Sandra Bonato

Sandra Bonato is a partner in the law firm of Berding & Weil, LLP. In her practice, Ms. Bonato represents community associations in day-to-day operations and transactional matters and in real property, title and land use issues. She has broad experience in working with community associations, their boards of directors and managers and in applying California's highly regulated statutory scheme for common interest developments. Ms. Bonato has been with Berding & Weil LLP since 1991 in a variety of capacities, including as Director of Client Services, as head of the firm's assessment collection department, as an associate attorney and now as a partner in Berding & Weil's corporate legal department. Her work includes effectively helping associations fill their financial needs, interpreting governing documents, drafting mediation briefs, easements, licenses, document amendments and operational policies for association clients, detailed title and land use analyses, and in-depth studies of fair housing laws, federal telecommunications regulations, director fiduciary duty issues. She is an experienced legislative analyst and tracks pending legislation and regulatory law on both the federal and state levels on behalf of the firm's association clients. Ms. Bonato has been legislative columnist for the Executive Council of Home Owners' monthly magazine, the ECHO Journal, and has published articles in both local and statewide publications on topics that include bank loan financing, effective member communication in community associations, association disclosure obligations in real estate transactions, and how federal and state fair housing laws and the Americans With Disabilities Act impact community associations and disabled members. Ms. Bonato authors the firm's annual Disclosure Checklist and related materials, produces Berding & Weil's annual Community Association Statute Book, and is a regular contributor to the firm's newsletter, the Community Association ALERT.