Agenda

Registration:                    8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:             8:30 – 11:45 am

Lunch (On your own):       11:45 am – 12:45 pm

Afternoon Session:           12:45 – 4:30 pm

Locating Land Boundaries on Paper (And on the Ground)
C. Beland

   Interpreting land descriptions
   Metes and bounds
   Lot and block
   Dos and don’ts for writing descriptions
   Applying principles of boundary location
   Collecting and evaluating all types of boundary evidence:documents, physical evidence, people, surveys
   Locating the described land on a map
   Locating the described land on the ground
   Solving land description and boundary location problems

Identifying, Classifying and Locating Easements
M. Boardman

   What is and is not an easement
   Reviewing state law on easements
   Creating easements: easements by necessity, easements by use, written easements
   Identifying critical distinctions between easements in gross, easements appurtenant and prescriptive easements
   Maintaining easements
   Knowing when and how to terminate easements
   Obstructing use of easements and determining remedies for obstruction

Defining Trespass and Adverse Possession
R. Apkarian Jr.

   Defining trespass
   Reviewing the history of adverse possession
   Maintaining a claim for adverse possession
   Statute of limitations
   Elements of a claim
   Defending against a claim for adverse possession
   Examining recent adverse possession cases

Understanding Riparian and Water Rights
S. Kelley

   History and development of riparian rights
   Determining land boundaries near the water line
   Determining access rights to surface waters
   Determining rights to groundwater
   Complying with regulations restricting access to and use of surface water and groundwater

Electric Utility Easements and Rights of Way
P. Murphy

   Current law on electric utility easements
   Basis for and definition of easements
   Various types of easement forms and their uses
   Encroachments and interferences
   Vegetation issues
   Condemnation law
   Current issues involving electric utility easements

Credits

Attorneys
     Michigan: Non-Mandatory CLE
     6.5 Indiana CLE Hours
     6.5 Ohio CLE Hours 

Professional Engineers
     6.5 CE Hours

Professional Surveyors
     6.5 CE Hours

Continuing Education Credit Information

This seminar is open to the public and offers a non-mandatory continuing education opportunity to Michigan attorneys. The Indiana Commission on CLE and the Ohio Commission on CLE have each approved this program for 6.5 CLE hours.

This seminar offers Michigan professional engineers and professional surveyors 6.5 continuing education hours. Educators and courses are not subject to preapproval in Michigan.

Professional engineers and surveyors seeking continuing education in other states will be able to apply the hours earned at this seminar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility. Michigan specific course content is not eligible for continuing education credit in Indiana and Ohio.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.

Speakers

Richard Apkarian

Paesano Akkashian Apkarian, P.C.

Paesano Akkashian Apkarian, P.C., Bloomfield Hills, MIMr. Apkarian joined Paesano Akkashian Apkarian, P.C. in 2013. He was previously with Dickinson Wright PLLC for ten years. Mr. Apkarian is a trial lawyer who represents landowners and tenants in real estate litigation, including boundary disputes, property damage claims, lease disputes and eminent domain litigation. He also represents companies and individuals in a variety of business cases, including shareholder disputes, contract actions and collections. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Apkarian negotiates and drafts numerous contracts and real estate documents. He received his law degree, with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University. Mr. Apkarian has been named a “Super Lawyer” in Commercial Litigation by Michigan Super Lawyers each year since 2013.

Chris Beland

PEA Inc.

PEA Inc., Brighton, MIMr. Beland is a professional surveyor for PEA where he is a senior project manager specializing in land development with a focus on acquisitions and redevelopment. Through his education and experience, he has learned that the most important part of any project is the people on the project team and how they cohesively work together toward the same vision. Whether it’s the client or the end user, understanding their needs, expectations and perceptions is paramount to the project’s success. Mr. Beland was most recently the Director of the Office of Land Survey and Remonumentation for theState of Michigan and brings 20+ years of experience in the land surveying industry in public and private practice. He graduated from Ferris State University with a BS degree in Surveying Engineering, and he graduated from Northwood University with an MBA degree in Business Management.

Mischa Boardman

Zausmer, August & Caldwell, P.C.

Zausmer, August & Caldwell, P.C., Farmington Hills, MIMs. Boardman is a shareholder with Zausmer, August & Caldwell, P.C. She focuses her practice on eminent domain and commercial litigation around issues involving trade secrets, real property, construction, and business torts at the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts. Her clients include transmission companies, municipalities, publicly traded REITs, Fortune 500 corporations, small enterprises, and individuals. She frequently speaks on condemnation and right-of-way topics. Ms. Boardman earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan and has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer and a Michigan Top Lawyer. In 2015, Michigan Lawyers Weekly named her to its elite annual list of “Women in theLaw.”

Steve M. Kelley

Steve M. Kelley was admitted to practice in Michigan in 1981. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and its Environmental, Insurance and Indemnity, and Appellate Law sections, and he is a past member of the Surface Water/Groundwater Committee of the Environmental Law Section. Mr. Kelley also is a member of the American Bar Association and its Environment, Energy & Resources, Litigation, and Tort Trial & Insurance Practice sections. He served as chair of the Environmental & Energy Policy Committee of the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce (now Detroit Regional Chamber) for three years. Mr. Kelley has been named a Michigan Super Lawyer each year since 2008 and was elected a Life Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. Admitted to all Michigan courts, he practices statewide from his office in St. Clair Shores. Mr. Kelley also served 16 years as a trustee of and four years as president of the Michigan Nature Association.

Patricia Murphy

ITC Holdings Corp.

ITC Holdings Corp., Novi, MIFor the past nine years, Patricia Murphy has served as in house counsel for ITC Holdings Corp., the country’s largest independent electric transmission company. As a member of the Capital Projects and Maintenance Group, her practice involves the acquisition of real estate rights, including transmission line and vegetation management easements for ITC. Ms. Murphy also serves as the company’s primary vegetation management litigation specialist.