Maryland State Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Planning and Zoning awards Shepherd’s real estate law practice; Shepherd becomes second Venable attorney to receive award
BALTIMORE, MD (June 21, 2010) – Venable LLP is proud to announce that partner Kevin L. Shepherd received the "Distinguished Maryland Real Property Practitioner” Award from the Maryland State Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Planning and Zoning. The award was presented at the Section’s annual business meeting on June 11, 2010 in Ocean City, Maryland.
The annual award recognizes the one Maryland real estate attorney who best exemplifies the experience, client service, expertise, integrity, collegiality, and courtesy for which all real estate lawyers strive in their professional lives. Mr. Shepherd is the youngest lawyer to have received the award and the second Venable recipient; attorney Ronnie Reno was the first ever recipient of the award in 2003.
Mr. Shepherd was recognized for his significant contributions to the profession, the bar, and his clients. The Section recognized Mr. Shepherd for his tireless efforts on behalf of the ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession. He is recognized as a global authority on the "Gatekeeper Initiative," an effort designed to impose anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations on the legal profession. Mr. Shepherd speaks internationally and has written extensively on the subject, and has also testified before Congress. He served as the lead ABA representative in international negotiations with the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body based in Paris, France whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
"Kevin continues the legacy of Venable Real Estate Partners who have been selected by their peers to lead the most influential local, national, and international industry groups. Kevin's hard work, intellectual curiosity, civility, and dedication to the Bar are simply extraordinary," said Venable managing partner Karl A. Racine. "We at Venable are proud that he is our Partner and friend."
Mr. Shepherd is co-chair of Venable’s Real Estate Practice Group, one of the preeminent real estate practices in the nation. He is the current President of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the country’s most prestigious honorary organization for practicing real estate lawyers.
In addition to serving on the ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession and the ABA Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight, Mr. Shepherd is a Fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys and a Governor of the Anglo-American Real Property Institute, an organization comprised of 50 United States real estate lawyers and 50 United Kingdom real estate barristers and solicitors. He is also a past Chair of the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law, the third largest section within the ABA.
In addition to his contributions to the profession noted above, Mr. Shepherd has been recognized by a number of the nation’s leading legal rankings entities. Since 2003, he has been among the top-ranked Maryland real estate attorneys in Chambers USA. He is listed by Best Lawyers in America as a top Maryland real estate attorney, and is also included among the Maryland real estate attorneys in Super Lawyers. In 2009 and 2010, Super Lawyers named Shepherd among Maryland’s “Top 50” attorneys.
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