REBA Member Resource Guide & Forms

The REBA Handbook of Standards & Forms is available to all members at no additional cost. Click on the links below to view/download individual Title Standards, Practice Standards, Ethical Standards and Forms.   

Members of REBA are welcome and encouraged to join up to three of REBA’s Practice Area Sections. Each Section, which is chaired/co-chaired by an expert in the related subject, works to further the practice of real estate law in that particular field. 

REBA’s web site, www.reba.net, features a free referral database where potential clients can search for a participating attorney by name, city/town or area of practice.  Take advantage of this free service and promote your practice on the REBA web site!

The REBA Mentoring Program is intended to assist members who are new to the practice of real estate law.  Our mentors are experienced real estate lawyers who are committed to providing newer lawyers with guidance to help them in their professional development. They will be available to discuss real estate related matters and provide informal guidance. The program is intended to be flexible and informal, and to develop collegiality between the participants.  Matches are for a period of six months. 

Any current REBA Member who refers a non-member to join will receive $50 in REBA Rewards, which can be used towards event registration, publication purchases, and more! 

REBA Foundation holds two semi-annual conferences that include up to 10 educational breakout sessions, 50 exhibitors and sponsors, as well as 700 attendees. All members of the Association receive a discount on registration to these events. CLE accreditation for New Hampshire and Rhode Island is also available. Credits are available for professional liability insurance and for continuing legal education in other states, as well.  Publications from past conferences, including conference syllabi and multimedia CD-ROMs with audio from conference breakout sessions, are available for purchase. 

Members are now invited to post available employment opportunities and their résumés to be viewed by potential employers on the REBA web site!

REBA has long advocated the passage of legislation at the State House to advance the practice of conveyancing, and real estate law generally.  Successes in recent years have included:

• title-curative/protective legislation (curing titles impacted by the Ibanez Case; lis pendens reform; conclusive effect of foreclosure affidavit);
• laws that modernized other statutes (mortgage discharge law, homestead reform, use of informal probate with power of sale);
• consumer protection measures (required title certifications in mortgage closings, good funds law);
• laws that facilitated real estate development (mechanics lien reform, authorization for limited liability companies, permit extension laws, expanded Land Court subject matter jurisdiction, expanded right to withdraw land from the Torrens system);
• laws that heralded registry of deeds improvements (elimination of owners duplicate certificates; uniform practices and procedures at registries; enhanced technology supports); and,
• REBA has also succeeded in the defeat of many legislative proposals that would have been detrimental to the integrity of real estate titles and the practice of real estate law.

The REBA Ethics Section offers individual, one-on-one advice to members who encounter conflicts concerns or ethical issues in their day-to-day practice. This program is intended to offer confidential, practical and pragmatic advice to members with immediate, fact-based concerns. For more information, email ethics@reba.net.

This electronic newsletter keeps members up-to-date on breaking legislative news and national affairs relating to the practice of real estate law and other adjacent fields, as well as recent and upcoming REBA events, conferences and committee meetings. For more information, email membership@reba.net.

Our goal is to provide members with pro bono opportunities that are tailored to their skills, resources and availability, while satisfying the SJC goal that every lawyer provide 25 hours of pro bono public assistance per year. For more information, email admin@reba.net.

REBA is the only bar association making concerted efforts to end the unauthorized practice of law in Massachusetts. REBA’s UPL Committee meets to discuss and strategize how to end the unauthorized practice of law. REBA is currently involved with the NREIS litigation in an effort to further stem the unauthorized practice of law in Massachusetts.