Mr. Kochanski is a commercial lawyer who concentrates his practice on real estate transactions. He has been elected as a fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He focuses on structuring and implementing the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of real estate including apartment complexes, undeveloped land, finished lots, office buildings, shopping centers and industrial, warehouse and flex properties. During the early 1990's and beginning again in 2008, a substantial amount of his practice has revolved around distressed and non-performing assets representing both debtors and secured parties. Representative clients include national and regional homebuilders, developers and other real estate owners and operators. He is an agent for Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, and Chicago Title Insurance Company, and also represents those companies together with Old Republic National Title Insurance Company in prosecuting and defending title insurance claims, recoupment and resolving sophisticated title issues.
Representative transactions include acquisition and financing of super regional shopping malls, numerous multi-state apartment complexes, office projects and a major combined hotel and office building property. Mr. Kochanski has prepared homeowner's association documents for numerous developments, including a 5,000 unit mixed residential and commercial planned unit development, and reciprocal construction easements and operating agreements for regional and local shopping centers and office parks. He represents clients in conventional and conduit loan transactions, synthetic leasing, bond financing and defeasances, negotiates construction and development agreements and financing, and supervises, structures and consults in complex real estate litigation. Often he finds himself involved in economic development transactions like obtaining Federal, state and local economic development bonds for a $55,000,000 distribution facility for FedEx Ground Systems. His practice includes consumer and commercial lending transactions, real estate closings, and state and federal regulatory compliance including RESPA, TILA and consumer protection. He concentrates a substantial portion of his practice in structuring the mitigation and avoidance of transfer and recordation taxes, mortgage taxes, income taxes, and the preparation and issuance of legal opinions.
Mr. Kochanski was Chair of the Maryland State Bar Real Property, Planning and Zoning Section, the Firm's Real Estate Department, the Montgomery County Bar Real Estate Section and is an active participant in the District of Columbia Bar Real Estate Section. He is a member of several standing committees of the American Bar Association Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section. He has been appointed to the Maryland State Legislature's Commission to Study the Title Insurance Industry in Maryland. He is the Firm's Opinions Shareholder and a member of the steering committee for the nationally recognized Maryland State Bar Association Opinion Project. He regularly lectures on various continuing legal education topics for numerous organizations, has been an Instructor at Montgomery College, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland and is on the Legal Professionalism Faculty for the Maryland State Bar Association. He has published in the Maryland Bar Journal, structures intricate and creative tax influenced transactions, and lectures and writes extensively on like kind exchanges. He often testifies as an expert witness in both real estate and ethics matters, and serves as a Chair for Maryland Peer Review Panels.
In more than thirty-five years of practice Mr. Kochanski has advised clients in a wide range of business matters including real estate finance for lenders and borrowers, commercial, industrial, residential, retail and mixed use developments, condominium projects, construction and architect agreements, real estate litigation, workouts, title and survey matters. He serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Maryland Institute for the Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers and has chaired their programs in Homebuilding, Like Kind Exchanges and panels for the Advanced Real Property Institute. He is also a regular faculty member for Lorman Education Services, National Business Institute and Half Moon Seminars.
News
- Shulman Rogers Has Sixteen Attorneys Named to the 2013 Maryland Super Lawyers Listing
- Twenty-three Shulman Rogers Attorneys Recognized in The American Lawyer's "Top Rated Lawyers" Series
- Shulman Rogers Has Eight Attorneys Named to the 2012 Super Lawyers Business Edition Listing for Washington, D.C.
- Sixteen Shulman Rogers Attorneys Named to the 2012 Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Listing
- Shulman Rogers will have strong presence at MD Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame dinner
- David Kochanski elected to the Maryland State Bar Association's Board of Governors
Publications
- Like Kind Exchange, Maryland Bar Journal
- Homebuilding, Maryland Institute for the Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers
Seminars & Speaking Engagements
- Lecturer, Continuing Legal Education Topics, Lorman, NBI, MICPEL, and Half Moon
- Instructor, Montgomery College
- Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland, University College
- Lecturer and Planning Committee, Advanced Real Property Institute
- Speaker, Maryland Land Title Association
- Legal Professionalism Faculty, Maryland State Bar Association
- Lecturer and Author, Like-Kind Exchanges
Case Studies
Professional & Community Affiliations
- American College of Real Estate LawyersFellow
- Maryland State Bar, Real Property, Planning and Zoning Section, Past Chair
- Maryland State Bar Association's Opinion Project Member - Steering Committee Co-Chair - Real Estate Matters
- Bar Association of Montgomery County, MD, Real Estate Section, Past Chair
- American Bar Association, Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section Committee Member
- District of Columbia Bar, Real Estate Section Member
- Maryland Peer Review Panels, Chair
- Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers, Advisory Board Member and Lecturer
- Chair, Homebuilding and Like-Kind Exchanges Programs, Panel Chair, Advanced Real Property Institute