Attorneys Opinions Committee
The Attorneys Opinions Committee is working with the ACREL Land Use Committee on a land use opinion project. The Committee is also working on a comparison of certain aspects of real estate opinion practice with other (non-real estate) business opinion practice, and is considering a new model opinion project that would expressly identify which assumptions and qualifications should be used with respect to specific opinion paragraphs.

Bankruptcy Committee
The Bankruptcy Committee strives to identify, discuss and circulate current, leading edge bankruptcy and insolvency issues that have a material effect on commercial real estate transactions, including leasing, sales and financing. These activities include seeking legislative intervention before Congress on selected issues, participating in annual and semi-annual meetings, providing current updates to the ACREL newsletter, posting information and knowledge to the ACREL web-site, and hosting informal learning sessions at each committee meeting. Committee members are given extensive opportunities to participate in a variety of different tasks, including the drafting of real estate contracts and clauses as they pertain to bankruptcy, appearing on panels, or writing articles. Members of the committee need not have extensive bankruptcy experience.

Capital Markets and Real Estate Finance Committee
Projects of the Committee include improving fellows' access to information about real estate-related capital market transactions, including current rating agency guidelines and procedures, analyzing the likely issues to be faced in foreclosures involving mezzanine loans and working with other organizations in the development of a form of intercreditor agreement for use in mezzanine loan transactions that will be generally acceptable to senior lenders, mezzanine lenders and rating agencies. Future projects will include the development of a glossary of relevant capital markets terminology.

Insurance Committee
This insurance committee focuses on the role of insurance in real estate transactions.The committee explores techniques in risk shifting to facilitate transactions, and examines insurance coverage available in the context of leasing, sales and construction activities.The guiding principal of the committee is that real estate practitioners should strive for a working knowledge of insurance coverage issues in order to adequately represent their clients and effectively allocate risks normally associated with real estate transactions.This committee considers itself as engaged in a continuous learning experience and encourages input from insurance professionals. All new committee fellows are encouraged to confess their ignorance of the subject as their initiation ritual.

Investment Entity Committee
Recently completed projects of the Committee include a workshop on issues and considerations regarding tenancy-in-common agreements and a program on negotiating and drafting LLC Operating Agreements including in the written materials, a form of such an LLC Operating Agreement. Current projects of the Committee include (a) a report on the uses of, and considerations pertaining to, series LLCs, (b) an ongoing surveillance project on "piercing-the-veil" cases involving LLCs, (c) a report on family limited partnerships and (d) a report on special concerns of pension and opportunity fund investors in preferred equity and mezzanine lending arrangements. Committee members are encouraged to suggest topics for potential reports, workshops and programs.

Land Use/Environmental Committee
The Land Use/Environmental Committee focuses on the cutting edge issues facing the Land Use and Environmental Bar, anticipating potential problems within these disciplines and attempting to formulate solutions for the practitioner. Current committee projects include an analysis of the wisdom, efficacy and content of zoning opinions as well as the preparation of a form mold provision for lease agreements. Recent committee projects have included an analysis of the use and claims experience of the College membership with environmental insurance, the preparation of a form environmental provision for lease agreements and the examination of the impact of the United States Supreme Court decision in the Kelo case on redevelopment.

Leasing Committee
The Leasing Committee is a source of many of ACREL’s seminar programs and program materials.It also typically undertakes several long term projects, including collaborating with the Land Use/Environmental Committee in developing an annotated environmental clause for industrial leases and in developing “mold” provisions.

The Leasing Committee also helps keeps its members current with developments in leasing law.The Leasing Committee’s Web Page contains summaries of new leasing cases and also contains links to other websites that are relevant to leasing materials.