You need help ($) with a lawsuit in your region. NAR’s Legal Action Committee evaluates requests for funding and recommends to the NAR Board support ($) for cases presenting issues of importance to the real estate industry (e.g., private property rights, limits on political fundraising, arbitration). NAR also files friend of the court (amicus curiae) briefs where appropriate. Questions? Contact Ralph Holmen x8375 or Cherie Pollard x8394.
3. You want to know about an important court ruling. NAR’s on-line legal newsletter, The Letter of the Law, is constantly updated with summaries of important legal happenings. Questions? Contact Finley Maxson x8381.
4. You want to know what the after the word REALTOR is all about. NAR owns many domestic and foreign trademarks, the most important being REALTOR. REALTOR is a membership mark that indicates membership in the REALTOR organization. NAR recently defeated an action brought to cancel this registration on the basis that the mark has become generic and means anyone who sells real estate. Questions? Contact Mary Newill x8380.
5. You need to check something in the NAR Constitution, Bylaws or other governing documents. What is the formula for determining how many directors each state association sends to serve on the NAR Board? When are dues to be paid to NAR? How does someone run for an NAR office? All these answers (and more) are found on REALTOR.org (start at the Law & Policy page). Questions? Contact Mike Thiel x8373.
6. You are looking for trends in litigation and legislation to help plan state or local association programs. The Legal Scan is a comprehensive research study reporting on trends in legal issues as of 1995. The Scan reports which types of lawsuits are on the rise (or decline) as well as areas of legislative activity that address legal issues (e.g., Megan’s law, personal assistants, and agency). The Scan is available electronically on REALTOR.org. Questions? Contact Finley Maxson x8381.
7. Association legal counsel needs to be kept current on REALTORorganization legal and policy matters. Send him/her to the NAR legal seminar for state and local association counsel. This daylong program, offered twice each fall (September 30 and October 27, 2005), provides updates on recent decisions, legislation and important policy changes. (AEs are welcome to attend the morning session of the October seminar offered at the NAR annual convention.) AEs can provide their counsel with access to REALTOR.org and the boatload of legal information it contains by entering them into the NRDS database, which will allow counsel to register at the website. Questions? Contact Cherie Pollard x8394
You’ve got a problem. NAR’s legal staff is available to speak with you on the phone or respond to your email or correspondence inquiry on a wide variety of issues including antitrust, fair housing federal election laws, enforcement of arbitration awards and employment matters. If any state in your region is facing an issue that you think might have been addressed elsewhere, we might be able to save them from re-inventing the wheel. Contact us anytime you think we can help. Call Laurie Janik x8371 or Ralph Holmen x8375 or our assistant, Cherie Pollard x8394 or any other member of the legal staff (listed above).
8/25/05
