As noted a few weeks ago, I’m currently doing a blog series on government agencies affecting our nation’s food and agriculture system. I think it’s a helpful exercise to know who the players are and what each agency is does. The Farm Service Agency (“FSA”) reports to the Under Secretary of the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (“FFAS”) of the …
ABA Agriculture Law Subcommittees
As I noted in this previous post, I am the new Chair of the American Bar Association (“ABA”), General Practice, Solo and Small Firm’s Division, Agriculture Law Committee. You can join the Committee and the Discussion List here. I have restructured the subcommittees as follows: 1. Ag ADR: mediation, arbitration 2. Ag Estate/Succession Planning, Family Law, and Taxation: estate planning,succession …
Evaluating Real Estate Appraisals
Roger F. Tibble, Esq. recently published an excellent article in the ABA GP Solo & Small Firm Division’s Law Trends regarding the value of real estate appraisals. I found this article of particular interest to me because I practice matrimonial law where the Husband and Wife’s appraisals may significantly vary from one another. I don’t envy the job of an …
Saturday Links
It’s been a busy week. I have been catching up on my blog feed before heading to the gym. This is what I found: This month’s Pennsylvania State Agriculture Law Brief has updates on the G-20 Action Plan, Hydraulic Fracturing, and the White House Rural Council. I excitedly received a Google+ invite this week from a respected family law …
Role of Buyer’s Attorney in Real Estate Closing
I have had several real closings this week and was reminded this morning of this pamphlet from the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) on the Attorney’s Role in Home Purchases. Most of us will purchase property at some point in our lives. The pamphlet properly describes the various responsibilities of the Buyer’s/Borrower’s attorney in real estate transactions including, but …
The Not-So-Simple Definition of “Agriculture Law”
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I recently joined JD Supra where my documents can be found here. Today, JD Supra featured my profile on its facebook page. I was asked what exactly agriculture law was from an editor in Florida where I did my best to answer her in limited space. Since I oftentimes receive this question (lately …