Written by: MARIANNA SPENTZOS
Miami Law’s Real Property Development LL.M. Program hosted students and recent graduates from the prestigious University of Vienna’s Real Estate and Residential Property LLM/MLS for the week-long program “Introduction to U.S. Real Estate Law.”
The Vienna group of 15 students was in Miami for an immersive Introduction to U.S. Real Estate Law program; the curriculum was designed to provide foreign lawyers, who already specialized in real estate, with the fundamentals of doing real estate transactions in the United States. The topics included real estate terminology and the essential steps of a real estate transaction; legal drafting for real estate lawyers; concepts in basic real estate law such as contracts, mortgages, and financing considerations; and an overview of other relevant subjects such as public/private partnerships, distressed property workouts, bankruptcy, and tax considerations.
“As someone who has gained a lot of experience in the Austrian law field, this program has been extremely valuable in providing me with a stronger international perspective. The opportunity of benefiting from sessions on due diligence, financing and taxes in the American real estate field, as well as the discussions with the amazing lecturers, inspired me to continue pursuing an international career. In addition to the program itself, it’s been a pleasure to study at the beautiful campus of the University of Miami - thanks for having me, I’ll be back for sure!” said Diana Hayat, a student from the University of Vienna.
Lecturers include Miami Law faculty, adjunct professors, and advisory board members of UM’s Real Property Development LL.M. Program,, and experienced practitioners – all subject matter experts from the distinguished firms of Greenberg Traurig, Akerman, Bilzin Sumberg, Stearns Weaver, Hunton Andrews Kurth, and Weiss Serota; as well as CalAtlantic Title Company. Miami Law draws on the top minds in real estate from its long-established contacts in the field and from its faculty of top real estate practitioners.
"The students were very impressive- well prepared, curious about the details and intricacies of how developers and lenders can work out issues when things don't go as planned (I was lecturing on distressed property workouts), and ready to offer examples of how our systems compare and contrast, which is the beauty of lecturing to foreign-trained real estate lawyers," said attorney Carol Faber, a partner at Akerman and member of the RPD Program's Advisory Board.
On the final day of the program, the participants went on a site visit to Paramount Miami Worldcenter to gain exposure to authentic real estate industry scenarios and relate the experience to their coursework. Hands-on learning is one of the tenants of Miami Law’s Real Property LLM program.
“As a law school with such an international focus, I am very glad that we have added an international dimension to the teaching of real estate, which has been traditionally a local enterprise, but is increasingly a global one,” said Associate Dean Raquel Matas, the acting director of the Real Property Development LL.M. Program. “We look forward to expanding these opportunities to help train foreign lawyers in how real estate transactions are carried out in the United States.”
Founded in 1365, the University of Vienna is one of the oldest, largest, and most renowned universities in Europe. With 178 degree programs, 40 university continuing education and training programs, and about 92,000 students, the university is the largest and most diverse educational institution in Austria. Having Vienna’s LL.M./MLS students travel to Miami for this program is a unique opportunity for them to have a hands-on learning experience of real estate law in one of the most exciting and thriving real estate centers in the U.S., and the University of Miami School of Law was honored to welcome them.
“Since the development and realization of large-scale real estate projects take place at an international level, it is necessary to get basic information about US Real Estate Law,” said Dr. Helmut Ofner, the director of the MLS program at the University of Vienna.
More on the Robert Traurig-Greenberg Traurig Real Property Development LL.M. Program
