Description
Commercial real estate loan transactions secured by real estate are often conditioned upon a third-party opinion letter which provides the opinion giver's professional judgment on a range of legal issues. Opinion letters can present potential liability for the provider, but certain assumptions and qualifications, as well as client certificates as to factual matters, can be employed to limit counsel's exposure.
The ABA/ACREL/ACMA Real Estate Finance Opinion Report and UCC Opinion Report (the ABA Reports) provide useful guidance in preparing opinions that reflect customary practices generally accepted nationwide.
Listen as our authoritative panel explains best practices when drafting third-party opinion letters for commercial real estate finance transactions. The panel will discuss strategies for counsel to reduce risk in providing opinion letters and the extent to which the ABA Reports can be used as a reference in opinion preparation.
Presented By
Mr. Dunn is involved in a broad spectrum of real estate and commercial transactions for private and public entities. His work has included infrastructure development; office and commercial acquisitions, development, and leasing; commercial real estate finance on behalf of lenders and borrowers; foreclosures and workouts; industrial project finance and land development; land use and development; and advising clients in all aspects of real estate matters. He is a recognized authority in the area of legal opinions in business transactions and has served as chair of committees for the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estates Law on that subject. Mr. Dunn’s written work has been published widely and he is a frequent lecturer at national, regional, and statewide programs on various aspects of secured financing.
Mr. Grodner's practice focuses primarily on commercial transactions, secured transactions, commercial finance, opinion letters, commercial real estate and gaming law. He has an extensive practice representing lenders in large commercial transactions, locally, regionally and nationally. He authored or co-authored articles dealing with secured transactions, commercial real estate and other business law issues, and also presented on issues concerning loan documentation, secured transactions, ethics and professionalism in the transactional context and real estate law.
Mr. Weise practices in all areas of commercial law and has extensive experience in financing, especially in those secured by personal property, including structured financing. He is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on Article 9 of the UCC. He is a member of the Permanent Editorial Board for the UCC and a member of the American Law Institute’s UCC Article 9 Drafting Committee. Mr. Weise is also the past chair of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Legal Opinions Committee.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Friday, May 9, 2025
- schedule
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- Preparing commercial real estate finance opinions
- Range of opinions
- Assumptions
- Opinion language
- Limitations
- Use of the opinion letter: reliance
- ABA Reports
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the general responsibilities of the opinion giver?
- What guidance do the ABA Reports provide on opinion preparation?
- What are due diligence steps critical for counsel preparing commercial real estate finance opinion letters to minimize risks and liabilities?
- How to word the actual opinion
- What assumptions, qualifications, and limitations should counsel consider to limit the scope of opinions?
