Robert H. Levin -Attorney at Law         

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES 

          Land Conservation Legal Service (LCLS) is the only law firm in Maine that specializes in land conservation.  LCLS has a 10-year track record of providing comprehensive legal assistance to land trusts and conservation agencies.        

           Principal Karin Marchetti Ponte has been a Maine lawyer for 24 years, with a practice devoted exclusively to land conservation.  She is a nationally recognized expert in the field, and offers popular workshops in conservation land transactions and easement stewardship.  Karin began her work in conservation in 1985 as General Counsel to Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a position she holds today.  She expanded her practice in 1992 as founder of LCLS.

             On November 1, 2002, attorney Rob Levin became Of Counsel to LCLS.  Rob’s assistance has allowed Karin to greatly expand her capacity, as well as the scope of LCLS’ services to land trusts and conservation agencies.

           Rob graduated from New York University Law School in 2001 and was admitted to the Maine Bar in May 2002.  Over the last three years, he has worked in various capacities with the Land Trust Alliance, the Maryland Environmental Trust, and several Maine land trusts.  He also works with landowners who have an interest in conservation.

           Legal Assistance for Conservation Transactions – Karin is one of the nation’s foremost experts in drafting and reviewing conservation easements, conservation plans, purchase agreements, options, and related conservation transaction documents.  She and Rob work closely together to provide land trusts with timely and thorough transactional counsel.  They also assist land trusts in securing the services of appraisers, surveyors and title attorneys.

           Stewardship and Easement Defense – Stewardship, amendment, and defense issues are increasingly common as land trusts acquire more preserves and easements.  Karin and Rob assist land trusts in properly responding to particular events, as well as instituting sound policies to ensure that land trusts are better prepared to oversee their stewardship responsibilities.

           Nonprofit Regulations Compliance – Rob reviews charter documents (bylaws and articles of incorporation) and ensures compliance with federal tax-exempt regulations and state regulation of conversion and conflict-of-interest transactions.  He also conducts comprehensive Legal Audits of an organization’s operations and policies, helping to identify strengths and areas of improvement. 

          Start Ups, Mergers, Conversions, Dissolutions – Are you thinking of incorporating a new land trust?  Perhaps your land trust is contemplating a major structural change such as a merger or dissolution.  Rob can help ensure that these actions are carried out as smoothly as possible.         

          Planned Giving Consulting and Legal Services – Rob helps land trusts initiate and manage planned giving programs.  He is well versed in the many different aspects of planned giving, both legal and programmatic, and assists organizations in determining whether a planned giving program makes sense, and if so, in drafting the policies and documents to implement such initiatives.

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