COVID-19 has forced the marketplaces industry to relitigate co-tenancy provisions, kick-out clauses and other issues once thought to be settled legal principles. These are among the topics planned for the Nov. 3 to 5 ICSC+U.S. Law conference at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, where the marketplaces industry’s top legal practitioners will gather for the first time since the pandemic began. The conference will consist of:

• general sessions to provide broad perspectives
• in-depth seminars with audience participation, each led by two or three practitioners
• interactive workshops typically led by two practitioners
• peer-to-peer sessions in which small groups will break out and then report back to the larger group

Among the sessions

See the full agenda and register for ICSC+U.S. Law here. Keep reading for a few highlights.

How to make money selling marijuana legally

A workshop called The Good, the Bad and the Unintended in Cannabis Retail Leasing and facilitated by Thomas Haren of Frantz Ward and Steve Katkov of Cozen O’Connor will focus on topics like the emergence of REITs as landlords, antiquated covenants, conditions and restrictions governing shopping centers and quirky zoning laws.

How to manage a grocery goliath

As supermarkets evolve post-COVID, these increasingly powerful tenants are asking for more control over all elements of the shopping center. A peer-to-peer discussion called Everyone Wants to Rule the World: Quest for Control in Supermarket Leasing will focus on use provisions, common area rights, exclusives and restrictions, the impacts of the new normal on the grocery business and more. As Facilitators Stanley Esrey and Buckley’s Audra Esrey and Goulston & Storrs’ Melissa Rivers also will highlight compromises between other tenants and these industry giants.

How to navigate joint ventures successfully

A workshop called Real Estate Joint Venture Negotiations: Watching for Pitfalls will focus on complex terms that, if not negotiated carefully, can become susceptible to disputes or to other unintended consequences. Gerd Alexander of Paul Hastings and Joshua Hanna of Kirkland & Ellis will help examine distribution waterfalls, contribution obligations and remedies, governance rights and obligations, exit strategies and mechanics, and more. The discussion also will cover common pitfalls in real estate joint ventures and best practices for avoiding them.

How to understand the legal implications of the virtual workplace

During the pandemic, the practice of law has become increasingly virtual. Nonetheless, lawyers have the same ethical duties of compliance, diligence and communication. A peer-to-peer session called “Not Now; I’m on a Zoom Call!” Multi-Jurisdictional Practice in a Virtual World, led by Desmond Connall Jr. of Ballard Spahr and Nancy Little of McGuireWoods, will explore best practices for competence, confidentiality and supervision, among other factors.

How COVID-19 has impacted retailer bankruptcies

An interactive workshop called Is the Earthquake Over or Should We Brace for Aftershocks?: Landlord-Tenant Bankruptcy and Lease Renegotiation Issues During and After COVID-19 will highligh changes in the bankruptcy code, as well as the complexity that COVID-19 added to retailer bankruptcies, from pre-filing deferred rent deals to rent suspension motions and extension of time to assume and reject leases. Facilitators Katherine Hopkins of Kelly Hart, Ivan Gold of Allen Matkins and John Kane of Kane Russell Coleman & Logan also will cover the shift in negotiations between landlords and tenants, as well as the impact debtor-in-possession lenders and new sponsors can have on those conversations.