Over a year ago, I thought I had put “The Client Seat” series here on Adam Smith, Esq., to bed. But many are the mysterious ways of law firms, and I learned this week I need to report a Coda #2. I have now learned I should never rule out a potential future Coda #3, or yet even further installments.

Loyal readers will recall this series, telling the story of how I came to occupy “the client seat” in my capacity as Chair of the Finance Committee of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, which owns a valuable vacant corner lot  abutting the Church, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, crying out for income-producing development. (I’m now additionally Chancellor of the Vestry, a charmingly antique title that fortunately demands only passing familiarity with the New York Religous Corporations Law.) Those of you joining the story in medias res can find the earlier installments here:

The new development is that we have managed in the interim to conduct a competitive comparison and selection of potential developers for the corner site, selected a winner, negotiated the material terms of a 99-year ground lease of the corner property running from St. Michael’s to the developer, and believe ourselves prepared to sign and have construction begin.

But.

Apparently as part of its due diligence in preparation for seeking construction financing, the developer asked us to confirm—implying, to us, represent and warrant—the number of buildable square feet appurtenant to the lot “as of right.” Our position is that from day one we’ve made it crystal clear that ultimate responsibility for that precise calculation rests solely with the developer, but that we had presented an approximate number to permit informed bidding and planning.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of charity we went back to the still-nameless AmLaw 200 firm we engaged nearly two years ago to provide us this figure and learned that:

  • The partner who’d managed our matter was no longer at the firm;
  • No one else at the firm could seem to recall that St. Michael’s had ever been a client; and
  • In any event, the files had disappeared and couldn’t be found.

Finis.

imgres

Related Articles

Email Delivery

Get Our Latest Articles Delivered to your inbox +
X

Sign-up for email

Be the first to learn of Adam Smith, Esq. invitation-only events, surveys, and reports.





Get Our Latest Articles Delivered to Your Inbox

Like having coffee with Adam Smith, Esq. in the morning (coffee not included).

Oops, we need this information
Oops, we need this information
Oops, we need this information

Thanks and a hearty virtual handshake from the team at Adam Smith, Esq.; we’re glad you opted to hear from us.

What you can expect from us:

  • an email whenever we publish a new article;
  • respect and affection for our loyal readers. This means we’ll exercise the strictest discretion with your contact info; we will never release it outside our firm under any circumstances, not for love and not for money. And we ourselves will email you about a new article and only about a new article.

Welcome onboard! If you like what you read, tell your friends, and if you don’t, tell us.

PS: You know where to find us so we invite you to make this a two-way conversation; if you have an idea or suggestion for something you’d like us to discuss, drop it in our inbox. No promises that we’ll write about it, but we will faithfully promise to read your thoughts carefully.