General Counsel

At Allen Law Corp we partner with your association to create a long-term relationship that board members and community managers can depend on for all of your association’s needs. Our attorneys have extensive experience in all matters of community association corporate governance, including director fiduciary duties, business judgment, association management, and compliance with the Davis-Stirling Act.
We help our clients to ensure that their governing documents are being properly and uniformly enforced by providing clear and concise legal opinions and concrete answers to difficult questions that enable informed decision-making. We strive to keep our association clients and their boards educated and informed on changes to the relevant laws. We provide regular legal updates, case law reviews, webinars, and board training seminars to help directors perform their duties. Our clients can be confident that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to represent their communities. We are one of the premier law firms representing community associations throughout California due to our commitment to quality representation and attention to detail. We represent common interest developments of all sizes and formats, including single-family in planned developments, residential and commercial condominium associations, high-rise buildings, and stock-cooperatives. As a full-service law firm that specializes in the representation of common interest developments, we are able to meet all of the legal needs of your community, no matter the size of the association or the challenges it faces.
Contract Drafting and Negotiation
Contracts are an everyday part of association governance and contractual liability is a risk in every transaction. Every contract should be written or reviewed by attorneys representing your best interests, and no contract is too small to warrant legal review. Massive liabilities can arise even from the smallest and most mundane agreements. We provide comprehensive contract drafting, negotiation, compliance, and enforcement services for both special project contracts and ongoing vendor service agreements.

Elections and Meeting Procedures

The laws governing community association meetings and elections are constantly changing, creating challenges for boards and managers to navigate. We guide our clients through the cumbersome and confusing statutory election procedures, notice and nomination requirements, and required deadlines, to ensure that our association clients are able to hold fair and proper elections.
Governing Document Amendments and Restatements
An association’s governing documents are an indispensable and paramount part of the community. The governing documents are used to determine and establish how your community is maintained, managed, and operated, and they should be updated periodically to ensure that the specific needs of each community are being met. We work with our clients to prepare comprehensive governing documents that enable boards to govern in a fair, impartial, and consistent manner.

We provide ongoing support to interpret and enforce the association’s governing documents when needed. Whether enforcing existing CC&Rs or amending and restating them, we work with community leaders to inform and educate homeowners and educate them regarding their rights and responsibilities as property owners. We work with each community to ensure enforcement methods are clear, consistent, and fair to all members. Amending or restating an association’s CC&Rs and Bylaws is one of the most important projects a board can assume, and we will guide your community through every step of the process to ensure success.
Rules, Policies, and Resolutions

We believe community rules should be designed to encourage compliance rather than punish noncompliance, although fines and enforcement policies are a necessary part of any association rules. From basic codes of conduct to policies regarding the installation of solar energy systems or electric vehicle charging stations, our attorneys craft rules, policies, and resolutions that meet the specific needs of each community.
Whether you are in need of a policy regarding water intrusion issues or rules governing security camera installations, the documents prepared should be clear, concise, easy to understand, and easy to comply with. Our team revises existing complex, burdensome, or outdated rules to create new, prudent regulations that meet current Civil Code requirements and ensure that all property owners receive due process.
Enforcement Actions
Community association leadership must include efficient and effective methods of conflict resolution and encourage respectful engagement and discussion among residents. We encourage timely, consistent, and fair enforcement procedures to promote compliance, and we believe that all homeowners should be treated with respect when faced with compliance issues or enforcement proceedings.

The principles of due process require that the association provide prompt and cost-effective dispute resolution while ensuring compliance with its governing documents for the benefit of the entire community. Respectful disagreement is a necessary and important part of community association living. The Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes allow the parties to discuss and resolve their disputes in an efficient, cost effective manner.
We focus on dispute resolution that avoids costly and disruptive litigation whenever possible. However, we are well equipped to successfully prosecute or defend our association clients in litigation whenever needed, while working within the association’s goals and budget constraints. When litigation cannot be avoided, our attorneys will evaluate your dispute or claim, develop a litigation plan, and provide you with regular updates on the status of your case.
Assessment Collection

Payment of regular and special assessments is the obligation of each individual homeowner, and delinquent assessments create a burden on the entire community, leading to deferred maintenance and cashflow problems. Our attorneys are able to pursue unpaid assessment debts in a manner that is simple, cost effective, and most importantly, successful. We are also one of the few firms qualified and able to represent community associations as bankruptcy creditors.
Fair Housing Discrimination and Harassment Issues
Fair housing discrimination and harassment issues are complex. These laws prohibit unlawful discrimination and harassment, and may require communities to accommodate residents with disabilities to provide them with the opportunity for equal use and enjoyment of their home. We educate our clients on the nuances of fair housing laws, helping to protect the association as well and preserve the dignity and respect of each resident in the process.
