Molecular, cell, and developmental biology… Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with attorneys? For one RMWBH attorney, it is an important step in his journey to RMWBH leadership and client service. That attorney is Clint Brown.
Clint earned his undergraduate degree with a focus in molecular, cell, and developmental biology from the University of Texas at Austin with the initial intent of following a scientific route for his career. But coming out of college he had not fully decided on pursuing the medical route. Coming from a family of attorneys, Clint had to make sure the legal side was not for him. “So, I got a job at a law firm and clerked for that law firm and decided that’s the route I wanted to take,” Clint said. And as the saying goes the rest is history. Though the journey to the POA world was not completely a straight line.
While in law school, Clint maintained an interest in molecular patent law, but due to its infancy, he elected not to pursue the legal route of science. What Clint found that he really enjoyed was the argument. “I really enjoyed arguing in mock trial and moot court, and when I got out of law school, wanted to work for a litigation firm, so I started my practice doing a little bit of plaintiff’s work and moved into maritime litigation,” Clint said.
For Clint, this was not all he wanted in a career. He wanted more interactions with clients outside the courtroom which eventually led him to Butler Hailey and ultimately RMWBH.
A highlight for Clint at RMWBH has been working with “lots of wonderful people over the years,” and in his time at RMWBH, Clint has chosen to remember the good over the bad. An example Clint cites is an Austin area community association transitioning from developer controlled to owner controlled. “We kind of got to work with both of the groups, the homeowner group and the developer group to come up with a game plan on what the developer was willing to give and what the association was willing to give in return. And ultimately, once that project was done, we got left with a wonderful community with a lot of great amenities and it just felt good to be able to bring people together and negotiate something that that was really helpful on both ends of the spectrum,” said Clint.
Clint cautions those in the industry this is not always the situation professionals in the POA industry face, but approaching other types of situations looking for a fight may not always be the appropriate approach. “Many times extending that olive branch is going to bear more fruit than coming in with your fist raised looking adversarial. That reasonable approach, at least initially, may result in a more fruitful result rather than just initiating litigation automatically,” Clint said.
Another aspect Clint points to for managers and board members to keep in mind for success in the POA industry is a productive client/attorney/community relationship. He highlights two factors that he finds helpful – board orientations and understanding what the governing documents say and do. Speaking to board orientations, Clint says, “having the attorney and the board get together and do an orientation, which our law firm regularly offers free of charge for our clients, is a wonderful process because it allows everybody to get to know one another and it helps the board understand their responsibilities as a board member for the community.” This relationship also extends to the community. Clint believes having a town hall with management, the board and possibly the attorney involved can help foster a sense of community between the board and its residents and provide a platform to better explain the role of the governing documents and help residents understand the type of community in which they reside.
There are aspects of the POA industry that are out of the boards’ and managers’ hands that are causing challenges for the industry. As we have discussed in other articles, and touched on in other attorney highlights, the Texas Legislature is becoming increasingly interested in the governance of POAs. “Education is going to be really helpful for boards and the community. The more education everyone has on POA issues and the law, the less likely legislators are going get involved in the governance process,” Clint said.
Should the legislature continue to remain actively involved in examining POA governance, Clint is ensuring that legislators are educated on the issues in much the same way he ensures boards and managers are educated as well. Clint is a member and participant of the CAI sponsored Texas Legislative Action Committee (TLAC). As a TLAC member, Clint co-chairs the Bill Review Committee as well as participates in other committees. The TLAC Bill Review Committee is composed of a team of attorneys, managers and other volunteers “who review bills, give summaries and then either myself or another attorney or manager or volunteer will actually go and present the TLAC and CAI side in front of either a Senate committee or a House of Representatives committee to explain why a HOA bill or POA bill is a good thing, whether we’re neutral or whether we don’t think it’s a good thing and explaining why we have issues with it,” Clint explained.
The next legislative session Clint points out “will be here in the blink of an eye” in January 2025, and now is the time to prepare. As more HOAs are formed, especially the larger master-planned communities, Clint does not see the legislative involvement going away anytime soon. “This is why it is so important that board members and managers be educated on the law and best practices so that we can ensure that we continue to be a self-regulated industry,” Clint said. This self-regulated industry may not have been what Clint saw himself being a key contributor to when he was studying molecular biology in college, but it is an industry he has come to love and one he looks forward to seeing grow and prosper in the years to come.
