Women In Leasing Law

DATE:  March 7 - 9, 2025

LIVE EVENT:

Monterey, CA

Registrations is open

10th Annual Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium

Featuring the following sessions: 

Driving Deals Closed: Negotiation Strategies for Successful Transactions

Commercial Leasing Breakfast Roundtable

Women Lawyers In-House: The Only Constant is Change

 Risk Management in Commercial Leases: Insurance, Indemnity & Waiver of Subrogation

Lender and Landlords – How Lenders Manage Commercial Leases in Loan Documents & Current Trends in Loan Workouts

Navigating the Current legal climate of commercial leasing

Presented in conjunction with the 2025 CLA Real Property Law Section Annual Retreat.

DATE:  March 8 - 10, 2024

LIVE EVENT:

Palm Springs, CA

Registrations is open; early bird pricing ends on January 12

9th Annual Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium

Featuring the following sessions:

• Commercial Leasing: Basics of Tenant Representation: An informative session where we'll provide guidance on how to effectively review leases for your tenant-clients, gain insights into due diligence and lease review checklists, and explore key negotiation strategies to secure favorable terms. Sam Beatty, Valence Law Corinne Wessel, Valence Law Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day, And Neither Will Your TI's: Tenant Build-Outs for Restaurant, Retail and Office Leases This panel discussion will highlight both the common and disparate challenges tenants and landlords face in connection with tenant improvement projects. Experienced leasing counsel will discuss typical scenarios for each use case, and offer practical strategies for drafting to minimize the risks of party disputes, completion delays, cost overruns, among other issues.   Laura Drossman, Drossman Law Judith Oheb, The Law Offices of Judith Oheb Weathering the Looming Office Storm:  Strategies to Navigate the Rough Waters Ahead. It is said that a third of all US  office leases will expire by 2026.  Office tenants are wrestling with employer issues like hybrid work arrangements, labor shortages and quiet quitters accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic which wreak havoc with office space needs.  Landlords are attempting to retain tenancies, create desirable workspaces and prevent catastrophic vacancy rates.  How can leasing lawyers address some soft topics, enforceable lease terms and covenants, and address both parties’ needs and desires? This program will address strategies for flexibility available to both landlords and tenants to revise, retain and maintain existing tenancies in the current office market.  Alison Geddes, Weintraub Nancy Park, Best, Best & Krieger For here or to go? Restaurant Lease and Liquor Licenses Restaurant leases are an animal unto themselves with very specific legal and business considerations, including the liquor license and all the issues it brings. We will discuss negotiating restaurant leases, the liquor license process, and how the liquor license factors in an event of default. We will also discuss the changes in the ABC regulations during the pandemic and the new legal considerations for landlord and tenants that came with them. It will be a lively discussion with a cocktail/mocktail tasting to keep things extra interesting.     Katie Phetteplace, Starr Finley LLP Jordan Cohen, Brick & Mortar Legal Carrie A. Peters, Founder, Fixer, CEO, ABC License Company

Presented in conjunction with the 2024 CLA Real Property Health and Wellness Retreat.

MARCH
24TH-26TH 2023

LIVE EVENT
Sonoma Mission inn
Sonoma, CA

8th Annual Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium

Featuring the following sessions:

• Strategies for Thriving as Women Lawyers in a Post-Pandemic World.
• Whose Space is it Anyway?: Top Issues in Subleasing in a Post-Pandemic World
• Vive La Difference!: Unraveling the Differences among Office, Retail & Industrial Commercial Leases
• Introduction to the Unique World of Restaurant Leasing.

Presented in conjunction with the 2023 CLA Real Property Health and Wellness Retreat.

JUNE
1ST, 8TH AND 10TH 2021

VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM

7th Annual Women in Leasing Law Virtual Symposium

• Leasing Workouts (Tuesday, June st)
• Assignments & Subletting (Tuesday, June 8th)
• Lease Guaranties by Foreign Entities (Thursday, June 10th)
• Earn 3.25 Hours of MCLE Credit!

DECEMBER
7TH - 10TH 2020 (12PM - 1PM) & DEC 11TH, 2020 (2PM - 4PM)

WEBINAR ONLY

6th Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium (WEBINAR)

• Commercial Leasing in the Time of COVID
• A Special social-distancing webinar symposium co-sponsored by the Commercial Leasing Practice Area Subcommittee of the Real Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.
• Earn 3 Hours of MCLE Credit!

NOVEMBER
4TH, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

5th Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium 

Spotlight on: The Changing and Challenging World of Retail Leasing, for the Real Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association

Speakers:
Chan Stroman
Krista Mitzel
Laura Maechtlen
Chantelle Egan
Patricia J. Hartman

NOVEMBER
8TH, 2018

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

4th Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium 

Spotlight on: Work Letters, for the Real Property Law Section of the California Lawyers Association.

Panel 1: TI Allowances & Disbursements (1.0 MCLE) 1:30 – 2:30
Many leases provide for tenant improvement allowances and include complicated disbursement requirements. We will begin by hearing the broker’s perspective on how TI allowances are calculated. This session will then provide an overview of a typical disbursement process and we will hear the landlord’s and tenant’s concerns in connection with the disbursement process.

Speakers:
Elaine Andersson, Of Counsel, Lubin Olson & Niewiadomski LLP
Andrea Reeder, Vice President, CBRE

Panel 2: Mechanic’s Liens (0.5 MCLE) 2:45 – 3:15
This session will provide a detailed description of the remedies that are available for contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and other entities on private works and public works. We will cover the steps that must be taken to perfect a mechanic’s lien, stop payment notice and payment bond rights. The defense that owners may assert will also be discussed.

Speakers:
Michelle Akerman, Senior Counsel, Hanson Bridgett LLP
Donnelly A. Gillen, Attorney, Hanson Bridgett LLP
Karla Deshon, President & CEO, Paradigm General Contractors

Panel 3: AIA Contracts – What Every Leasing Lawyer needs to know (1.0 MCLE) 3:30 – 4:30
Many work letters detail key elements that the landlord insists be included in the AIA contract between the tenant and its general contractor. This session will review a typical landlord provision, highlight possible tenant pushbacks and provide an overview of the AIA contract.

Speakers:
K Chung, Design Director, Gensler [Architects]
Krista Kim, Valence Law Group
Laura H. Scripture, Principal, Summit Construction Management

NOVEMBER
8TH, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

3rd Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium 

Spotlight on: Women in Construction - Understanding Work Letters, for the Real Property Law Section of California State Bar.

Speakers:
Kristin Paul, Executive Director, PGIM Real Estate
Karla Deshon, President & CEO, Paradigm GC
K. Chung, Design Director, Gensler
Angie Simon, President, Western Allied Mechanical, Inc.
Nancy Losey, Head of Office Operations, Lyft

Moderator:
Jo Ann Woodsum, Woodsum Law Offices

11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

NOVEMBER
1ST, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

2nd Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium 

The retail world is going through a period of radical transformation. This transformation is impacting all aspects of commercial real estate leasing for retailers.

For some retailers, massive store closings are the order of the day – whether due to mergers or a mandate to shrink their CRE footprint. Other retailers are experiencing phenomenal growth and requiring a rapid on-boarding of new leased locations.

All retailers are in the midst of an intense analysis of the impact of their online presence on the traditional brick and mortar model. This lively panel will share their insider’s perspective on handling these challenges as in-house counsel.

Spotlight on: Hot Topics in Retail Leasing from the In-House Leasing Lawyer’s Perspective, for the Commercial Leasing Subsection of the Real Property Law Section of the California State Bar

Real Property Law Section, Commercial Leasing Subsection, State Bar Headquarters, 180 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA.

Panelists:
Marilyn Beardsley, Vice President, Real Estate Law, Safeway/Albertsons
Robin M. Cleary, Senior Counsel, Restoration Hardware, Inc.
Liesl Schweizer, Corporate Counsel, Tesla Motors, Inc.
Wendy Yu, Senior Counsel, The Gap.

Moderator:
Jo Ann Woodsum, the Law Offices of Jo Ann Woodsum.
Co-Sponsored by Women in Leasing Law.

Tuesday 9 AM – 5 PM @ the State Bar Headquarters

SEPTEMBER
9TH, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

1st Annual Northern California Women in Commercial Leasing Law Symposium

Spotlight on: Women Commercial Real Estate Brokers, for the Commercial Leasing Subsection of the Real Property Law Section of the California State Bar

Panelists:
Margaret Duskin, Cushman & Wakefield
Kazuko Morgan, Cushman & Wakefield
Tori Hockersmith, CBRE
Rhonda Diaz, DTZ
Jenny Haeg, Custom Spaces