Patrick Fife, Associate General Counsel of Long Island Board of REALTORS® (LIBOR), has been named an honoree of the 2022 Leadership in Law, In-House Counsel Award by Long Island Business News (LIBN).
The Leadership in Law Award recognizes attorneys who exemplify the following traits — experience, dedication, hard work, skill, tenacity, compassion, and excellence — and is dedicated to those individuals whose leadership, both in the legal profession and in the community, has had a positive impact on Long Island.
Fife has been an integral part of LIBOR’s legal team since 2020 and assists with the day-to-day legal and business oversight of the 30,000-member REALTOR® trade association, which serves real estate professionals throughout Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties.
Fife drafts regular updates for members on relevant legal issues related to real estate practice and routinely provides educational webinars and programs on issues related to real estate, fair housing, licensing, and advertising.
Fife is also an approved New York State instructor for real estate continuing education, and teaches several classes per month, including a free monthly legal update for LIBOR members.
This past June, he helped organize and was a panelist in a free public seminar called “Finding a Place to Call Home: Fair Housing on a Diverse Long Island.” The program, which was a joint effort by LIBOR, the Nassau County Bar Association, the Nassau Academy of Law, and Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg School of Law, provided free continuing education credit to over 175 attorneys and real estate licensees on issues related to fair housing. The panel discussed in depth the impact of fair housing on a diverse Long Island and how the new state laws targeting discrimination in real estate have given more responsibility to brokers for the supervision of agents and the creation of standardized procedures for dealing with clients.
This year, Fife also helped LIBOR launch its new information campaign “Home for All of Us: Committed to Delivering Fair Housing Across Long Island,” which seeks to educate the real estate industry and the public on fair housing issues, including avoiding discrimination based on lawful source of income.
Before joining LIBOR, Fife practiced law at two large Long Island law firms, maintaining a general practice that involved a broad range of litigation, real estate, land use, and corporate matters. His diverse experience in real estate included everything from representing clients on sales, purchases, and complex land-use applications to assisting private developers with mixed-use and retail projects in several of Long Island’s downtowns.
Fife has served as a volunteer instructor and guest lecturer for legal interviewing, counseling and negotiation, appellate advocacy, and foundational lawyering skills courses at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.
In 2018, he received Long Island Business News Leadership in Law Partner Award in recognition of the positive efforts he has made to Long Island both in the legal profession and the community.
Fife earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University in 1997. In 2003, he graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University School of Law, where he was valedictorian of his graduating class.
In his community, Fife has served on the boards of the Bohemia Civic Association and St. Mary School Parents Association and has been a member of several volunteer committees in the Connetquot Central School District. His most enjoyable volunteer work is coaching his children’s youth sports teams.
“Patrick has combined his years of extensive experience, a wealth of knowledge, and engaging presentation skills to create a completely new level of legal and regulatory education for LIBOR and its members,” said LIBOR CEO Tessa Hultz. “We are proud to celebrate the acknowledgment of his remarkable leadership and congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.”