Press Release

Rochelle E. Lento, Of Counsel in Dykema’s Real Estate Practice Group, has been appointed to serve a one-year term as Chair of the Forum on Affordable Housing & Community Development Law of the American Bar Association (ABA) beginning in August 2007 at the ABA Annual Conference. Prior to the appointment as Chair, Ms. Lento has served on the Governing Committee of the Forum for the past six years. Prior to that service, she was the Associate Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Forum Journal on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law. She has also served as Conference Chair of the Forum’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. and participated as a panelist and moderator on numerous occasions. In 2005 Ms. Lento also co-edited an ABA book publication, The Legal Guide to Affordable Housing Development. The Forum's objectives are to: (1) serve as a lawyers’ clearinghouse with regard to information and programs related to affordable housing and community development; (2) serve as a coordinator of educational and training programs within the ABA for lawyers practicing in the area of affordable housing and community development; (3) hold one or more educational conferences per year; and (4) provide training programs focusing on new issues or ongoing concerns. For the upcoming year, the Forum will hold a Regional Conference in New Orleans in February 2008 entitled, “Affordable Housing Lessons from Katrina” and its 16th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in May of 2008. In addition, several law school career panels are planned to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, New Orleans, Louisiana and Washington, D.C.

Ms. Lento’s real estate practice focuses on all aspects of affordable housing development, including the various state and federal programs supporting affordable housing. Prior to joining Dykema, she was Clinical Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School and Executive Director of the Law School’s Legal Assistance for Urban Communities Clinical Program. Ms. Lento is a member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, the American Bar Association and numerous civic and cultural associations.

A resident of Detroit, Ms. Lento earned a B.A. cum laude from the State University of New York in 1978. After college, she worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and for Detroit City Councilwoman Maryann Mahaffey before earning a J.D. from the University of Detroit Law School in 1987.