Originally posted by Scott Koschwitz:
I was actually working informally with Doug Holmes, former chairman of the New Track Committee, for a while to locate property. I also worked with Rob Goldfarb before his unfortunate death.
My firm is based in Hartford, and we do a fair amount of real estate and land use work. (I'm primarily an environmental attorney.) Thats a big help as environtmenttal issues are big hurdle.
At the time, I contacted the members of my firm for leads on parcels of land in New England, and I was working with a member of our lobbying group to contact the owners of the former dog track in Vermont (Tamville?) on behalf of Rob.
Unfortunately, nothing became of that land for us, partly because so many people were interested in it, and the sellers had their choice of buyers. I'm sure that this is probably the Normal situation for lots of land in that area.
In Rob, we lost a dedicated, highly enthusiastic supporter of a club track. It seems developments in locating land for a new track haven't been on the same pace since we lost him.
As for donating my legal services, that becomes kind of difficult with my firm. As attorneys, we have an ethical obligation to do pro bono (i.e., free) legal work, but that is intended for the poor, the elderly, and the underrepresented. Donating my time for a club racing track isn't entirely consistent with that.
Another issue arises because my firm does not take kindly to donating work that would otherwise be billable. I have discussed with a partner providing NER a reduced billing rate. That could certainly help reduce costs for NER. I'm certain that would be appreciated by NER
Sometimes, I think it would have been better to be a small-town attorney, like Atticus Finch.
It's been a few years since I sought leads on land from members of my firm. I actually should contact the New Track Committee to see if they still need leads on land.