Over the last four years, we have seen an interesting trend begin to develop at Realcomm. In 2000, we saw a growing number of Commercial Real Estate Lawyers attend the conference. These were not your average attorneys; they represented some of the brightest, most progressive, innovative and forward thinking Commercial Real Estate Lawyers in the world. This distinguished group of legal minds has continued to meet and grow into a more organized body. This year, the Realcomm Commercial Real Estate Lawyers Technology Task Force met behind closed doors and discussed some of the most sophisticated issues that result when technology, the Internet, automation and Commercial Real Estate converge.

What made this meeting of Commercial Real Estate lawyers so interesting was the fact that many of the issues they were discussing will not become mainstream conversations for another couple of years. Listening to them talk was like looking into a crystal ball and being able to see our industry 24 months from now. The following represent just a few of the conversations and subsequent trends that may be arising in the field of Commercial Real Estate Law as it relates to the impact of automation on our industry.

a) Automated Leases (Documents/Transactions)
We have been discussing this topic in concept for over five years. In fact, Realcomm, being a landlord that leases space (booths) once a year, has automated the leasing process to the point where we are totally paperless. Understandably, a contract for a 10-foot booth is significantly different from a complex lease. But many believe this concept can and will be applied to the commercial leasing process. This year at Realcomm, we actually saw a demonstration by Ronald D. Sernau, Esquire of Proskauer Rose, a Manhattan law firm, which automated the creation of a very complex lease. In conversations with Ron and Andrew Herz of Bingham McCutchen, they communicated how this once arduous task, which could take up to four days, could be reduced to a couple of hours. Although there is still a way to go, the prospect of automating leases and thus reducing man-hours, while at the same time increasing accuracy and intellect, will have a profound impact on the way we lease space in the future. The day of the fill-in-the-blank lease on the web is not as far away as many believe.

b) Access Issues
As broadband becomes more of an issue for building owners, operators and their tenants, landlords and telecommunication service providers continue to debate who has access to what. While the providers have argued they should have open and equal access, owners have stood firm in their belief that it is their property and they can choose their vendors accordingly. There has been much litigation and legislation on this topic and this year the reality of wireless has reopened and fueled the debate. In one case, a major mall owner sent a letter to its tenants stating that they in fact owned the "air" rights inside the mall and the tenants could not install private wireless networks. This meant that McDonalds and Starbucks, tow retailers exploring the business opportunities surrounding this emerging technology, could not offer the service. With wireless becoming more reliable, secure, robust, inexpensive and accepted by the generally population, this issue of access, and now more specifically wireless access, is sure to continue to impact the operations of Commercial Real Estate companies.

c) Copyright Laws and Data Ownership
Again this year at Realcomm, the discussion of who owns the data was one of the most anticipated topics. With the proliferation of new data distribution models such as Exchanges, some of the industry's more seasoned information companies continue to be concerned about their data. One of the big questions, "who owns the address and basic building information?" Pictures are easy since you might be able to identify format and style, hence ownership, but what happens when someone downloads the base data into another system and begins to modify and enhance the information. There are basically two types of data, static, that which does not change and active, information such as a current lease rate or even owner name that constantly changes. This right of ownership will continue to be an issue until we can identify every field, determine its origin and track all subsequent changes. This is a confusing issue at best when you consider the information providers and the exchanges, but when you consider all the third party service organizations, such as brokers and appraisers who need to augment base data, the conversation gets even more complex. Based on the number of accusations and lawsuits over the years, it is safe to say that this discussion will not be over anytime soon.

d) Communications Interconnectivity And Interdependence In Mixed-Use Buildings
Another trend surfacing this year involved owners stepping up and trying to figure out the appropriate broadband strategies for their buildings. With a continuing reliance on telecommunication, owners and operators need to understand this topic more than ever. John Gilbert, COO of Rudin Management in New York, owners and operators of 3 Times Square and 55 Broad, stood up during one breakout session and declared that any building owner who is not paying attention to these important issues does not deserve to be in the business. With that being said, the whole issue of who owns the network can begin to get pretty complex. A building owner who invests a great deal of money on a fiber infrastructure and treats broadband as a utility does not want a major tenant, because of security concerns, to build their own backbone. Included in these discussions are the debates centered on giving broadband to tenants for free and ultimately upsetting the service providers who have lost business because of this aggregation. As our reliance on connectivity grows, it will become ever more important that the issues between tenants, landlords and operators relating to telecommunications, ownership and continuity be resolved.

e) Property Liability Issues Relating To Slow Adoption of Technology-Based Security Systems
This topic did not find its way onto the main stage but could be one of the sleeper trends that rears its head in the next couple of years. In the aftermath of 9/11, there are more and more conversations centered on the idea that building owners have a certain responsibility to provide a secure environment in which people can work. While there is no way a building owner could ever prevent an air attack like the one we saw in September of 2001, there are other security measures available that should be considered, such as bio-agents in air systems, restricting access with visitor management systems and sophisticated video surveillance systems which offer great capabilities than traditional analog systems. One lawyer at the conference felt that if it can be demonstrated that an owner blatantly ignored the issue and made no attempt to secure their building in anyway and a terrorist-type incident occurred and caused harm to the tenants, that building owner could be held liable. It was also suggested that if a firm demonstrated the contrary and could show an attempt at creating a more secure environment, they could in fact reduce their exposure and might even be able to lower operator expenses such as insurance. This is one topic that warrants serious consideration by all and will no doubt continue to be an agenda item for the Commercial Real Estate Lawyers Technology Task Force.

One thing for sure, the convergence of two major industries, Commercial Real Estate and Technology/Automation, will generate a number of new legal issues. We believe, as does John Gilbert of Rudin, that in order to be effective in this industry, whether it be Owner, Developer, Property Manager, Broker, Architect, Corporate Real Estate Executive, Lender or Lawyer, you must stay aware and educated on these new technologies and the impact they continue to have on our industry.