Lisa Anne Hawkins

Ms. Hawkins has a special interest and expertise in conservation easements, and has served as legal counsel to a public-private task force regarding the tax implications of myriad land conservation tools for battlefield preservation.

Experience

• Served as counsel to numerous developers of mixed-use planned communities, industrial parks, commercial subdivisions and residential subdivisions in Virginia as well as in metropolitan Denver, Colorado and resorts in Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek and Keystone, Colorado, including but not limited to advice and representation with respect to:
  • Acquisition of development parcels (including complex, tax-free exchanges);
  • Land use matters (ranging from annexation of properties to rezoning to terms and approval of planned unit developments/master plans and subdivision plats);
  • Negotiation of public dedications, subdivision improvement agreements, and public easements;
  • Negotiation and drafting of contracts, restrictive covenants, deeds and other documents relating to the sale of development parcels to third-party developers and home builders;
  • Formation and operation of property owners' associations;
  • Creation and operation of commercial and residential condominiums;
  • Negotiation of complex contracts and restrictive covenants regarding developer's sale of land within a planned community to an unaffiliated golf course developer and operator;
  • Review and negotiation of title matters with respect to acquisition and sale of property; and
  • Interstate Land Sales Act exemption and registration
• Served as general counsel for real estate and finance matters in relation to business merger, acquisition and sale transactions, including the conduct of due diligence, title review, document drafting and settlement
• Represented lenders and borrowers in a wide range of complex, commercial loan transactions, including loans of hundreds of millions of dollars (and other currencies) secured by assets of various types in numerous states and foreign countries
• Assisted hundreds of clients in structuring and closing like-kind exchanges, including deferred exchanges and reverse Starker exchanges
• Successfully represented landowners in hotly contested rezoning applications, annexations and other land use matters
• Represented landowners in the creation of conservation easements, including analysis of the tax benefit and structure of such grants, a subject on which she has spoken at seminars and public forums
• Represented landlords and tenants with respect to a wide range of leasing matters, including service as general counsel to numerous landlords of commercial office, warehouse and retail space
• Served as general counsel to property owner associations

Honors and Awards

• "Legal Elite," Virginia Business Magazine, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007
• Outstanding Volunteer, Boys and Girls Clubs, 1998
• Legal Writing Award, 1992

Education

• University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia
  J.D., 1993, Order of the Coif, Virginia Law Review, Executive Editor
• Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia, 1986
  B.A., Summa Cum Laude

Professional and Community Associations

• Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, President
• Harrisonburg/Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors, 2002-2004
• Virginia Bar Association, Real Estate Section
• American Bar Association, Real Estate Section

Published Works

• Author: ”Dollars and Sense of Conservation Easements," Leader, 2004
• Author: "Living Will Statutes: A Minor Oversight," 78 Virginia Law Review