Lisa Jill Dessel, Managing Partner

Tel. (202) 466-3883 x102 | Fax (202) 775-7477 | Email Ms. Dessel

Ms. Dessel is the firm’s managing partner. She and the firm have practiced extensively in the courts of the District of Columbia since 1979.

In the area of real estate law, Ms. Dessel represents many local property management companies, as well as property owners and developers. In 1997 the firm was retained as landlord-tenant counsel to the court-appointed receiver for the District of Columbia Housing Authority, and has been retained by the District of Columbia Housing Authority to continue this representation since the termination of the receivership. Ms. Dessel has concentrated on cases based on illegal activity committed on public housing property. The firm has represented its property management clients in virtually all areas of real estate litigation in the District of Columbia.

Ms. Dessel has been on the faculty of the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education Program, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Training Program in Landlord-Tenant practice and the Metropolitan College of Catholic University. She was a member of the D.C. Bar Public Services Activities Corporation, Landlord and Tenant Task Force and is presently a member of the D.C. Bar Implementation Committee which was created to make proposals to the D.C. Superior Court to implement the changes recommended by the Landlord and Tenant Task Force. That committee was recently awarded the D.C. Bar's 2004 Frederick B. Abramson Award. In 2004 Ms. Dessel participated in a judicial training for judges in the Civil Division of the D.C. Superior Court. Recently, Ms. Dessel was a speaker at the 2004 Spring Legal CLE Conference held by the Housing and Development Law Institute.

Ms. Dessel was appointed to the D.C. Superior Court Advisory Subcommittee on Landlord-Tenant Rules in October, 2006.  In addition, Ms. Dessel has developed and taught training programs for property managers and staff covering all aspects of local real estate law, including landlord and tenant law and federal and local discrimination law. She has also conducted training programs for property mangers and staff on all aspects of litigation involving illegal activity in private and public housing cases. Ms. Dessel was a speaker at the HUD Office of the Inspector General Task Force training for illegal activity cases involving public and assisted housing.

Ms. Dessel received her J.D. degree from the Syracuse University in 1978, and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University in 1975.  Ms. Dessel is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and in the State of New Jersey.

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