Local agents brace for effects of national Realtor group's lawsuit settlement – RichmondBizSense

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Effects from a recent class action settlement are expected to reach Richmond’s real estate market this summer. (BizSense file)
The apparent resolution of a yearslong legal battle that’s rocked the U.S. residential real estate industry is expected to have impacts on agents in metro Richmond, though to what extent remains to be seen, local observers say.
The National Association of Realtors announced Friday it had reached a $418 million settlement of claims brought by a group of home sellers in Missouri who argued that commissions for member agents had been artificially inflated.
The settlement, which is subject to court approval, includes an agreement by NAR to change its rules on how brokers are compensated. The change is expected to affect the traditional 6 percent commission that is typically paid by the home seller and shared between the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent.
Observers say a result could be a reduction in the amount of commission paid to buyer’s agents in particular, and potentially a reduction in use of buyer’s agents overall, adding challenges to an industry that had become more crowded with the hot housing market that came with the pandemic.
Specifically, NAR’s rule change prohibits broker compensation offers on association-owned MLS systems, like the Central Virginia Regional Multiple Listing Service.
Laura Lafayette
In a statement Friday, Laura Lafayette, CEO of CVRMLS and the Richmond Association of Realtors, acknowledged NAR’s efforts to settle the class action lawsuit and noted steps that the local groups had already taken last month to make its own policy changes in anticipation of the settlement.
“Prior to the announcement of this proposed settlement, CVR MLS eliminated the requirement of a mandatory offer of compensation from the listing agent to the buyer’s agent,” Lafayette said in the statement.
She said the group also modified its listing agreement “to provide greater clarity and transparency to the seller about the choices they can make regarding whether to offer compensation to a buyer’s agent, and if so, the amount of that compensation.”
“If the court approves the settlement — a process that could take several months — we do anticipate it will lead to changes in the real estate industry,” she said, adding that the groups would support members through those changes.
What those changes could amount to in the metro Richmond market and for the 5,800 agents who use CVRMLS remains to be seen. Heads of brokerages that do business in the market provided varying viewpoints on how things could play out, but agreed that ultimately time will tell.
“It is too early to determine how it could affect Realtors and consumers, but no matter what changes, agents will continue to play a critical role in the homebuying and selling process,” said Patrick Bain, CEO of Long & Foster Cos., which has 13 offices in metro Richmond and is headquartered in Chantilly.
Patrick Bain
“It’s important to note this is still preliminary,” Bain said, adding that the settlement remains subject to not only court approval but a subsequent objection period by class members and potential interest by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settlement could be finalized this summer, with the changes taking effect in mid-July. Should that occur, Bain said the most notable practices to be impacted will be the requirement of a written representation agreement between all buyers and agents – a practice already required in Virginia, he said – and the removal of the compensation offer on MLSs for buyer’s agents.
“Cooperative compensation (commission) would remain permissible,” Bain said in an email, “however, the MLS would no longer include a data field for sellers and listing agents to make this offer to a buyers’ agent. Instead, it would be agreed to separately between brokers, as authorized by the seller, or buyers could pay their own agent.”
Susan Swink of Compass Real Estate, one of seven national brokerages that are defendants in the lawsuits, emphasized that the settlement does not prohibit sellers or listing agents from offering a commission to a buyer’s agent, but rather “removes the requirement for this offering to be upfront in the MLS.”
Susan Swink
“Sellers wishing to tap into a wider pool of qualified buyers for their home can still offer a commission to a buyer’s agent through their listing agent’s marketing efforts outside of the MLS,” said Swink, managing broker for Compass’s Richmond Metropolitan Market. “Additionally, sellers retain the option to provide a closing cost credit in the MLS, which buyers can use to cover their agent’s commission.”
Swink also noted the signed agreement requirement between buyers and their agents, a change she agreed is aimed at promoting transparency of commissions from the outset.
“Experienced agents in the Richmond area, adept at guiding clients through the complexities of the real estate process, will continue to help their clients as they always have,” she said. “The settlement doesn’t fundamentally alter the landscape, and agents can still receive compensation for assisting buyer clients. The settlement’s provisions actually suggest that the current business model remains intact.”
Rick Jarvis, co-founder of One South Realty Group, a local brokerage that’s now part of Chantilly-based Samson Properties, said the NAR settlement is more about how agents are paid and who pays them, whereas how much agents are paid “is a function of market conditions.”
Where the buyer’s market that followed the 2008 economic downturn brought higher commissions and other perks to attract offers from buyer’s agents, Jarvis said today’s seller’s market was already causing a slight compression in commissions before the class action lawsuit, known as the Sitzer-Burnett case.
Rick Jarvis
“A lot of the news coverage and political stuff is trying to paint a picture that commissions are going to fall because of the settlement, which really isn’t the case,” Jarvis said. “Commissions are a marketplace like any other product or service, and subject to market forces.”
Complicating the issue, Jarvis added, is the number of agents in the market, which in NAR’s case jumped by 100,000 members in 2021 and totals more than 1.5 million across the country.
Jarvis said he expects more agents, as well as brokerages, will exit the industry as the commission changes play out.
“It always happens. Just look at NAR membership in 2005-6. When the market spikes, agents jump in the business, and when the transaction count falls, agents leave,” he said.
“Right now, too many agents are chasing too few deals, and that is what will push commission rates down more than anything,” he said in an email. “And yes, I would expect significant agent (and brokerage) attrition in the next 18-24 months, unless transaction count spikes, and I don’t see that happening.”
Jarvis said the real issue facing the industry going forward is housing inventory – particularly of so-called affordable or entry-level houses. He thinks the Richmond region could face a housing shortage for at least a decade.
“The bottom line is we need housing to satisfy the demand created by the record-setting inbound migration,” Jarvis said of the trend of out-of-towners moving to the Richmond region in the pandemic-induced work-from-home era. “And it’s not that we just need more houses; we need more affordable/entry-level houses, and we need thousands of them.”
Because the cost to sellers to pay agents’ commissions has been typically worked into a home’s sale price, one of the arguments made in the class action suit is that the practice has driven up prices, putting more homes out of reach of first-time or lower-income homebuyers.
Jarvis doesn’t buy that argument.
“I think there is a false narrative around commission and house prices and that this settlement will somehow decrease the prices of housing. I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Jarvis said. “Commissions aren’t the reason that housing is expensive; housing is expensive because buyers significantly outnumber sellers. Want cheaper housing? Build more of it. A lot more.”
Lafayette, the Richmond Realtors CEO, agreed that affordability will remain a top concern as the changes play out and commissions are “decoupled.”
“Our concern has always been that buyers who most need representation — first time home buyers — will be the buyers least able to afford to pay their representatives/agents,” Lafayette said in an email.
Adding that RAR and CVRMLS have spent years working to create more opportunities for first-time home buyers and help close wealth gaps through homeownership, she said, “We want to remove hurdles to home ownership not erect them.”
Jonathan joined BizSense in 2015 after a decade of reporting in Wilmington, N.C., and at the Henrico County Leader. The Virginia Tech grad covers government, real estate and other news. Reach him at (804) 308-2447 or [email protected].




The realtors comments, especially Patrick Bain and Susan Swink’s, are pathetic. Patrick, the law is passed and it will be approved. Susan, the buyers agent has never brought much value to the table for a 3% commission and the greed has finally caught up to real estate agents. Everyone is happy about this new law, except agents, and it shows from their comments in this article.
Your comments are spot on.
Look up Va Association of Realtors “code of ethics” realtors supposedly represent.
Of course. I wouldn’t expect any other response from those interviewed other than “most folks would be living in a soggy box by the river if a buyers agent wasn’t with them in spirit, while the buyer had already found their own house online.” Maybe next this will mean a class action against the VADA. Nothing says I am facing certain peril unless I have the support of a physical VA car dealer to buy my car online. I may be able to book a trip to Nepal online, train with Peloton in my basement, hire a guide on my… Read more »
Not much value? How about a qualified buyer so you can sell your home?
Commercial real estate brokerage began this change ten years or so ago. Very few commercial transactions provide the buyers representative with a built in commission today, and commission rates are competitively negotiated between houses for prize listings. It’s a model that is used world-wide. The days of automatic 6-10% commissions on land and investment sales are long gone, but its still a good way to make a buck for a smart hardworking agent. A recent presentation by a national consultant showed that the area is short approximately 12,000 housing units, which would be sold within 6 months if they magically… Read more »
as always, very intelligent points.
I think resi will become more like CRE, and will be better for it
The commission umbrella is gone and that will cause a shakeup to be sure. In a growing metro like Richmond the impact will be more muted than in slower growth areas and the better agents will be less affected than the marginal agent that will likely have to find another way to make a living. To me, all that is far less interesting than exploring what we’ve done as a society to cause supply of housing to fall so short of demand? Minimum lot sizes, minimum materials, ever increasing EPA requirements and the like might sound good in isolation but in the… Read more »
Anyone who has dealt with the city of richmond permitting office can tell you they make it functionally impossible to build in the city. A year long permit process isn’t even slightly unusual. And that’s leaving out the fact that zoning in the city actively prohibits density currently. The Fan and MD are illegal to build as they stand. Yes, you can battle your way through. And you have to charge much more to make up for it. And many contractors, especially the good ones with plenty of work, just refuse to work in the city as it’s too much… Read more »
“Anyone who has dealt with the city of richmond permitting office can tell you they make it functionally impossible to build in the city” So is Scotts Addition in Henrico?
I believe some of Scott’s Addition is in Henrico. Most of it is in Richmond, though.
It’s in the City. Westwood, the area west of I-95 is in the County.
HBAR and its MF Council have worked with the Stoney administration for 7 years and have seen a lot of success in making the permitting process more efficient. In fact, it’s probably faster to get approvals in the City than in Chesterfield County, the real laggard for cooperation in the region. Certainly, height restrictions in the Fan and MDA contribute to lower density construction.
“It’s important to note this is still preliminary.”
– Long & Foster CEO Patrick Bain
Well, Patrick, it’s important to note that this law is a result of homebuyers and sellers being fed up with agents like you. The days of agents doing little to nothing for a 3% cut are over.
“This is still preliminary.” lol
Too many real estate agents because of the generous commission structure.
None of the Realtors mention the possibility of _increased_ commissions. If Realtor services were truly competitive, and not a cartel, Relators who are, say, in the top ten percent, could negotiate more than they get now, maybe four or even five percent.
Brady – wrong!
You do not need to use a realtor to buy or sell a home; you need clear title from a real estate law firm. Most people do not realize this.
The need for a lower rate or fee is needed.
Imagine 1000 little deals with a small fee vs NOT.
commissions are going to fall. For 2 reasons. First of all, in a shortage, which we have, sellers are going to refuse to pay buyer’s agents. That will drive the functional commission down to 3%, as probably buyers agents will basically cease to exist as a thing, and we will go back to the 90s version of things. Which wasn’t any worse than the current system… 2d – the DOJ has made it clear they are determined to drive down US commissions, which are a multiple of other countries. If this doesn’t work they will try again. I think the… Read more »
Too many people that broke off into their OWN brokerage firms have been taking advantage of doing very very little work and squeezing too much money out of all of us for wayyyy too long. (the computer has been doing all the work for too long; realtors sitting by and waiting to “show” it to us and making bank)
Most people have been waiting for this decision for over a decade yet people act like this is new or not going to happen.
This is an excellent way to stimulate growth and prosperity.
I’m for anything that will diminish the frequency of the obligatory Dutch Angle realtor photo.
I never understood why this occupation has a thing for head shots.
The photo concept is about recognition since their clientele are consumers, not professionals. They need to be recognized in the neighborhood to drive them more business. I get that. That’s not necessary in commercial real estate. In fact, you get ridiculed if you do it.
Whatever the case may be, promise me you will be there to catch Susan as she falls backwards from my phone.
The people who think they don’t need a realtor to buy the largest purchase they will likely ever make, clearly have never had a realtor that knows what they are talking about. Rate buy downs, chimney inspections, addendums, well and septic inspections. You don’t know what you don’t know. Similar to insurance. No one needs it, until they do.
Some people may feel they don’t need one, others, like me, may feel they don’t deserve an automatic +$21k payday for representing a buyer.
So how would you propose they do get paid? That’s a legitimate question. I think this will be a good shake up for the industry and there is a lot to iron out.
You don’t pay a surgeon any different if your surgery is easy or difficult. You pay for their ability and knowledge to handle the situation if it gets messy.
I think this will push out all the agents that are the reason people don’t think they need agents which will be a good thing.
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Sales, listings up in Milwaukee-area housing market in February

The local housing market improved in February, but sales and new listings are still down compared with pre-pandemic norms.

There were 975 homes sold and 1,351 homes listed for sale last month in metropolitan Milwaukee, up 11% and 15%, respectively, compared with February 2023, according to the latest data from the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors (GMAR).

The metro area includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties. Most of the homes sold (619) and new listings (810) were in Milwaukee County, followed by Waukesha County.

The number of new listings was up for the seventh straight month, representing the longest run of increasing inventory in a decade, according to GMAR.

But given that 2023 was a slow year for area home sales due to spiking mortgage rates, metro Milwaukee is still short hundreds of listings needed to satisfy buyer demand, the group said, noting that the lack of supply is tamping down sales.

With demand for homeownership still higher than the number of homes available, the average home price in metro Milwaukee rose 8% year over year in February to hit $348,659, GMAR said.

Statewide, the housing market followed a similar pattern in February as sales rose 3% and the number of new listings jumped 21% year over year, according to data from the Wisconsin Realtors Association. The median home price across Wisconsin was up nearly 6% at $275,000.

“This bodes well for ongoing improvement in our inventory situation as we move into the peak sales period of late spring and summer,” WRA board chair Mary Jo Bowe said in a statement.

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Ron DeSantis Claims Victory Over Disney And All He Had To Do Was Give Disney Everything They Wanted

Michelle Obama And Disney CEO Robert Iger Hold News Conference On Disney’s Nutritional Guidelines

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

It began with Ron DeSantis swearing vengeance on Disney for mildly chastising his anti-gay people law. After detours into Lilibet of Sussex and the Rule Against Perpetuities, remedial civil procedure screw-ups, and the United States Supreme Court sending a stray directly at DeSantis, the matter ends — much like the DeSantis presidential campaign — not with a bang but with a whimper.

Because Disney agreed to forfeit its headline-grabbing and hilarious deal with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District), granting Disney functional control over the district until 21 years after the death of the last surviving descendent of King Charles, DeSantis supporters are framing the agreement as a victory.

For example, one tipster wrote in:

Hey Jo , here’s a tip. Did you see that Ron DeSantis just cleaned Disney’s clock? Makes you look like a gas bag

Given his inability to spell a three-letter word, it won’t surprise you to learn that he did not actually read and understand the settlement agreement (helpfully scanned by Politico). Thankfully, we’re always here to help him out.

But first, some background. There was a time, not too long ago, where Ron DeSantis believed he could be president. It may be hard to remember that after he spent the next several months getting ritualistically humiliated by Donald Trump, but it was true! And to bolster his profile, he embarked on a series of policies to fight “wokeness” including the Don’t Say Gay bill, an education provision banning schools from acknowledging that gay people exist. It has since been largely overturned because, like all of DeSantis’s attempts to govern from firing prosecutors to forcing cruise lines to give everyone COVID, his policies seem destined to get trounced in court.

Disney offered the slightest of critiques of the Don’t Say Gay bill and DeSantis decided to seek revenge, targeting the Reedy Creek Improvement District. To oversimplify the purpose of the entity, Disney owns lots and lots of land in central Florida and that land needs government services like water, and sewers, and firefighters. Rather than force some neighboring town to fork over property taxes to pay for Disney’s private empire, the company had its own quasi-governmental district. They paid for all the services and in return those expenditures were more or less treated like government expenditures saving the company tax dollars. Everyone won.

But it was something that Disney had that DeSantis could mess up. He first made a public bid to eliminate the tax district. After learning that this would saddle Florida taxpayers with millions in debt — something he probably should’ve researched before staking his reputation on it — he came up with the idea of saving the district but replacing all its board members with cronies who would take away or otherwise frustrate key permits that Disney relied upon like its water management rights. More on that later.

Since DeSantis and the new board cared less about governing than symbolic posturing, they never bothered to pay attention as the outgoing board publicly noticed meetings to hand power over to Disney directly. As a Florida corporate law expert — AND REPUBLICAN — noted at the time, Disney’s actions were airtight legal under existing law. The Republican legislature tried to change that and that’s when everything descended into lawsuits.

Now, with Disney giving up on its deals with the outgoing board, has DeSantis really won? Consider the settlement.

The first prong of this settlement actually fell into place before yesterday, when DeSantis appointed Stephanie Kopelousos to run the district, replacing Glen Gilzean, who DeSantis originally put in the job before an ethics panel ruled that he was serving illegally. Kopelousos is a Disney-applauded hire, having spent her career in the DeSantis orbit shielding Disney from the governor’s half-baked schemes, including carving them out of the big “tech wokeness” bill that the Supreme Court is about to strike down anyway.

So now, instead of being bossed around by board members like the guy who said fluoride makes kids gay, Disney has to deal with a known government ally who is almost certainly just warming her resume to become a Disney or Universal lobbyist down the road.

Not an auspicious beginning for the DeSantis victory crowd.

Second, the deal doesn’t just invalidate Disney’s deals with the outgoing board, but also everything the new board has tried to do. Under the terms of the agreement, everything reverts to the state of play in 2020 under the old Disney board and charges Kopelousos to run things from there. Theoretically, the new entity could still try to mess with Disney, however…

7. Mitigation Credits. As a material inducement to Disney in entering into the Agreement, the District acknowledges Disney is the owner of, and the District shall not prohibit or impede, but rather assist in the use of, Long-Term Permit Mitigation Credits or other entitlements created through:

a) South Florida Water Management District Environmental Resource Permits Nos. 48-00714-S, 48-00714-P, and/or and 48-00714-8-22, as amended;
b) Department of the Army Permit 199101901 (IP-GS) and/or SA3-1991-01901 (SP-TSD), as amended;
c) State of Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Permits Nos. OSC-4, OSC-SSC-1, and/or OSC-TSR-1, as amended.

As a term of the settlement, the new entity expressly forfeits its right to do the sort of critical mayhem they hoped to accomplish and indeed to “rather assist” Disney in securing the substantive benefits Disney wanted all along.

Strike two.

Finally, the agreement takes the unusual step of NOT ending all the pending litigation and releasing everyone from liability.

8. Federal Lawsuit. Disney agrees to seek, and the District will not oppose, permission from the court to defer briefing in Disney’s pending federal appeal captioned as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. v. Governor, State of Florida et at, Case No. 24-10342 (11th Cir.) (“Federal Lawsuit”), pending negotiations among other matters of a new development agreement between Disney and the District.

The Eleventh Circuit appeal is the strongest of the various lawsuits. Trump judge Judge Allen Winsor, claimed that a law only and specifically impacting Disney-run Reedy Creek could not be considered targeted at Disney because the word “Disney” isn’t in the actual legislation. There might be an appellate panel willing to buy Winsor rewriting civil procedure to benefit DeSantis, but it’s not likely.

The substance of the case alleges that the new board breached Disney’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against it over the Don’t Say Gay law. So they maintain the lawsuit predicated on the appearance of retaliation “pending negotiations among other matters of a new development agreement between Disney and the District.”

In other words, Disney gets a new, friendly negotiating partner, all the board’s rules tossed, a commitment that the entity can’t mess with the interests Disney cared about, and the parties agree that the company can maintain its most powerful lawsuit as a cocked gun to the temple of the new entity to be invoked if the negotiations don’t go Disney’s way.

As clock cleanings go, it’s more like DeSantis performing community service scrubbing down the Main Street USA clocks and then telling Bob Iger, “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” Though he does get to walk away mildly saving face that he’s changed the name on top of the tax district letterhead.

And after getting mollywhopped by Nikki Haley of all people, he’s going to take any W he can get.

(Settlement Agreement on the next page.)

EarlierRon DeSantis So Sure He’s Going To Win Disney Lawsuit That He’s Publicly Begging Bob Iger To Drop It
Supreme Court Subtweets Ron DeSantis That He’s Totally Losing To Disney
Disney Litigators Take Their Turn Beating The Hell Out Of Ron DeSantis With New Federal Lawsuit
We Shouldn’t Have To Choose Between Disney Whipping DeSantis And A Dickensian Hellscape
Judge In Disney’s Case Against Ron DeSantis Recuses Himself Because Father’s Brother’s Nephew’s Cousin’s Former Roommate Owns 30 Shares Of Disney
Disney’s Lawyers Are Better Than Ron DeSantis’s Lawyers
Disney Lawyers Seem Honestly Shocked That Ron DeSantis Legal Team Is So Bad At This
DeSantis Crony Overseeing Disney Tax District Serving Illegally Because OF COURSE!


HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.


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Biglaw Associate Hiring Plunges By 43%, Officially Ending The Lateral Party

Sad guy is standing and looking down. He is upset. Man is holding a wistle in his mouth and has a birthday hat on the head. Isolated on blue background.Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

The last three years has taught firms some pretty hard lessons in regard to how to go about building up the associate ranks. They grew at an exponential rate in 2021 and, as work went down, they no longer needed the number of attorneys that they had.

If you look at all of the factors at play—that corporate work is down, compensation increased—all of these things together just results in lateral hiring just being very conservative.

— Summer Eberhard, a California-based legal recruiter at Lateral Link, in comments given to Bloomberg Law on new report by the National Association for Law Placement, which concluded that lateral hiring had fallen by 35% over the course of 2023, with associate hiring nosediving by 43%, while partner hiring dropped by 10%.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.


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US Joins Austria, Bahrain, Canada, & Portugal To Co-Lead Global Push For Safer Military AI

Global Network

Digital planet earth and network connection background. (Getty graphics)

WASHINGTON — Delegates from 60 countries met last week outside DC and picked five nations to lead a year-long effort to explore new safety guardrails for military AI and automated systems, administration officials exclusively told Breaking Defense.

Five Eyes” partner Canada, NATO ally Portugal, Mideast ally Bahrain, and neutral Austria will join the US in gathering international feedback for a second global conference next year, in what representatives from both the Defense and State Departments say represents a vital government-to-government effort to safeguard artificial intelligence.

With AI proliferating to militaries around the planet, from Russian attack drones to American combatant commands, the Biden Administration is making a global push for “Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy.” That’s the title of a formal Political Declaration the US issued 13 months ago at the international REAIM conference in the Hague. Since then, 53 other nations have signed on.

Just last week, representatives from 46 of those governments (counting the US), plus another 14 observer countries that have not officially endorsed the Declaration, met outside DC to discuss how to implement its ten broad principles.

“It’s really important, from both the State and DoD sides, that this is not just a piece of paper,” Madeline Mortelmans, acting assistant secretary of defense for strategy, told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview after the meeting ended.It is about state practice and how we build states’ ability to meet those standards that we call committed to.”

That doesn’t mean imposing US standards on other countries with very different strategic cultures, institutions, and levels of technological sophistication, she emphasized. “While the United States is certainly leading in AI, there are many nations that have expertise we can benefit from,” said Mortelmans, whose keynote closed out the conference. “For example, our partners in Ukraine have had unique experience in understanding how AI and autonomy can be applied in conflict.”

“We said it frequently…we don’t have a monopoly on good ideas,” agreed Mallory Stewart, assistant secretary of state for arms control, deterrence, and stability, whose keynote opened the conference. Still, she told Breaking Defense, “having DoD give their over a decade-long experience…has been invaluable.”

So when over 150 representatives from the 60 countries spent two days in discussions and presentations, the agenda drew heavily on the Pentagon’s approach to AI and automation, from the AI ethics principles adopted under then-President Donald Trump to last year’s rollout of an online Responsible AI Toolkit to guide officials. To keep the momentum going until the full group reconvenes next year (at a location yet to be determined), the countries formed three working groups to delve deeper into details of implementation.

Group One: Assurance. The US and Bahrain will co-lead the “assurance” working group, focused on implementing the three most technically complex principles of the Declaration: that AIs and automated systems be built for “explicit, well-defined uses,” with “rigorous testing,” and “appropriate safeguards” against failure or “unintended behavior” — including, if need be, a kill switch so humans can shut it off.

These technical areas, Mortelmans told Breaking Defense, were “where we felt we had particular comparative advantage, unique value to add.”

Even the Declaration’s call for clearly defining an automated system’s mission “sounds very basic” in theory but is easy to botch in practice, Stewart said. Look at lawyers fined for using ChatGPT to generate superficially plausible legal briefs that cite made-up cases, she said, or her own kids trying and failing to use ChatGPT to do their homework. “And this is a non-military context!” she emphasized. “The risks in a military context are catastrophic.”

Group Two: Accountability. While the US applies its immense technical expertise to the problem, other countries will focus on personnel and institutional aspects of safeguarding AI. Canada and Portgual will co-lead work on “accountability,” focused on the human dimension: ensuring military personnel are properly trained to understand “the capabilities and limitations” of the technology, that they have “transparent and auditable” documentation explaining how the it works, and they “exercise appropriate care.”

Group Three: Oversight. Meanwhile, Austria (without a co-lead, at least for now) will head the working group on “oversight,” looking at big-picture policy issues such as requiring legal reviews on compliance with international humanitarian law, oversight by senior officials, and elimination of “unintended bias.”

RELATED: Avoiding accidental armageddon: Report urges new safety rules for unmanned systems

Real World Implementation

What might implementation of these abstract principles mean in practice? Perhaps something like the Pentagon’s online Responsible AI Toolkit, part of a push by DoD’s Chief Digital & AI Officer (CDAO) to develop publicly available and even open-source tools to implement AI safety and ethics.

Stewart highlighted that CDAO’s Matthew Kuan Johnson, the chief architect of the toolkit, gave an “amazing” presentation during the international conference: “It was really, really useful to have him walk through the toolkit and answer questions.”

Speaking days after the conference ended, at a Potomac Officers Club panel on AI, Johnson said “we got incredibly positive feedback …  Allied nations [were] saying they thought this was a really positive development, that there’s such a push to open-source and share so much of the materials and best practices.”

“There is really significant momentum and appetite,” Johnson told the panel. “How do we get from these kind of high-level principles down to that implementation…processes, benchmarks, test, evaluation, metrics, so you can actually demonstrate how you are following the principles and implementing them.”

Johnson certainly came away enthusiastic. “It is a really exciting time for responsible AI in the international space,” he said, “with the Political Declaration, with the Partnership for Defense that CDAO has, with the second REAIM summit happening in Korea in September.”

That’s just on the military side. The Biden administration issued a sweeping Executive Order on federal use of AI in October, joined the UK-led Bletchley Declaration on AI safety writ large in November and, just last week, got the UN General Assembly to pass a US-led resolution by unanimous consent that called for “safe, secure, and trustworthy” AI for sustainable development.

But the administration also tries to keep the civilian and military discussions distinct. That’s partly because military AI is more controversial, with many activists calling for a binding legal ban on “lethal autonomous weapons systems” that the US, its allies, and adversaries like Russia and China all would like some leeway to develop.

“We made a purposeful choice, in pursuing a consensus-based UN resolution, to not include the military uses discussion,” a senior Administration official told reporters at a briefing ahead of last week’s General Assembly vote. “There are ample places to have that conversation [elsewhere], including in the UN system…. We have an intensive set of diplomatic engagements around the responsible military uses of artificial intelligence.”

The two tracks are meant to be parallel but complementary. “We’re really happy the UNGA was able to take a step in the non-military arena,” Stewart told Breaking Defense. “[There’s] the potential for advantageous and synergistic cross-pollination.”

But, she said, the world still needs distinct fora for different kinds of people to discuss different aspects of AI. The United Nations brings together all countries on all issues. Military AI conferences like REAIM include activists and other non-government groups. But the value of the Political Declaration and its implementation process is that it’s all about governments talking to other governments, specifically about military applications, and behind closed doors.

“The Political Declaration looks at this from a government to government perspective,” Stewart said. “We’re really focusing on an environment in which governments can discuss the challenges that they’re experiencing, the questions that they have, and… address the practical, concrete, and and really effective and efficient implementation.”


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NAR Responds to President Joe Biden's Remarks on Lowering Housing Costs for American Families – National Association of REALTORS®

WASHINGTON – 2024 National Association of REALTORS® President Kevin Sears issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s remarks on lowering housing costs for American families:
“While the National Association of REALTORS® appreciates President Biden’s continued focus on the affordable housing crisis, the President unfortunately repeated incorrect claims that the recently announced settlement agreement allows Americans to negotiate commissions for the first time. Commissions were already negotiable before this resolution was reached and will continue to be negotiable as they have been.
“Real estate agent commissions are driven by the market and are not the cause of the affordability crisis. Until there is an all of government approach to a historic lack of inventory and supply in communities across the country, the dream of homeownership will remain out of reach for millions of middle-class Americans.
“NAR commends President Biden for recognizing the need to build a stronger housing supply, and we will continue to work with his administration and Congress, as well as in statehouses across the country, to fight for policy proposals intended to make homeownership more affordable and accessible for all Americans.”
Read NAR’s full policy proposals to address housing supply at FlyIn.Realtor.
The National Association of REALTORS® is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. The term Realtor® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS ® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
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Remembering Frank E. Kowalski

Frank E. Kowalski, the 2005 Florida Realtors president and founder and CEO of Metro Dade Realty in Miami, had a 52-year career defined by a spirit of service.

MIAMI – It is with a profound sense of loss that we announce the passing of 2005 Florida Realtors President Frank E. Kowalski, founder and CEO of Metro Dade Realty in Miami.

Frank was a benevolent leader whose tenure was marked by groundbreaking initiatives, such as his advocacy for the Commercial Real Estate Sales Commission Lien Act, which was signed into law in 2005, his commitment to Realtor excellence through Graduate, Realtor Institute training for new licensees and his support for integrating technology tools into the profession.

Frank KowalskiFrank’s 52-year career was defined by a spirit of service and a commitment to excellence. Always a champion for what he believed in, he used his leadership roles to make a difference where it counted most. In 1980, as the youngest president in the Miami Board’s then-60-year history, he vigorously fought against double-digit interest rates. After four hurricanes hit Florida shortly before he took office, he pledged to help Realtors impacted by the storms get their businesses back up and running – and, true to his word, he did. He was named Florida Realtors’ 2007 Realtor of the Year for his tireless contributions to his community as well as local, state and national real estate associations.

“Our hearts are heavy as we remember Frank Kowalski, a true icon in the Florida real estate industry,” says Gia Arvin, 2024 Florida Realtors president. “His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on our profession. From his advocacy for crucial legislation to his dedication to Realtor training and technology integration, his presence was a powerful influence on all our leaders who followed him. Our deepest condolences go out to Frank’s wife, Norma, his son and business partner Frank J. Kowalski, and the rest of his family during this difficult time.”

Our association is just one of many organizations honored to be part of Frank’s legacy.

He was founding president of the Florida Council of Residential Specialists, national CRS president and former chairman of the Florida Real Estate Commission, held leadership roles in the Miami Association of Realtors® and the National Association of Realtors®, and was a long-time contributor to the Realtors Political Action Committee. He also dedicated 46 years of his life to serving as an independent insurance broker, safeguarding the futures of countless individuals and families throughout South Florida. 

Frank E. Kowalski will be laid to rest Monday, April 1, at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn South, 11655 SW 117th Ave., Miami, FL 33186. A viewing is scheduled for 10 a.m., followed by a service at 1:30 p.m.

© 2024 Florida Realtors®

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March Is For The Girls

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Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Sarah Waidelich to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

March is one of my favorite times of the year — as a lifelong basketball fan and a former Division III college player, there is nothing quite like the madness of this month. The sheer volume of games compressed into such a short time span, combined with the unpredictable upsets and unforgettable moments, truly encapsulates the essence of the sport.

This year is particularly special to me, as it feels like women’s sports — and in particular, women’s basketball — are finally getting the attention they are due, thanks to the incredible year and career of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Clark has broken most offensive records of note, and on March 3, 2024, she broke Pete Maravich’s 54-year record to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball (men’s or women’s). And she’s not done yet.

As remarkable as Clark’s season and career have been, what I have found most inspiring is what she has done for women’s basketball as a whole. Clark is the biggest story of this season for women’s and men’s basketball. Girls and boys are clamoring for a picture or autograph from Clark. The AP reported that Iowa road games saw a 150% increase in average attendance. More people are watching women’s games than men’s games.  The New York Times reported that women’s sports would generate more than $1 billion in revenue this year, up about 300% from a 2021 estimate.

As we head into the NCAA National Championship tournaments, the women’s competition is getting as much, if not more, attention as the men’s. Even Shaquille O’Neal is more closely following the women’s tournament. Considering all of this, it’s astonishing to recall that until 2022, the NCAA declined to promote or utilize its “March Madness” trademark for the women’s tournament.

I am a lifelong basketball fan. I was playing year-round by the time I was 10. It was my first true love, and I was fortunate enough to continue my career in college, at the small engineering school I attended. As a young girl, I worshiped the likes of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi — incredible players in their own right.  But neither of them captured the imagination of the country like Caitlin Clark.

This year may mark a sea change. Because as fabulous as Clark is, a wave of exceptional players is coming up behind her. Junior Angel Reese led LSU to the national championship over Iowa last year and is poised to make another run this year. Freshman Juju Watkins at the University of Southern California is averaging more points per game than Clark did in her first year. The landmark changes with Name, Image, and Likeness deals offer substantial opportunities for increased visibility and exposure for female athletes. There is every reason to believe that the attention Clark has brought to the game, and the talent following in her wake, will continue to capture the attention of the country.

My basketball career ended almost 15 years ago, and I am now a practicing lawyer and a mom of two little boys. I am filled with gratitude knowing that my sons will grow up in a world where women’s sports are finally receiving the recognition they’ve long deserved. It brings me immense happiness to think that they will have remarkable athletes like Clark to admire and look up to.

Clark’s popularity also gives me hope that other segments of American society, including the legal profession, can make great strides in reaching gender equality. Bloomberg reported in January of this year that for the first time, a slim majority of law firm associates are women.  The same report also found that women make up 40% of all attorneys at private firms — another record.

These statistics resonate deeply with my own career in private practice. A decade ago, as I was starting my career focused on patent law, the sense of being the only woman in the room was palpable, and it only seemed to intensify as I progressed. However, in recent years, we’ve  made real strides in recruiting and retaining women for our IP Department, even within this traditionally male-dominated field of patent law. Just as Clark’s achievements pave the way for future women athletes, the success of more women in the legal industry continues to provide a clearer path for those who will follow.

There is still much work to do to achieve true gender equality, and to ensure society and our institutions value women’s efforts as much as men’s.

But this year, March is for the girls.


Sarah Waidelich is a partner at Honigman LLP in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  She focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, with a particular focus on patent litigation, and is a Lateral Hiring Partner for the IP Department. Sarah is the mom of two beautiful little boys, and in her free time she enjoys traveling with her husband and sons, baking, and watching sports. You can contact Sarah directly at swaidelich@honigman.com

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