Mr. Bregman has maintained a law practice for over forty years focusing on real estate and business transactions; mediation and arbitration; civil litigation; and receiverships, trusts and estates.
In his real estate practice, Mr. Bregman represents buyers, sellers, lenders, investors, developers, property owners, management companies, contractors, landlords, and tenants through all stages of acquisition, investor and joint venture formation, disposition, financing, construction, due diligence, leasing, litigation, and management. His practice includes the representation of clients in transactions related to all types of commercial real estate assets, including office, retail, industrial, multifamily, mixed-use properties, storage facilities, solar energy panels, and hotels, as well as unimproved land. He routinely drafts, negotiates, and interprets purchase and sale agreements, development agreements, leases, ground leases, management agreements, licensing agreements, loan term sheets and documents, operating and joint venture agreements, and closing documents. In recognition of his real estate background, he has been elected (2004) as a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL).
His real estate clients include publicly traded companies, national real estate investment trusts, government and quasi-governmental agencies, financial institutions, public utilities, and a wide variety of other commercial real estate developers and property owners.
From starting a business to buying or selling it, Mr. Bregman has represented and advised owners, shareholders, board members and investors in enterprises of all sizes and types, including professional practices and companies with significant intellectual property concerns. Beyond legal engagement, he has the business background of having served as a member of the Board of Directors of several publicly owned companies.
Mr. Bregman has been the mediator for hundreds of business and real estate disputes. His success rate in resolving cases is in excess of 90 percent. He has taught mediation skills both in the United States and internationally. He also has been chosen to act as an arbitrator and receiver in many cases, ranging from partnership disputes to construction claims. He has been inducted into the Maryland Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Mr. Bregman has tried numerous cases. His litigation practice includes the defense and prosecution of commercial real estate and business disputes, landlord and tenant lawsuits, contract disputes, complex litigation, construction disputes, professional malpractice litigation, personal injury lawsuits, and general civil litigation. He has also argued many cases on appeal. In recognition of his accomplishments in the litigation field, he has been selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.
In the context of receiverships, trusts and estates, Mr. Bregman has represented each as counsel. He has also served as receiver, trustee and personal representative. Whether as counsel or as the fiduciary, he has taken care of various business, real estate and estate administration matters, including distributing assets, managing and selling property, filing tax returns, and resolving disputes. Additionally, Mr. Bregman has written Wills, Trust Agreements, and other estate planning documents.
Since 1992, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center teaching a course entitled: “Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Real Estate Documents.” Since 2011, he has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Law School teaching the same course, and in 2023, he taught the same course at the Howard University Law School.
He has testified as an expert witness in lawsuits in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
Mr. Bregman has served on the Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission and currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Client Protection Fund for the State of Maryland.
Since 1998, Mr. Bregman has been a Professor of Negotiation and Mediation Skills at the Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution (IIMCR), and since 1993, he has been an Author and Lecturer for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Law Conference.
Mr. Bregman is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Bar Admissions:
- Maryland, 1974
- District of Columbia, 1975
- U.S. District Court District for the District of Maryland, 1975
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 1976
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1983
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 1976
- Supreme Court of the United States, 1978
Bar Association Memberships:
- Maryland State Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- The Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland
Education:
- J.D., 1974, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
- B.A., 1971, With Honors in Political Science, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Appointments, Awards, and Honors:
- Member, Montgomery County Executive’s Economic Advisory Group
- Named “Distinguished Maryland Real Property Practitioner” for 2016-2017 by the Maryland State Bar Association’s Real Property Section
- Georgetown University Vicennial Medal, 2016
- Recipient, Human Rights and Justice Champion, Maryland Legal Aid, 2011
- Recipient, Georgetown University Law Center’s Charles Fahy Distinguished Adjunct Professor of the Year Award, 2008
- Selected by Washingtonian magazine as one of the Top Lawyers – Real Estate
- Selected by The Washingtonian Magazine to the Top Lawyers Hall of Fame, September 2022
- Included in the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® – Specialty of Real Estate Law
- Included in the 30th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® – High Caliber Work in Real Estate Law
- Included in Expertise’s 2022 List of one of the Best Real Estate Attorneys in Washington, DC
- Selected by The Daily Record as a recipient of the Top Leadership in Law Award, 2007
- Listed in Super Lawyers for Maryland and the District of Columbia
- Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL); Elected 2004
- Men’s Club Kovod Award for Community Service, Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, 2003
- Member, Maryland Court of Appeals, Public Trust and Confidence Committee
- Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland
- Member, Board of Directors, and Treasurer, Maryland Legal Services Corporation, 2000-2007
- Chairman of Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Montgomery County Bar Association (1994-1997)
- President, The Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland, 1998-1999
- Appointed Member Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission, 2007–2019
- Member, Board of Directors, Montgomery County, Maryland, Bar Foundation, 1992-2012
- American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 2000-2001
- Montgomery County, Maryland, Bar Foundation Honorary Life Bar Leader, 2007 Award
- Maryland State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award, 2006
- Montgomery County, Maryland, Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Service Award, 2006
- Member, Board of Directors of Dart Group, Crown Books, Trak Auto, Shoppers Food Warehouse, 1993-1997
- Member, Board of Directors of American Bank, 2002-2007
- Member, Board of Trustees, Holy Cross Hospital Foundation, 2006-2008
- Member, Board of Directors of the Homeless Persons Representation Project
- Member, Board of Directors of Maryland Legal Aid
- Member, Board of Governors of the Maryland State Bar Association
- Governor’s Advisory Council on Landlord & Tenant Affairs, 1991- 1995
- Governor’s Landlord and Tenant Law Study Commission, 1984 – 1991
- Chairman of the Young Lawyers Section of the Maryland State Bar Association, 1982-1983
- Served on the Real Property Planning and Zoning Section Council for the Maryland State Bar Association
- Selected as the American Registry’s Most Honored Lawyers – Top 1% 2023
Teaching Positions:
- Georgetown University Law Center, Adjunct Professor of Law, 1992-Present. Course entitled: “Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Real Estate Documents: Contracts, Loan Documents, and Leases”
- Columbia Law School, Adjunct Faculty, 2011-Present. Course entitled: “Drafting and Negotiating Commercial Real Estate Documents: Contracts, Loan Documents, and Leases”
- Howard University Law School, Adjunct Faculty, 2023
- University of Maryland, Adjunct Professor, 1977-1981. Real Estate and Business Law Classes
- Georgetown University Law School/District of Columbia Bar, Instructor, Program entitled “Residential Real Estate Transactions”
- Maryland Bar Review Institute, Inc., Instructor of Real Property
- Practical Law Institute of the Montgomery County Bar Association, Chairman and Instructor
- Faculty Member for Mediation Training Courses Sponsored by the Montgomery County Bar Association
Publications and Seminars:
- Maryland Landlord-Tenant Law, Practice and Procedure, Fifth Edition 2021, published by Lexis Nexis
- The Common Sense Guide to Successful Real Estate Negotiation (hard-cover); with Peter G. Miller, Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1987; revised edition, Successful Real Estate Negotiation, Harper Perennial, 1994
- Chapter 5A – Negotiating the Purchase and Sale Contract – Mark Senn, Thomson Reuters
- State-By-State Guide to Commercial Real Estate Leases, 2023 Edition, District of Columbia – Mark Senn, Wolters Kluwer
- Landlord/Tenant Law, Maryland Essential of Practice Series, published by MICPEL
- Residential Landlord and Tenant Issues, published by MICPEL
- Author and Lecturer in several programs given by The Maryland Institute for the Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, Inc. (MICPEL)
- Author and Professor, Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution, 1998 – 2008
- Author & Lecturer for the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Law Conference, 1993 – Present
- Author and Lecturer in several Georgetown University Law School Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs
- Author and Lecturer for several programs given by Lorman Education and Strafford Webinars.
- Author and Lecturer for Commercial Lease Insurance Coverage from A to Z, 2015, and Real Estate Transactions: Avoiding the Top Mistakes, 2018, published by the National Business Institute.
- Author and Lecturer for The Use of Mediation with a Special Emphasis on Employment Disputes, 2024, published by MyLawCLE.
