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Annual Convention · Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2008 · The Fairmont Copley Plaza · Boston
Schedule of Events | Featured Programs | Presentations | Photo Gallery

Friday, October 31

Workshop: New Trends in Dispute Resolution

Dispute resolution is becoming the alternative of choice across a broad spectrum of complex business conflicts and situations. This Workshop looks at trends in dispute resolution practice and offers opportunities for Counselors to learn more about conflict resolution options and new standards for practitioners.

Cross cultural challenges For Dispute Resolvers: Training in Iraq (and West Africa)
Alan E. Gross, Ph.D., Interim Senior Director, Safe Horizon Mediation Program

Exporting training designed to promote peaceful conflict resolution to developing countries has potential benefit for trainers and the populations they serve. However, transplanting Western strategies and skills is not without challenges. This presentation will describe the development and delivery of conflict management trainings in Iraq and Western Africa with focus on adjustment for cultural differences and recognition of underlying similarities across cultures. Difficulties in adapting and gaining acceptance for Western mediation and dispute resolution to other cultures will also be discussed.

Deal Mediation: A New Application for the Mediation Process
Joan Sterns Johnsen, Esq., JSJ Mediations

Deal Mediation is increasing in popularity in the U.S. and abroad. It employs a skilled neutral to assist in the negotiation of a complex deal to increase the likelihood of success. The concept is not new, because historically parties have relied on intermediaries they pay to conduct negotiations for them, such as lawyers, brokers or other consultants – who are thereby biased in favor of their employer. A “Deal Mediator” shifts the dynamic and represents and is paid by both parties, but favors neither. He has the trust of both sides and manages the negotiation to help all sides achieve their objective.

Overview of ABA Task Force Report on Improving Mediation Quality
Philip S. Cottone, CRE, President, Property Trust Advisory Company, LLC

In this summary, Counselors will learn what qualities clients value in mediators, as discovered through research conducted by the American Bar Association Task Force on Improving Mediation Quality. The results provide Counselors with practical information that can be applicable to their dispute resolution practices, or can increase knowledge of successful mediation techniques.

DEVELOPMENT TOUR + :
South Boston Seaport District

The Seaport is developing into a vibrant 24-hour mixed-use area. Adjacent to the central
business district, it is a focus of Boston’s redevelopment. The tour will include a presentation
and overview of the Seaport by a representative of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and
stops at the Seaport Square project development site, The Institute for Contemporary Art
property and the Fargo Building with discussion of the master planning challenges of building
along a major harbor.

+ This is a ticketed event, all registered Counselors, spouses, and guests may purchase tickets.

Saturday, November 1

OPEN FORUM: CRE International Strategy
Jonathan H. Avery, CRE, Principal, Avery Associates

This 75-minute session will explore The Counselors’ current international profile -- and how that role might be enhanced in the future. With discussion led by Jon Avery, CRE, Chair of the CRE International Steering Committee, the session will focus on YOUR ideas and needs in today’s global economy. What should we do to assure members have immediate access to trusted, seasoned, well connected practitioners throughout the world who share the CRE credential and the business ethics it represents? How can we enhance the member experience for U.S.-based and international members by bringing you together in new ways? Where will capital of the future come from? And what opportunities exist in the global marketplace that CREs can tap into? Make your voice heard and help chart the direction of The Counselors’ international expansion, strategy and direction.

GENERAL SESSION: Real Estate Capital Outlook and Investor Response
In these unprecedented times, with markets and governments acting and reacting in unprecedented fashion, this session is perfectly timed to offer understanding of the capital markets and the economic issues affecting the real estate industry. This session will explore the state of the markets, and how multiple factors and recent key decisions could influence the state of the economy and the real estate climate for years to come. Douglas Poutasse, Executive Director of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, joins London-based Christopher Jonas, CRE, to provide a riveting expose of real estate in the early 21st century. Jill Hatton, CRE, will moderate the session. Bring your questions and plan for audience interaction.

GENERAL SESSION:
The Great Forecasting Question: What Lies Ahead and Where Do We Go From Here?
Ray Torto, CRE, Global Chief Economist, CB Richard Ellis, will address the current economic situation and how it will continue to affect the real estate sectors in the U.S. in 2009 and beyond. As a widely published authority on market research analysis, economic forecasting, investment strategy and investment management, he will present the facts and statistics and explain opportunities that lie ahead for CREs who understand the factors affecting industry decline and growth patterns and their effect on the global economy. Panelists including Marc Louargand, CRE, Principal, Saltash Partners LLC, will join in the discussion—and debate.


BUSINESS ISSUES FORUMS:
Like-minded Counselors attend Business Issues Forums to discuss and dissect the challenges of the industry, focusing on the most cutting-edge topics within specific disciplines. A combination of presentation and dialogue, these sessions delve deeper than what you'd likely find at other industry events.
Each session offers expert presenters or panelists with lively moderation. The floor is open for questions and extemporaneous commentary - and you can expect to gain new perspectives as everyone shares facts, views and results from their own practices and experience. An unexpected benefit many Counselors discover is the opportunity to build greater professional and personal bonds.

Corporate Real Estate
Michele Flynn, CRE, president of Expense Management Solutions, Inc., and Von W. “Buck” Moody, CRE, senior vice president of corporate real estate, Wachovia Corporation, and Barbara Hampton, Vice President Workplace Resources, The Hartford will highlight how corporations are tracking and benchmarking real estate costs, how office and industrial space needs are changing in the global economy and how Counselors can better serve corporations. This session will be moderated by Martha O’Mara, CRE, Managing Director, Corporate Portfolio Analytics.
Dennis DeSanits, CRE and Martha O’Mara, CRE, Forum Chairs

Sustainability
David Wood, director, The Institute for Responsible Investment at Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, will discuss the recent Olmsted Green project. This 42-acre development in the heart of Boston is one of the newest and most popular “green” developments. The session features a presentation and a tour of the 287-unit project.
Theddi Wright Chappell, CRE and Brent Palmer, CRE, Forum Chairs

Litigation Services
This two-part session will help Counselors increase effectiveness as expert witnesses. A member of the FTI Forensic and Litigation Consulting Segment, will provide information about the nuances of behavior and body language in a trial, with demonstrations. George Powell, Esq., CRE, Attorney, Duane Morris LLP, will also conduct a mock deposition of Jerry Zaddack, CRE, on a complex real estate matter that was actually litigated. There will be lively interaction among presenters and Forum attendees.
Deborah Haskell, CRE and Bob McKennon, CRE, Forum Chairs

Capital Markets
John Hynes, III, CRE, CEO and Managing Partner of Gale International, and one of Boston’s top developers will discuss funding and how they obtained the capital needed for a major mixed-use development. Additional time is scheduled for discussion and debate about capital markets topics that were presented in earlier sessions. The Forum will end with an off-site tour of the One Franklin property.
Julie McIntosh, CRE and Harris Collins, CRE, Forum Chairs

Public/Private Partnerships
This Forum is intended to increase understanding of the entities and economics of a public/private partnership. It includes presentations on identifying the entities involved in project development and what economic benefits and limitations each bring. An off-site tour will include the One Franklin property.
Alan Hembel, CRE and Mike MaRous, CRE Forum Chairs

Sunday, November 2

Buffet Breakfast and Real Estate Roundtable Session
With the U.S. presidential election imminent, questions abound regarding the effect this election will have on the economy (both in the U.S. and globally), the capital markets, and the real estate industry as a whole. Regardless of your politics, this breakfast program promises to be lively and informative. Clifton E. (Chip) Rodgers, Jr., Senior Vice President at the Washington, D.C.- based Real Estate Roundtable, will give his perspectives and will predict changes and outcomes just two days before ballots are cast on November 4th. Rodgers has been at the center of every major piece of financial services legislation and regulatory action for over a decade, successfully representing real estate’s stake in the national policy arena on financial services issues. He has experience in capital markets, real estate investment banking, work-outs and debt restructuring activities at major companies including Mellon Bank, Fannie Mae and The First Boston Corporation. He is currently focused on the credit crisis and on implementing national policy measures to restore liquidity, mitigate market tension and safeguard systemic stability.

GENERAL SESSION: What Really Happened in the Subprime Market and Have We Fixed the Right Things?
Hugh Kelly, CRE, Session Moderator

This session promises to be a uniquely candid one -- an examination of the state of the industry, and the factors leading up to the credit crisis and resulting market turmoil. Hugh Kelly, CRE, Economist and Chair of the CRE Ethics Committee, will moderate a discussion that examines decision-making responsibilities, risk evaluation and mitigation, moral hazard and the ramifications of the risk-shifting/risk-sharing structures in real estate finance. How did the situation get so out of hand? How do we get out of this mess, and what is the tradeoff between letting faulty decision-makers bear the consequences of risky behavior and the resulting “collateral damage” in the economy from extended dislocations in the financial markets? What are the lessons learned and principles to guide Counselors in advising clients going forward?

This will be a dynamic session featuring facts, analysis and frank dialogue from Charles Citro, CRE, Vice President, Chief Credit Officer, Goldman Sachs, Neil Madson, CRE, Senior Vice President, Head of Private Equity, Aegon USA Realty Advisors, Inc., Tim Riddiough, CRE, Ph.D., Professor, E.J. Plesko Chair, Graaskamp Center Director, University of Wisconsin and Martha Peyton, CRE, Managing Director, TIAA-CREF.

GENERAL SESSION:
An Insider's Look: Challenge and Compromise in a Public/Private Partnership
Large institutional development requires considerable planning and multi-disciplinary dialogue. This session will explore the legal, political, physical and community impact
when corporations or institutions expand, and will explore the way Counselors can successfully work with each of these entities to promote cooperation, resulting in a development that meets the needs of all concerned. Challenges, ideas, arguments and lessons learned are
scalable across projects of all size and geography.

DEVELOPMENT TOUR + :
Public/Private Partnership Tour
In every community, regardless of size or demographics, corporate or institutional expansion
can bring dramatic changes and challenges. It can place a strain on resources,
neighborhoods, constituencies and relationships. This tour will visit a significant institutional
expansion project and focus on the challenges, economics, politics and compromises
entailed in satisfying all entities involved in or affected by the development.

+ This is a ticketed event, all registered Counselors, spouses, and guests may purchase tickets.

Monday, November 3

Buffet Breakfast Roundtables
Coordinated by Joe Foster, CRE, and based on feedback from attendees requesting more
time to talk informally with each other, this breakfast offers a friendly intellectual experience
over a delicious breakfast meal. The small-table discussion (groups of 6 – 8) allows for open
sharing of perspectives on what everyone believes to be the most important issues and
questions of the day – and each participant’s own business interests. Make sure your travel
plans allow time in your schedule to take advantage of this new Monday morning opportunity.

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