creating desirable communities

Lerch Early attorneys are experienced in creating and amending community association governing documents. We review and interpret governing documents in light of not only current issues, but also considering their impact on future board decisions.

When we provide our opinion, we focus on not only explaining its basis, but the risk of deviation and the practical implications for how the opinion affects the board and the community.  We recommend that associations review and update their governing documents every five years to incorporate changes to the law, to make them current with existing procedures, to make them more readable (less legalese, more plain English), to reflect current technology and services, to address operation issues that arise, and to include any other changes in the association’s policies and practices.

Success Stories

Successful HOA Meetings

Challenge

Board members and homeowners of one of Lerch Early’s HOA clients were subjected to excessively long and argumentative board of directors and membership meetings.

Strategy

Lerch Early’s community association attorneys regularly provide training to board members on how to run effective meetings. In this case, we scheduled training for the board of directors on Robert’s Rules of Order. Board members learned the benefits of a well-run meeting, the differences between running large and small meetings, how to construct an agenda, voting methods, and what to include in meeting minutes. We then conducted a meeting using what they learned at the next board meeting.

Result

Using what they learned and saw demonstrated, the board was able to cut board meeting times significantly. For the subsequent membership meeting, the board chair distributed an agenda to the owners prior to the meeting and explained the procedures at the meeting’s outset. The annual meeting ran smoothly with a minimum of disruption. When a resident with a perpetual grievance raised a complaint, there was no second, so the meeting proceeded. After the meeting, several owners commented that it was the best meeting they had attended.

Insights