Message from the Editor-in-Chief

Christina R. Sansone

Welcome to Issue 3 of the Journal. It is well-acknowledged that real estate is a key component of most law practices serving both the private and public sectors. Yet, many aspects of real estate law are confusing, seemingly self-contradictory, and require careful research and study. The articles in this issue are here to help you navigate some of the most difficult current issues in real estate—disclosures in real property transactions, regulations on cannabis use, and determining worker classifications.

In this issue’s MCLE article, Neil Kalin and Lee Kaplan provide an extensive historical survey and matrix summarizing the duty of disclosure, under both statutory and common law. You may want to keep this article on your reference shelf, as it will come in handy. Neil Kalin was recently selected to be the Co-Chair of the Real Property Section’s Executive Committee for 2018-2019.

Merriam-Webster defines a "conundrum" as "an intricate or difficult problem." Nowhere is that term more apt than in today’s cannabis laws. As Whitney Hodges and Rachel Keeney illustrate in their article, such laws can be confusing and seemingly contradictory when applied across local land use regulations, the state’s mostly permissive laws, and the federal government’s mostly restrictive prohibitions. Hodges and Keeney teamed up to help practitioners wade through six cannabis laws ranging from medical to recreational cannabis use. They address historical cannabis regulation, discretionary local land use approaches, and commercial leasing issues for property owners with tenants who operate cannabis-related businesses. In a companion article, Bradley Scheick warns financial institutions of the pitfalls of entering into financial transactions with marijuana-related businesses, and explains why the banking industry has not become more engaged in the cannabis industry.