Condo Media - May 2017 - 40

Volunteer Spotlight

Face of Leadership

Stephen Marcus Recognized for Lifetime
Contribution to Condominium Law
[by Nena Groskind]

Stephen Marcus, a founding partner in the Massachusetts law firm Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks
and a nationally recognized expert in condominium
law, has been awarded the Gurdon "Don" Buck Lifetime
Contribution Award for "exceptional leadership" in the
field of community association law.
Marcus is only the fifth attorney to win the award,
which is presented periodically by the
Community Association Institute's
College of Community Association
Lawyers (CCAL). The award recognizes: "A sustained, active, and positive
presence" in the condominium industry and "significant contributions" to it;
service to local, regional, and national
condominium organizations; a "demonstrated commitment" to the local
community; and "a strong mentoring
spirit" marked by "[willingness] to
share time, talents, gifts, and knowledge with all in need of them."
Presenting the award at CCAL's
annual Community Association Law
Seminar in January, CCAL President
Steven Weil, a principal in California-based Berding
& Weil, LLP, noted that Marcus met all of its requirements. He noted in particular: Other awards Marcus has
won (including CAI-New England's Hall of Fame and
Outstanding Volunteer Service Award); and the positions
he has held in CAI-NE (president and a member of the
board of directors) and in CAI National, including chair
of the CAI Amicus Curiae team, president of CCAL, and
a member of the CCAL board.
Weil also noted the "key role" Marcus played in winning passage of the Massachusetts Super Lien statute
and securing Congressional approval of amendments to
the Federal Bankruptcy Reform Law, allowing community associations to collect assessments from bankrupt
owners. "Stephen is also usually one of the smartest
people in the room," Weil said, known to colleagues
equally for his knowledge of condominium law and his
willingness to share it.
Colleagues who responded to Weil's request to submit
comments about Marcus included Janet Aronson and Ed
Allcock, two of his partners at MEEB, who emphasized

his "generosity," his "passion" and his commitment to the
condominium industry and to CAI.
"When the condominium market had effectively
collapsed in the '90s," they wrote, "Stephen took a year
off from the practice of law to lobby for passage of the
Massachusetts super lien," recognized today, they said, as
"the strongest super lien in the country."
SPIRIT, DEVOTION,
AND COMMITMENT
CCAL created the Lifetime Contribution Award in 2009 in honor of Gurdon
"Don" Buck, an attorney known for his
service to the condominium industry
and his pioneering contributions to the
evolution of condominium law.
Accepting the award, Marcus noted
the support of his partners "who put up
with me" and of colleagues in other law
firms, who were among the first to announce his award-in firm newsletters,
blog posts, and e-mail blasts to their
clients. Their response, Marcus said,
illustrates the long tradition of cooperation and mutual support among condominium attorneys
in Massachusetts. "It is so much easier to be practicing
law with competitors who love each other," he noted.
Marcus also praised his son, Jake, (earning a joint
MBA and law degree at the University of Miami) for
creating Intestinal Fortitude, a non-profit foundation
that has raised more than $1 million to date to support
the research efforts of the national Crohn's & Colitis
Foundation.
Noting some of the generational changes that are upsetting employers in many professions, Marcus rebutted
criticism of millennials for being less driven professionally than previous generations. In their insistence on a
work-life balance, "the millennials have it right," he said.
He also urged colleagues to judge others less and do
more for them. "Everyone you know is fighting a battle
you know nothing about," he observed, adding, "Be
generous to those less fortunate than you-there are
many of them...[Ultimately], you will be judged not by
how much you love others but by how much you are
loved by them."

STEPHEN MARCUS

40

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