Related Attorney: Beth L. Kaufman

Leasing and Other Space Transactions: Ms Connery has negotiated, among other things, office, loft, retail, and industrial space leases, garage leases, ground leases, easements, licenses, tenancy-in-common agreements, and tenant buyouts.

Purchases and Sales: As part of her commercial practice Ms. Connery also has represented clients in the purchase and sale of office buildings, loft buildings, industrial buildings, and other commercial space; and overseen the real estate aspects of government-granted economic benefits. Ms Connery also represents her private and corporate clients in the purchase and sale of residential real estate, including cooperative apartments, condominiums, and houses.

Cooperatives and Condominiums: Ms Connery’s practice includes the general representation of both cooperatives and condominiums.

General: Ms. Connery’s real estate practice involves her in a variety of real estate related matters and transactions, including brokerage issues, construction contracts, trespass claims, partition litigation, and other matters.

Before practicing law, Ms. Connery taught high school biology, chemistry and physics.

Professional Recognition:

• Member, American College of Real Estate Lawyers
• New York Metro Super Lawyers, Top 50 Women Attorneys in New York, 2015
• New York Metro Super Lawyers, Real Estate, 2015
• New York Super Lawyers, 2008-2015
• Super Lawyers Business Edition 2014, Nation’s Top Attorneys in Business Practice Areas, New York, Real Estate
• New York Super Lawyers Top Women Attorneys, 2013-2014

Professional Activities:

New York State Bar Association

• Member, Executive Committee of Real Estate Section; Co-chair of District Representatives and Co-chair of Committee on Professionalism
• Member, Cooperative and Condominium Law Committee, and Commercial Leasing Committee
• As part of her bar association work, she has reviewed and commented on proposed legislation affecting the real estate industry

• She has also promoted and participated, as drafter, in the Real Property Sections form of Owner’s Rider to the AIA Agreement between Owner and Contractor

The New York City Bar Association

• Former Chair, Committee on Real Property Law
• Former Chair, Committee on Cooperative and Condominium Law
• As part of her bar association work, Ms. Connery has promoted and participated in the drafting of a model form of mortgage opinion, model contract of sale for cooperative apartment, model form of sublease and overlandlord consent, model form of office lease, model form of contract of sale for a commercial office building, and a model form of ground lease

National Association of Women Lawyers

• Member

American Bar Association

• Chair – Assignment and Subletting Committee, Leasing Group
• Member, Leasing Group

Publications and Speaking Engagements:

• Speaker, “Unanticipated Limitations in Long-Term Planning and Lease Restructuring” and “Challenges in Building Today’s Tenant Improvements,” Practising Law Institute (“PLI”) Event “Negotiating Commercial Leases 2016,” PLI New York Center, New York, New York, March 10-11, 2016. For more information about the event and PLI, please visit http://www.pli.edu/re.aspx?pk=149195&t=DKV6_NGCM6.
• Speaker, “Negotiating Restaurant Leases: Food for Thought,” New York State Bar Association Real Property Law Section Summer Meeting, Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain, Vergennes, VT, July 17, 2015.
• “Tips for Negotiating the Small Office Space Lease,” The Practical Real Estate Lawyer (November 2005) and reprinted in the Manual On Commercial Leasing in Troubled Times (ALI ABA 2009).
• “Tenant Buyouts,” NYSBA N.Y. Real Property Law Journal, Winter 2008, Vol. 36, No. 1.
• Chapter Author, “Negotiating and Drafting Office Leases” (Law Journal Seminars-Press).
• Chapter Author, “Commercial Real Estate Transactions Handbook.”
• “Courtesy, Professionalism and Ethics: E-mail, the Internet and Computers,” Fall 2002 New York Real Property Law Journal (New York State Bar Association).
• Chapter Author, Practising Law Institute Handbook series (chapters on security deposits, bankruptcy boilerplate leasing concepts, subleases, letters of credit, leasehold mortgage financing, and construction issues).
• Speaker, programs on commercial leasing and other aspects of real estate law sponsored by the Practicing Law Institute, ALI-ABA, the New York State Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Topics she has covered include compliance with laws, construction issues, bankruptcy, security, letters of credit, the Americans with Disabilities Act, ground leases, assignment and subleasing, restaurant leasing and not-for-profit issues in leasing. She has also participated in panels on residential transactions and lending transactions.

Educational:

• Faculty Member, Real Estate Institute, New York University (1987-1990)

• a consensual transfer of property in settlement of post-maturity mortgage and mezzanine debt (representing lender and new owner)
• a $34+ million deed of trust loan secured by two multi-family residential buildings in northern California (representing lender)
• a $53 million deed of trust loan secured by an office building in California (representing lender)
• the negotiation and documentation of a loan severance, modification and forbearance agreement with respect to an $85 million secured loan and the discounted pay-off and refinancing of the same to a new property owner (representing existing lender and new lender)
• a $1.15 billion revolving credit loan facility to a real estate fund (representing lender participant)
• multiple note sales (representing lender)
• multiple commercial leases
• multiple sales

Practice Area: Real Estate