Community Association Work Generates Jobs for Law Firms

Becker & Poliakoff and Katzman Garfinkel & Berger, law firms that specialize in community associations, are bulking up with new personnel and facilities to handle the effects of the recession.

Becker & Poliakoff recently leased office space in Miramar for a “collections and foreclosure center.” The firm hired 27 people, mostly paralegals and assistants, to handle increased volume at the center, which has 53 staffers, including seven attorneys.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve hit the peak of the troubles yet,” said Lourdes Ferrer, managing attorney at the center.

The office includes all the attorneys, paralegals and staff who assist condominium and homeowner associations dealing with nonpayment of assessments – helping them more easily compare notes.

“We’re taking a much more aggressive stance in foreclosures,” Ferrer said. “No longer can associations listen to attorneys saying they should wait for banks to foreclose. It just takes too long.”

Katzman Garfinkel has opened a “law and learning center” at 5297 W. Copans Road in Margate. The firm says 100 people work at the center, which includes a 200-capacity room, where its Board Member Boot Camp takes place. The center has 33,000 square feet of space on 6 acres, including walking trails.

Katzman Garfinkel recently hired Bill Raphan and Susan Raphan, formerly with the Florida Office of the Condominium Ombudsman. They will hold courses for board members and community association managers.

Katzman Garfinkel has opened a “law and learning center” at 5297 W. Copans Road in Margate. The firm says 100 people work at the center, which includes a 200-capacity room, where its Board Member Boot Camp takes place. The center has 33,000 square feet of space on 6 acres, including walking trails.

Katzman Garfinkel recently hired Bill Raphan and Susan Raphan, formerly with the Florida Office of the Condominium Ombudsman. They will hold courses for board members and community association managers.

Becker & Poliakoff attorneys have encountered more success in sanctioning banks for delaying foreclosures. Many banks are not in a hurry to own real estate, but open foreclosure lawsuits often result in budget shortfalls for associations.

Becker & Poliakoff recently won sanctions against Chase Home Finance and Countrywide Home Loans Servicing for legal fees in foreclosure cases in Miami-Dade County, and a default judgment that wiped out the interests of Bank of New York (as a trustee) in a foreclosure case in Palm Beach County.

Miami-based Association Law Group is heralding its “mortgage terminator” strategy.

ALG and attorney Ben Solomon won a case against JPMorgan Chase for the Vintage East Condominium Association of South Beach.

One of the units at Vintage East had been in default since 2006, but the lender had not filed for foreclosure. ALG received a default judgment that stripped JPMorgan Chase of its mortgage.

The lender filed a motion for a rehearing but it was denied.