By Adam Leitman Bailey February 1st, 2013 Recently, the Appellate Division First Department, in Fletcher v. Dakota, Inc., involving a shareholder in The Dakota, a historic luxury co-op on the Upper West Side, held that the business judgment rule does not protect individual condo and co-op board members from personal tort liability where a board Full Article…
About Adam Leitman Bailey
Actively at the helm of the law firm he built from scratch, Adam Leitman Bailey, Esq. practices residential and commercial real estate law. Among New York’s most successful and prominent real estate attorneys, Mr. Bailey is one of two attorneys from a law firm with less than 30 attorneys that has been ranked in Chambers & Partners, honored with a Martindale-Hubbell “AV” Preeminent rating, rated by Best Lawyers for himself and his law firm, and selected by Super Lawyers as one of New York’s “Top 100” attorneys, a list that included only five real estate law firms’ attorneys that year.
One New York State Judge wrote that Adam Leitman Bailey “was the best trial lawyer I saw in my nine years as a Judge in New York City” while another stated that he had known Bailey for fifteen years and “that he is a brilliant lawyer and innovative who always worked zealously on behalf of his clients.” The Commercial Observer named him as one of New York’s Most Powerful Real Estate Attorneys. Real Estate Weekly recognized him as “one of the most respected commercial real estate attorneys in not only New York City, but arguably the country.”
The New York Times referred to his legal strategy and legislation proposed in one case as “novel,” in addition to remarking on another case in which “Adam Leitman Bailey fought on…grinding through excruciating detail and obscure Perry Mason moments.” After Mr. Bailey’s firm used a forgotten statute to prevail in a landmark case, the Wall Street Journal quoted a prominent New York developer’s attorney who called the holding a “game changer” affecting real estate nationwide. Dateline NBC referred to Mr. Bailey as “aggressive, tenacious and smart” in asking him to share his negotiating secrets on its nationally syndicated television program. Mr. Bailey’s advocacy has prevailed in numerous important trials and cases before various courts and trial venues, including Housing, Civil, and New York State Supreme and Federal Courts, as well as various New York Appellate tribunals.
Adam Leitman Bailey has successfully defended a number of leading title companies and lenders in the nation and prevailed in numerous trials and settlements involving commercial and residential building owners, tenants, real estate developers, real estate brokerages, insurance companies and cooperative and condominium boards. In addition, Mr. Bailey has favorably represented a number of tenant and homeowner associations as well as commercial and residential tenants, garnering millions of dollars in compensation and rent abatements for these associations and individuals. For clients facing landlords who leave buildings in disrepair, Mr. Bailey has an unusually successful track record of getting those residential towers, apartments, and stores repaired and all services restored.
Adam Leitman Bailey has also applied his expertise in closing various real estate deals and commercial leases. He has been named to the Board of Editors for Commercial Leasing Law & Strategy and has a regular real estate column in the New York Law Journal. Bailey’s lease-drafting skills received national attention when BlumbergExcelsior, the nation’s leading form distributor, responsible for over 70 percent of the residential leases signed in the United States, tapped Bailey to draft a new set of residential and office leases for purchase nationwide. BlumbergExcelsior’s principal remarked that Bailey’s lease drafting skills were “remarkable.”
His success as cooperative and condominium general counsel earned Adam Leitman Bailey recognition in “Who’s Who in Real Estate” by Habitat Magazine. Mr. Bailey authored his first book, Finding the Uncommon Deal: A Top New York Lawyer Explains How to Buy a Home for the Lowest Possible Price (Wiley, 2011). This guide through the purchasing process for first-time home buyers became a New York Times bestseller and is available for purchase worldwide. Mr. Bailey has also been elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), where he serves on the Insurance and Title Insurance committees, and is a former member of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA).
Adam Leitman Bailey’s Personal Website
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Youtube
Owner’s Rights to Inspect Management Records, New York Law Journal and N.Y. Real Property Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey April 10th, 2013 Since the Legislature gave birth to the first cooperative and condominium laws, very few issues have had as much attention and confusion as boards’ concerns about the extent of unit owners’ access to inspect the management books and records. Regarding cooperative buildings, many of the most prominent questions Full Article…
Q & A: Losing a Bike Storage Spot, The New York Times
August 23rd, 2013 Q. I am a rent-stabilized tenant in a Manhattan condominium building. I have had a storage spot for my bicycle for 25 years — since before the building went condo. The board of managers has now taken away the storage spots for all of the two dozen rent-stabilized tenants in the building. Full Article…
State Legislators, Insurers and Courts to Homeowner Associations: We Will Not Insure Intentional Torts, Probate Property
By Adam Leitman Bailey & Adam Blander September 1st, 2013 Adam Leitman Bailey is the principal of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., in New York, New York. Adam Blander was a legal intern at Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., and is now a law clerk for New York Supreme Court Judge Barbara Jaffe. This article discusses the Full Article…
Using the Judicial System to End the Foreclosure Crisis in New York, New York Law Journal
August 8th, 2012 Standard foreclosure proceedings have been put on pause. This article endeavors to provide instruction on how to cure one of the most frequently stumbled upon legal impediments to litigating these actions—the lost note. Many foreclosure actions are sitting stagnant for months, or even years, as a result of not only a reticent Full Article…
The Consequences of Unpaid Water Bills, The New York Times
April 17th, 2009 Q. I live in a condominium with three units and a single water meter. I have always paid my share of the water and sewer bills for the building, but the other two tenants have not. The city is threatening to place a lien on the building for delinquent water and sewer Full Article…
One Year After Sandy, Owners Still Have Issues, Real Estate Weekly
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman October 9th, 2013 Real estate lawyers have been and will be the leaders of the rebuilding process of our storm-torn city. One of our most important functions is to prepare for the next storm or potential casualty. In order to improve our skills, it is essential that we learn Full Article…
Who’s in charge when ice is falling?, Real Estate Weekly and Apartment Law Insider
By Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio January 28th, 2014 So far this winter, New York City has had two severe snow-falls, with accompanying frigid temperatures, and it appears that this weather pattern is likely to hold through the end of February. As a result, snow and ice is accumulating on the roofs and Full Article…