Jeffrey Van Grack, a community association attorney for more than 25 years and an active member of Community Associations Institute (CAI), has been elected to serve as dean of CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL) for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2011. Van Grack is an attorney with the Maryland law firm of Lerch, Early & Brewer and founder and co-chair of the firm’s community association practice.

Elected by the CCAL Board of Governors, Van Grack will serve as CCAL dean-elect in 2010. Loura K. Sanchez, a partner in the Colorado law firm of HindmanSanchez, is 2010 CCAL dean.

Established in 1993 by the CAI Board of Trustees, CCAL consists of more than 110 CAI member attorneys who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the field of community association law. CCAL members are also recognized for committing themselves to high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of association law.

Admitted to CCAL in 1996, Van Grack is a member of the Board of Governors and chair of the group’s Admissions Committee. He is a past president of CAI’s Washington Metropolitan chapter, the largest of the institute’s 59 state and regional chapters. He speaks regularly on community association issues at national and chapter conferences and served as chair of the 2007 Community Association Law Seminar.

Van Grack has done extensive litigation and appellate work in the field of community association law. He was appointed by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council in 1988 to study community associations, served on the Montgomery County Task Force on Community Associations and chaired its Dispute Resolution Committee. He successfully completed the 40-hour mediation training program through the Montgomery County Bar Foundation, and has been appointed to serve as a mediator by the Circuit Court of Montgomery County.

Van Grack was born in Washington, D.C., in 1953 and has resided in Montgomery County since 1956. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Maryland in 1975 and a J.D. degree from the University of Baltimore in 1978. He is volunteer assistant coach for the Northwest High School (Germantown) football team, and also serves as a mentor for students at the school.

Learn more about CCAL at www.caionline.org/career. The 2010 Law Seminar is January 21-23 in Tucson, Ariz. For more information, visit www.caionline.org/events.