Our highly experienced Cooperative & Condominium Law team serves as general counsel to over 400 cooperative and condominium clients in the New York metropolitan area. From small townhouse cooperatives and condominiums to large multi-building developments, we take a tailored approach based on clients' unique needs. We also provide legal services to subsidized Mitchell-Lama and Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives.

Our attorneys offer both litigation and non-litigation services, delivering forward-looking legal advice that helps clients avoid potential pitfalls. When conflict is unavoidable, we guide clients to efficiently resolve disputes, whether they involve defective construction, issues over access rights with a neighboring building or other matters that arise among board members, shareholders and unit owners. If an amicable resolution is impossible, we aggressively litigate the dispute to obtain the best result for our clients.

Several members of our team play a central role in the development of cooperative and condominium law, creating leading-edge transactional strategies and industry-standard form contracts. We frequently lecture at bar and trade association meetings. Four of our lawyers have served as chair of the Cooperative and Condominium Committee of the New York City Bar, including the current chair, and one has co-chaired the New York State Bar Real Property Law Section Condominium and Cooperative Committee. Our depth of knowledge and breadth of experience enable our team to offer an extremely broad range of services to our clients. Whether it’s regulatory compliance, litigation or transactions, we deliver practical, actionable advice that boards and their managing agents trust.

To inform and educate our clients, we have created the Fox Learning Center, a free series of regularly scheduled seminars for board members and their managing agents. At these seminars, our attorneys review best practices and procedures and provide legal updates. Board members have an opportunity to ask questions in real time and get the most current and relevant information.

We help resolve disputes involving:

• Differences between and among boards, shareholders/unit owners and sponsors
• Conflicts with neighboring buildings
• Construction and design defects, including negotiating settlements with condominium sponsors
• Unauthorized occupants
• Board elections

We structure, review and negotiate:

• Cooperative and Condominium documents, including declarations, proprietary leases and by-laws
• Agreements with architects, engineers, contractors and vendors who provide goods and services to cooperatives and condominiums
• Commercial leases
• Owner and tenant agreements
• Financing transactions
• Access/license agreements
• Underlying and construction mortgage financings

We provide legal advice regarding:

• Admissions and leasing policies
• Ownership of apartments by trusts and other entities
• Fiduciary obligations of board members
• Board elections, corporate governance, by-laws, policy and procedure
• Quality of life issues
• Alteration and expansion of units
• Collections of fees and other payments
• Licensing common space, such as the roof and basement, to third parties
• Revision of governing documents (including the by-laws, proprietary lease and house rules). Conduct information meetings in order to better inform the shareholders/unit owners of the changes and organize the means and methods for approval, including leading special meetings seeking such approval.
• Internal investigations into allegations of fraud, conflict of interest, financial mismanagement, rule violations and other misconduct, in collaboration with experienced members of the firm’s national Litigation and White Collar Criminal Defense practices.
• Municipal matters and compliance with local laws and regulations
• Relations with sponsors and holders of unsold units and shares
• Operation of properties and relationships with their supervising agencies for Mitchell Lama and Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives
• Newly formed boards in new construction and newly converted cooperative and condominium buildings
• Boards transitioning from sponsor to unit owner/shareholder control
• Creation of a “flip tax” for both condominiums and cooperatives.
• Documentation for the expansion of individual units through the sale, leasing and licensing of hallway, yard, roof and other public spaces
• Protocols for compliance with lead-based paint, conflicts disclosure, anti-discrimination, fireplace, sprinkler and other government regulations
• Anti-sexual harassment training and other anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for boards