Guys. I’m a 6th year biglaw RE associate and am embarrassed to say this but I still really suck at title, survey and zoning review. Any trainings you can recommend to get better at this? Our paralegals are stretched thin and I’m having to do tons of it myself lately

I’m a 5th year and can really relate to this. I’m sort of astonished how little the firm seems to care about training associates on this. It’s always struck me as more high-risk than is acknowledged.

You will find that title companies, and agents, are delighted to provide you with training. Additionally, if you develop a relationship with them, they will make your life easier in many ways by doing the right job in the first place, relieving you of the responsibility (and the anxiety).

However, beware: there are many companies among them that are completely incompetent. If they screw up, your client will blame you!

Among the insurers, I favor Fidelity in NY. (Nick DeMartini, the GC, was a big firm lawyer for many years before going there. A great guy and a true title expert!) Fidelity reached out to me 35 years ago and taught me virtually everything I know about title. They have always done right by me, including the ONE time that I had a policy claim. That made me nervous! But, before they even heard the facts, they said, “don’t worry – – we’ll cover the claim“.

Among the agents, Royal Abstract is great. It’s owner, Marty Kravet, is a lawyer with 35+ years experience and will help you in ways that very few others will. He is creative, smart, responsive and attentive. (Very nice guy, too.)

Finally, looking back at 40 years as a real estate lawyer, it’s shocking how few people know anything about title. The only thing that matters is that the one time in 1,000 that you have a claim, you need to know that your title insurer will be there for you. Ultimately, that’s what’s most important. You are placing insurance on behalf of your client and you don’t want to fight with the insurance company if you need the insurer to deliver that which you purchased.

First American has a series of “Title Camp” webinars which cover both basic and advanced title and survey topics. (If you sign up for their email list you’ll get notice of their 2022 offerings). Title companies and some of the large survey/due diligence companies are also often willing to provide “lunch and learn” type seminars. I would also ask your paralegals if they have forms and checklists that they use in their work. Title and survey review is fairly repetitive so following the same framework each time helps it go faster and reduces the likelihood of missing something.

I don’t know of any good trainings, but I really think this comes from practice. Definitely read the jacket (at least once, but that won’t change deal to deal) and all of the endorsements that you are requesting (do this every time). Reading the jacket will really help orient you as you go through and makes the endorsements make more sense. The rest is just reading exceptions, spotting issues and figuring out how to resolve them. The title company contact can be a really good resource for how to resolve issues.

Firstam also has an endorsement guide that has really good explanations of the standard ALTA endorsements and when each can or should be used.

For what it’s worth, you’re not alone in not feeling comfortable with title work as a senior associate. I’ve worked with some senior RE lawyers who know almost nothing about it… which is kind of scary.

Also, ask your paralegals or one with whom you have a good relationship how they do their jobs. Frame it as, I’d like to be able to take some of your workload when we’re all in a pinch. I had a paralegal navigate me through ECF when I got annoyed by the time lag in asking for documents, filing stuff, etc.

Many states require title insurance agents to have their own version of CLE's - a lot of the national title companies will put on seminars that meet those requirements and are also CLEs. They may go deeper on title than you need, but can be helpful. For survey, read the Table A list of options and see what you can find when you review a survey. Different clients will have different requirements about what they want shown, but it's a good exercise to see what a survey included.

I will echo P1’s comment to make a friend at a title company that you like. I too have been practicing 35+ years and met a junior title officer in my 4th or 5th year. She is now an exec VP regional counsel and always takes my calls and does everything she can to help me.

Different context and probably different scope of title review (I have zero transactional experience), but my litigation practice area requires I conduct title reviews, review records of surveys, and compare where various land interests are located and if it impacts projects, etc. YouTube taught me some decent basics and helped orientate my way around various types of documents. Maybe there is something available there for you.

First Am would come to my law firm and do title and survey trainings. Agree that most of this comes from experience, but by the time you’re a senior you at least know what is important to your client, so you should pick up what’s important for title quickly. Nick at Fidelity is great, as is Michelle Bingham at Chicago Title in NY (my go to). Royal abstract is good for NY and they’ll get your deal done but I’ve found you need to reign them in a lot and often the people on the ground aren’t as helpful as one of the national shops.

My background is in title review and still found that moving into an associate position and doing this level of review for policies is a challenge. I've learned so much from the title company contacts that I have. They are usually happy to educate and explain certain things! Everything varies from state to state so don't hesitate to build relationships with the title companies, they're really a great resource.

Can I raise my hand and also say I feel embarrassingly unprepared to handle title issues. It seems like it's always something paras or staff attorneys handle but I've been surprised at how little associates get training on it. What happens if all the paras fall out, quit, or are just plain wrong about something?

Cheers for discussion about title!! 🙌🏻 I concur “from the inside” about all that’s been said here. A number of underwriters and title people on LinkedIn & Twitter that freely share in this area, too. ALTA also has good education available self-study online that can be helpful and your state land title Association will as well. Amazing still the lack of emphasis on real estate fundamentals training within firms, not to mention the complete absence of it in most law schools.

ABA RPTE Section has some great titles. Excellent book on surveys issue (i.e, what to look for). Another is called “Fundamentals of Title Insurance.” I agree that practice will make you better. And it’s a good idea to develop some relationships with underwriters at title insurance companies, who can point you in the right direction in terms of resources. The main things to look for in reviewing title basically boil down to a few major issues—(1) point out to the client whenever they’re on the hook for some sort of payment obligation (i.e., assessments, etc.), any options to purchase or ROFRs that would affect their title, and (3) anything that’s going to get in the way of a planned development (easements in inconvenient places) or that you need for the planned development (access to public right of way). Gross oversimplification, but if you are picking up on those, that’s a good start.

I would be happy to train you if you considered lateraling to my firm!

ABA RPTE has a really good boot camp program that leads into some good CLEs

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You could always reach out to a local Land Surveyor, they are usually happy to help out.

Online classes