Condo Media - December 2017 - 64

Ask a Busy Person
Why did you decide to become a
lawyer? English and history were
my favorite subjects in school; I
wasn't good in math or science, so I
knew I wasn't going to become a doctor or an engineer. Law was the only
choice left. Also, I thought I would
be good at it. Growing up, whenever
something happened, when an errant
baseball broke a window, everyone
else would leave and I'd be the spokesperson. I enjoyed speaking
for others, and that never
left me.
How did you come to
specialize in condominium law? One of
the first cases I handled
after graduating from law school
was for a friend, who hadn't paid
his condominium fees. The association was threatening to foreclose. I
told the association's attorney, "you
can't do that." He told me to read the
statute. I did, and discovered that, in
fact, they could do that. The attorney
was Stephen Marcus. It was Stephen
who influenced me to go into condominium law. He started referring
some cases to me, and eventually, we
started working together. I got more
and more involved in condominium
law, and I never looked back.
What do you like most about what
you do? The variety. I don't just
look at contracts all day; I handle
every aspect of condominium law.
Every day brings a different issue to
consider or a different problem to
solve. Also, when everything comes
together on a condominium case-

64

CONDOMEDIA

in the same area and dealing with
the same issues. I was able to learn
from them and grow as a person and
practitioner. That was invaluable. But
the best part of being on a team, and
for me, the best part of being involved
in CAI, is the camaraderie.

FRANK LOMBARDI, ESQ., CCAL
PARTNER
GOODMAN, SHAPIRO & LOMBARDI, LLC
when everything is clicking-there's
no place I'd rather be. It's like the rush
you get when you make that perfect
golf swing. Fortunately, I get this feeling a lot more often practicing condo
law than I do playing golf.
If you weren't practicing condominium law, what else might you be
doing? Teaching, I think. I taught
a business law course at Boston College for about 10 years and I loved it.
I loved the feeling when I saw a light
go on and knew students were understanding what I was teaching.
How and why did you get involved
with CAI-NE? You can't play baseball by yourself; you have to be part
of a team. Joining CAI made me part
of a team-other attorneys practicing

What do you do in your spare time?
I spend time with my family,
I'm studying French
(I took it in high
school and college
and want to pick it up
again), and I play racquetball. I imagine an
opponent's face on the
ball. It does wonders for
my psyche.
What would it surprise people to
know about you? I've always wanted (and still intend) to take a year off
to live in the south of France with my
wife and take my best shot at writing
the next Great American Novel. I may
not make it past a chapter or two, but
my default position would be to visit
the vineyards and cafes in search of
my muse.
What's the best advice you ever
got? Treat people like you want to
be treated. My grandmother told me
that, and I've always lived by it.
If you could give condo boards one
piece of legal advice, what would it
be? Always be mindful of the person in front of you. Concentrate
on the person; understand where
they're coming from before you respond to what they're saying.
Condo Media - December 2017

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