Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Commercial Foreclosures: Formation, compliance, and taxation of REITs, and commercial foreclosure litigation

Sarah D. Wellings | Sullivan & Worcester

Sarah is a member of Sullivan’s REITs Practice Group. She advises public and private REITs, both domestic and foreign, in various industries, including: data centers, office buildings, commercial retail space, distributed antenna systems, timberlands and agricultural properties. She focuses on structuring and compliance work, including cross-border transactions.

Sarah also has experience involving federal and state tax litigation and transactional planning involving corporate, franchise, personal income and sales/use tax matters, and in advising tax-exempt organizations, including public charities, on all aspects of operations.

Connie Lee | Sullivan & Worcester

Connie is a tax associate in Sullivan’s Boston office. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School, where she served as a BC Law Ambassador and was active in several student organizations, including the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, the Women’s Law Center and the LAHANAS Affinity Group. She was also a member of the Jessup International Moot Court Team.

Erica C. Minchella | Erica Minchella & Associates

Erica Crohn Minchella has practiced law and is licensed in Illinois since 1981 in different iterations, but always in the areas of bankruptcy or real estate. She received her B.A. in English Education from University of Illinois and her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago. Minchella has taught courses for the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and IICLE on bankruptcy matters as well as to local organizations on both bankruptcy and in national continuing legal education programs in real estate matters. Minchella is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association (Real Estate Section Council), North Suburban Bar Association (Board of Directors), Justinian Society of Lawyers, Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association (Vice President), and is the founder and President of Association of Foreclosure Defense Attorneys (now Association of Foreclosure and Consumer Protection Attorneys), as well as being involved in civic and community organizations

Erica has won top awards from SuperLawyers (12 years), Leading Lawyers (20 years), Avvo, Martindale Hubbel, Midwest’s Top-Rated Lawyers, Showmark (Chicago Magazine) and Top Attorneys of North America.

Teaching is a passion for Erica which she pursues by teaching for ISBA, IRELA and various title companies. She also teaches real estate brokers for various agencies. Erica is a regularly published contributor to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on real estate issues. Her first book Transforming Troubled Real Estate with Strategic Solutions: Foreclosures, Short Sales, Buying Troubled Properties, and more, was published by Amazon in March 2024.

Session I – Real Estate Investment Trusts – 11:00am – 12:00pm

• Explanation of REITs as companies that own, operate, or finance income-producing real estate.
• Types of REITs
• Structure and functioning of REITs
• How REITs operate
• Benefits and risks of investing in REITs
• Key regulations and acts
• Formation and compliance
• Taxation of REITs
• Litigation and disputes

Break | 12:00pm – 12:10pm

Session II – Real Estate Commercial Foreclosure Procedures – 12:10pm – 1:10pm

• Receivers and Assignment of Rents
• Foreclosure timeframes and Judicial liquidation of property
• Defenses, including a thorough review of loan documentation and bankruptcy strategies