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Areas of Practice
Mr. Sokol handles principally real
estate and business-related matters,
including acquisitions, sales, leasing,
financing, and other transactions
involving commercial (office, retail,
and industrial) and residential real
estate, and formation, licensing, and
operation of business entities for these
purposes. His practice includes
representation of clients in
transactions as well as in governmental
and private sector proceedings involving
arbitration, mediation, licensing,
ethics, and professional matters.
He has been active
in the development of standard forms in
use throughout California, including
commercial and residential purchase and
sale agreements, listing agreements,
agency documentation, property condition
disclosures, leases, and option
agreements.
He has served as
both an advocate and designated neutral
(arbitrator and mediator) in disputed
matters, and as an expert witness in
real estate law and brokerage. He also
serves as a Judge Pro Tempore for the
Los Angeles Superior Court.
Mr. Sokol has served as counsel to
California’s largest real estate
brokerage firms, including claims
management and implementation of risk
management guidelines for professional
practices of agents. He has also been
counsel to a number of other
institutional real estate management,
brokerage, development, and banking
clients, and represents the multiple
listing service covering the greater Los
Angeles area.
Mr. Sokol managed the Member Legal
Services program of the California
Association of Realtors, a real estate
industry trade and professional
association as its assistant general
counsel. He has authored A Guide to
Real Property Taxation: Federal, State
and Local; A Closer Look at Tax Reform;
numerous articles and memoranda on real
estate, business, and tax related
issues; and continuing education courses
for brokers on a variety of subjects.
Mr. Sokol has been a frequent lecturer
to legal and real estate audiences,
serving as a presenter in many programs
on current developments and other
subjects for attorney and broker
audiences sponsored by State Bar of
California, the San Francisco and Los
Angeles County Bar Associations,
Continuing Education for the Bar, the
California Association of Realtors, and
other organizations.
He is a State Faculty Master Instructor
in the Real Estate Masters program and
the Graduate Realtors Institute program,
and has written and currently teaches a
number of courses in those programs.
He has also done work in the
development, advocacy, and
interpretation of statutes and
regulations affecting the real estate
industry.
Education and Professional
Qualifications
Mr. Sokol graduated from the University
of California, Los Angeles, with a
degree in Political Science, and from
Southwestern University, School of Law,
with a Juris Doctor. He is admitted to
the State Bar of California, the United
States Supreme Court, the United States
Tax Court, the United States Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United
States District Court for the Central,
Southern, Eastern, and Northern
Districts of California. He is a member
of the American Bar Association and the
Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Other Activities
Mr. Sokol holds a credential as an
instructor in the California State
University system. A U.S. Navy veteran,
he has also served as a director of a
non-profit charitable organization
providing services to U.S. Military and
Naval veterans.
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