Lydia C. Stefanowicz, a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Department, will be on the faculty of the “2019 Fall Legal Opinions Seminar,” to be presented by the Working Group on Legal Opinions Foundation on October 28-29, 2019 in New York, NY.
Ms. Stefanowicz will be a panelist for a session on “The Enforceability of Bifurcated Choice of Law Clauses in Mortgages, Security Agreements and Other Documents” on Tuesday, October 29 from 2:55pm – 4:15pm. Topics to be addressed during this session include:
A bifurcated choice of law clause designates the laws of multiple jurisdictions to govern a transaction. In a typical situation, the law of one jurisdiction will govern most matters, and the law of one or more other jurisdictions will govern certain specified matters, such as the creation, perfection, and enforcement of the lien of a mortgage on real property in each local jurisdiction. This session will address:
- In what contexts are bifurcated choice of law clauses used?
- How is the bifurcation clause worded in transaction documents?
- How certain is the enforceability of the state delineation between jurisdictions?
- How do opinion practitioners address choices of law issues with bifurcated jurisdictions?
- How does the bifurcation in a mortgage loan differ from the Uniform Commercial Code context?
- How do bifurcation issues relate to the role of local counsel?
Ms. Stefanowicz concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial lending and real estate finance. She provides counsel to both lenders and borrowers in real estate acquisition, construction, permanent mortgage (including CMBS) and mezzanine financings. She has significant experience in real estate workouts and debt restructuring transactions, and represents real estate developers and investment funds in connection with the formation of joint ventures to acquire, develop, construct and manage properties.
Additional information at: 2019 Fall Legal Opinions Seminar