The Texas REALTORS® Legal Affairs Department provides legal guidance that benefits you, the association, and the Texas real estate industry.
Team members answer your questions on the Legal Hotline every weekday, excluding holidays. Staff attorneys Ryan Bauman, Traci Jackson, and Laura Miller can advise you on topics such as TREC rules, forms, the NAR Code of Ethics, and real-estate related statutes. To ensure they are giving you the best possible answers, department members discuss the hotline questions at their weekly meeting.
The department educates you about legal topics in several ways, including writing articles for Texas REALTOR® magazine, filming episodes of the Legal Briefs video series, and offering in-person presentations at associations and brokerages. David Jones, Deputy General Counsel and Director of Professional Standards, has visited several local boards and enjoys the opportunity to get to know REALTOR® members.
The department’s “clients” include the association itself. Department members offer legal guidance to Texas REALTORS® staff and leaders as they work to serve you. The department revises documents, guides, and manuals, while maintaining a forms library for you. It also conducts ethics and arbitration hearings, and works on the association’s disaster relief funds.
The Legal Affairs Department ensures all the association’s political advocacy efforts, TREPAC’s fundraising efforts, and support of REALTOR®-friendly candidates comply with state and federal regulations. Mandy Balch, Senior Associate Counsel for Advocacy, assists that effort. The department also coordinates the Legal Review, MLS, Risk Reduction, and Leasing & Property Management committees, as well as the Legal Fund.
The Legal Affairs Department’s influence extends beyond the association. The department communicates closely with the Texas Real Estate Commission to inform REALTORS® about the latest rules and regulations. Team members also review bills during the legislative session, which helps the Governmental Affairs Department advocate for you at the Texas Capitol.
“The value we provide to members helps our members provide value to their clients and customers,” says Lori Levy, Vice President of Legal Affairs.
The Legal Affairs Department is:
- Gabrielle Amaya, Associate Counsel
- Mandy Balch, Senior Associate Counsel for Advocacy
- Ryan Bauman, Staff Attorney
- Cara Cate, Legal and Executive Program Manager
- Robin Harris, Senior Associate Counsel
- Traci Jackson, Staff Attorney
- David Jones, Deputy General Counsel/Director of Professional Standards
- Lori Levy, Vice President of Legal Affairs
- Laura Miller, Staff Attorney
- Arielle Sims, Associate Counsel
- Kelsey Vanderbilt, Associate Counsel.
They do a great job.
A big thank you to the TAR Legal Department who is alwys there for us! Thank you!!
Legal dept. needs to be available to the ethics board, ethics board still think a purchase contract between buyer and seller expires, they think it terminates by itself timing out. instead of going into default.
From my perspective, responds I got for support are very vanilla in nature, usually quoted me rule numbers from the Texas Real Estate Commission Act or Realtor’s preamble to Ethics including rules and regulations, but no background information or context that is important to a transaction having issues. When I called for support, I usually get rule numbers to ffollow and I was told, “staff attorneys are not representing Realtors as clients.” Moreover, you would need to hire an outside real estate attorney for advise and have the attorney expand further on the resulting issues to achieve successful sales without… Read more »
Totally agree…………. that the first thing they say, we can’t give you legal advise …. well …. if they can’t … why is it called “Legal hotline” for Texas Realtors?
With all this thigs going on with NAR and almost every association…… my question is …… why do we need to be members of so many associations ….. is that necessary or is it a mandate to gather funds so they can take expensive trips and eat at gourmet foods and show it off on social media…… just a thought.
I have been a Realtor for many years, and I have seen the hotline slowly develop into what you have described. The last few years have been disappointing. I’m sorry to say this, as I am a huge Texas Realtors advocate and enjoy being a member.