Areas of Practice

We help clients with legal matters concerning appraisal and valuation services and insurance coverage. Our clients include appraisal firms, management companies, technology companies and individual professionals, as well as users of valuation services. The matters we handle involve both transactional and litigation concerns, as well as regulatory and disciplinary issues.

Attorney/Principal Peter Christensen
Christensen Law firm
peter@valuationlegal.com
805-696-2600

Service Agreements, Policies & Procedures

Peter has drafted and revised hundreds of service agreements and terms and conditions for valuation firms and AMCs. He also participated in the Appraisal Institute’s work group to update its sample agreements for appraisal services. Peter frequently assists AMCs in drafting policies and procedures to meet lender-client requirements.

Legislative and Regulatory Monitoring

Many AMCs, national firms and other regulated businesses require monitoring of proposed and newly enacted legislation and regulation. We provide regular reporting on legislation and regulation regarding valuation services in all 50 states.

Employment/Contractor Issues

Employment and contractor classification issues are critical concerns for AMCs, valuation firms, mortgage services providers and other vendor management specialists, especially in light of evolving appraiser employment and independent contractor laws. Peter has drafted and revised the contractor agreements of dozens of firms and companies, as well as confidentiality and non-compete agreements.

Litigation and Disputes

We represent parties in disputes concerning valuation, the operation of valuation firms, and insurance coverage. For matters outside our specific jurisdictions of practice or with larger scale, we team up with trusted colleagues. We also provide assistance to other law firms when valuation or insurance matters are part of a case.

Regulatory and Disciplinary Defense

We represent and assist appraisers, appraisal management companies and other service providers in connection with regulatory and disciplinary proceedings and audits. The most frequent proceedings we are asked for assistance with involve state appraiser boards.

Compliance Counseling

We provide legal and regulatory advice about compliance with state and federal laws, regulations and guidelines pertaining to real estate valuation, appraisal management and mortgage services. We are most frequently asked about issues relating to the Dodd-Frank Act, Appraisal Independence and state appraisal management company laws.