On January 21, 2026, Sean Ponist moderated a panel discussion entitled “Survey of Significant 2025 Real Estate Cases and Laws.” The program examined the most consequential real estate decisions of 2025 and their practical impact on real property owners, buyers and sellers, real estate professionals, lessors and lessees, and other industry participants. The panel provided a focused analysis of recent cases and laws shaping the real estate world.

Mr. Ponist is the founder of Ponist Law Group, PC, and serves as Chair of the Real
Property Section of the San Francisco Bar Association. He has been named a Super
Lawyer — an honor awarded to fewer than five percent of attorneys — every year
since 2011. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a distinction held by less than one percent of lawyers, judges, and scholars nationwide.

After a three-year investigation, the California Attorney General’s Office filed a sweeping civil enforcement action against a nonprofit organization, its directors, and affiliated companies that supported the charity’s operations. The complaint alleged serious claims, including breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, diversion of charitable assets, and misrepresentation. The Attorney General sought more than $20 million in restitution, fines, and penalties, along with over $2 million in purportedly “mandatory” attorney’s fees.

Following five years of hard-fought litigation and a three-month trial, the Ponist Law Group secured a defense verdict on every substantive claim. The only issue on which the Attorney General prevailed involved record-keeping deficiencies.

The outcome was decisive. Instead of the more than $20 million sought, the court awarded just $14,000 in fines and penalties. Instead of over $2 million in attorney’s fees, the court awarded $35,800.

On October 8, 2025, Sean Ponist will be moderating a discussion on the “State of the Real Property Courts” with Judge Charles F. Haines and Staff Attorney Olga Grecova. The seminar will provide an update from the San Francisco Real Property Court and will discuss best practices for attorneys and other issues affecting attorneys appearing before the Court. Mr. Ponist is the founder of the Ponist Law Group (PLG) and Chair of the Real Property Section of the San Francisco Bar Association.

On January 21, 2025, Sean Ponist will be moderating a distinguished panel of speakers discussing “Significant 2024 Real Estate Cases. ” The seminar will cover significant 2024 real estate cases affecting real property owners, buyers, sellers, agents, brokers, lenders, borrowers, consumers, developers, contractors and others. Mr. Ponist is the founder of the Ponist Law Group (PLG) and Chair of the Real Property Section of the San Francisco Bar Association.

On May 17, 2024, Sean Ponist will be moderating and presenting a legal education seminar on “Successfully Arbitrating Real Estate Cases.” Mr. Ponist is the founder of the Ponist Law Group (PLG) and Chair of the Real Property Section of the San Francisco Bar Association who is sponsoring the event. He has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer,” a distinction awarded to less than 5% of attorneys, from 2011 to present and is a Senior Fellow with the Litigation Counsel of America, a distinction bestowed upon less than 1% of lawyers, judges and scholars. The other panelist include PLG Of Counsel Attorney Cary McReynolds and two neutrals from ADR Services, Inc., Claudia Hagadus Long and Peter Smith. For more information about the event, please click on the above image.

On May 10, 2024, Sean Ponist, along with other distinguished real estate attorneys and appraisers, will be presenting at the Appraisal Institute’s 2024 Spring Litigation Conference. The Appraisal Institute is the leading professional association of real estate appraisers, founded to help standardize the appraisal process by promoting professional education and upholding high ethical standards. Mr. Ponist’s presentation is entitled “How to Keep from Getting Excluded: Legal Traps and Pitfalls for Experts.”

Please join us on April 30, 2024, to hear from Sean Ponist, mediator Debra Graceffa, and expert Steve Edrington as they discuss “Broker/Agent: Failure to Disclose and Agency Issues.”  This webinar will cover disclosures and agency issues commonly litigated in real estate transactions involving licensees. The panel brings tremendous experience as legal professionals, with many years of handling real estate disputes, to give the audience helpful insight into their legal practice and issues.  



Attorney Sean Ponist has personally successfully handled hundreds of such matters, both as in-house counsel for one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerage companies and in private practice on behalf of buyers, sellers, agents, and brokers.  



This presentation is sponsored by the Alameda County Bar Association.



Click here to register for the event

Please join us on September 28, 2023 to hear from Sean Ponist and other leading attorneys and mediators as they discuss “Successfully Mediating Real Estate Cases.” As more than 95% of civil cases resolve before trial, it is critical to be just as skilled in mediation as in the courtroom. This presentation, sponsored by the Real Property Section of the San Francisco Bar Association, will cover mediation basics as well as tips and strategies for more advanced practitioners.

Join us on September 15, 2023 to hear from Sean Ponist and Cary D. McReynolds as they discuss “Rescission of Real Property Transactions: Real World Tips and Traps” as they present to the Contra Costa County Bar Association. The presentation will provide an overview of real property rescission claims, with a discussion of important aspects beyond the basics and practice guides.

The Ponist Law Group’s (PLG) clients had purchased a new, high-end home for $3.1 million several years back. The home was supposed to be their dream home but, instead, it turned out to be a nightmare. Shortly after the close of escrow, our clients discovered significant construction defects. PLG filed suit on behalf of our clients against the developer-sellers as well as the real agent and brokerage company and, after a series of victories in Court—including an award of summary adjudication as well as issue and evidentiary sanctions—we were able to obtain a settlement on behalf of our clients for rescission and $8.85 million.