Section Committees
The Section works primarily through ongoing committees reporting to its governing council.
The Title Standards Committee has promulgated and continues to update and enhance Minnesota Title Standards and White Pages, a comprehensive code of standards to guide attorneys examining real estate titles and documenting real property transfers. This continually evolving publication is widely regarded as “the authority” for title examinations in Minnesota. The Minnesota Title Standards are now published electronically (online only.) Visit the Title Standards page here for more information.
The Legislative Committee develops, proposes, and monitors legislation affecting real estate and real estate transactions. It often focuses on otherwise overlooked aspects relating to mechanical and procedural problems encountered by those who must comply with legislative policies.
The Certification Board is the body which developed and administers the standards and system by which qualified applicants can become designated as Real Property Law Specialists. It develops and administers biannual tests, monitors periodic recertification, and is about to engage in a program of publicly promoting the existence and identity of such specialists.
The Residential Real Estate Committee deals with matters which facilitate the role of lawyers in residential real estate transactions and which provide the public with information pertinent to such transactions. It develops and publishes residential real estate forms available to practitioners and to the public.
The Diversity and Outreach Committee has forged an ongoing and evolving dialogue among 15 to 20 organizations active in the real estate industry. The object is to enhance their respective understandings of the others’ functions, concerns, and goals, and to cooperate in their respective endeavors when feasible.
The Real Estate Institute Committee plans the content and scheduling of the Annual Real Estate Institute. The Institute is sponsored by the Section along with Minnesota CLE. The 2014 Institute was attended by over 1,250 lawyers. The Institute will be held in October this year.
The Multidisciplinary Committee investigates and reports to the Real Property Law Section Council on the evolving issues surrounding multidisciplinary practice for lawyers and other professionals. The Committee’s work has been reduced because of the 2002 decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court in rejecting proposed rules governing multidisciplinary practice. Committee chair, Jeff Johnson, continues to monitor multidisciplinary practice in other states and reports periodically to the Council.
The M.C.I.O.A. Committee advises the Council and proposes legislation affecting Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. Chapter 515B. This committee was first organized in the early 1990's to assist the legislature in drafting the Minnesota version of the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act. The committee is reconstituted from time to time deal with changes necessary for the evolution of Chapter 515B. The committee has been active again since 2007.
The Distinguished Service Award Committee reviews nominations for the Section’s annual Distinguished Service Award and recommends recipients to the Council.
The Communications Committee manages most Section communications. That includes the Section Newsletter, periodic e-mail to the Section membership, and content of the Section’s pages on the MSBA web site.
The Examiner of Titles Association Liaison Committee was formed on January 28, 2006, by the Council to explore a closer association between the Real Property Law Section and the Examiner of Titles Association.
Other Programs and Services are also pursued on an ad hoc basis. There has been a periodical newsletter, a list of qualified ADR real estate neutrals has been made available to the public at the MSBA offices, and the Section has explored other projects.