HOA Law Firm RFP

Ross, that's a new one for me. Never heard of using an RFP for legal work.
Are you really serious? On second thought, why not? I anxiously await the responses you get

Your dealing more with Contractual/business law when dealing with a HOA. A HOA is a non-profit corporation in most cases. (Can be for-profit but rare). That means that it operates much like a regular business/corporation. The homeowner's are shareholders. So find a lawyer that understands the corporate setup and work from there. Avoid Real Estate attorney's. They deal with liens and verifying sales contracts mostly.
I may want to ask why your HOA needs an attorney? If you plan on going to small claims court, it's NOT a good idea. A HOA most likely needs an attorney to represent itself in court, which is extremely expensive. The money comes out of the HOA dues. Which means if you sue your HOA your suing yourself on some level.
A lawsuit in court means that the HOA will get a "judgement". That judgement does NOT translate into getting paid. It means it is on official record this person owes the HOA money. They can simply sell their house and MOVE without paying the HOA for years. However, if the HOA LIENS it is also the SAME as a "judgement" EXCEPT the owner can NOT sell their home until the debt is paid. A lien does NOT require a trip to the court room and can costs nothing to a few hundred dollars depending on what state you live in. A foreclosure by a HOA can literally "kick out" the member from the property. Warning: a Foreclosure does NOT guarantee money either. The FIRST entity paid is the BANK/MORTGAGE company and THEN the HOA. So if the person owes the bank/mortgage company money, the HOA is out.
Lawyers do require a "retainer" fee in most cases plus expenses. That means that your HOA has to pay them by the hour plus any communications can be charged as well. Our attorney charged me $25 for an email response or phone call!!! So KNOW what the attorney hourly rate, retaining fee, and if they charge for communication. A sneaky "trick" is that if you do call them and leave a message, they may charge you! So don't leave your name with them and just say you will call them back later. Lawyer's are tricky!

Hi Ross:

You may be able to find some HOA lawyers through your local or state chapter of CAI; you can find them at:
http://www.caionline.org/about/aboutchap.cfm

Also, if you join CAI, their online resource center has a section on legal issues, which includes a list of questions to ask a lawyer you're interviewing for possible representation.

You may want a law firm that can:
1) Handle collections for you;
2) Give legal opinions on HOA matters (familiar with state HOA law and how HOA's work);
3) Represent you in court if needed to enforce covenants;
4) Help to review and/or amend CC&R's.

There may be some more things you would want them to do, but that's a good starting list.

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA