Leni Morrison Cummins joined Cozen O’Connor in 2015 as a member of the firm’s Real Estate practice group in the Midtown Manhattan office. Leni was chair of the condominium and cooperative practice at her former firm and is a recognized authority in the complex area of condominium and cooperative law.
Leni has extensive experience representing both the sponsor-developers of condominiums (condos) and cooperatives (co-ops) as well as condo, co-op and community association boards. Her work on behalf of sponsor-developers deeply informs her work on behalf of boards — and vice versa. She routinely advises clients on plans for new construction and condominium conversions and has extensive experience negotiating issues pertaining to construction, development and statutory compliance. She is well known for her ability to resolve contentious disputes between sponsor-developers and boards, and frequently mediates fraud claims under the Martin Act before the New York State Office of the Attorney General.
More specifically, Leni represents sponsor-developers at every stage of the new construction or conversion process. She focuses on preventing liability before the first shovel enters the ground and often leads discussions with boards on behalf of sponsor-developers to resolve issues before they escalate. Leni represents condo and co-op boards with respect to construction defects, underfunding, fraud, compliance and governance. She also provides ongoing general counsel to boards in their day-to-day management of condo and co-op properties. She has experience with crisis management, mediation, negotiation, litigation, and general legal counseling, and her goal is to achieve practical solutions quickly and efficiently.
Leni is a regular contributor to the “Q & A” column of The New York Times Real Estate Section. She has also written articles published in the New York Law Journal, the New York State Bar Association Real Property Law Journal, Real Estate Weekly, Habitat Magazine, The Cooperator and The Mann Report.
Leni has been honored by The New York Times Magazine as one of the “Top Women Attorneys” in the New York Metro Area, and Super Lawyers has ranked her in the top 2.5 percent of attorneys under 40 in the New York Metro Area. Leni is ranked "AV Preeminent" by Martindale-Hubbell.® Leni also serves on the Cooperative & Condominium Law Committee of the New York City Bar.
Leni earned her B.A., with honors, from the University of Michigan and her J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School. She is admitted to practice law in the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
