Theresa L. "Terry" Kitay, an attorney with significant experience in the housing industry, has joined the Litigation and Real Estate groups at Baker Donelson as a shareholder in the Firm's Atlanta office.
Ms. Kitay focuses her practice on defense and preventive representation of clients in the housing industry in all civil rights matters, including fair housing, Section 504, Title VI, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Her clients include many of the leading residential housing providers and public housing authorities in the country. She provides representation for consultation, conciliation, administrative matters and state and federal court litigation and appeals. Her practice places particular emphasis on advice regarding disability and accessibility issues, including compliance with the Fair Housing Act and building code requirements for accessibility in the design and construction of new multifamily housing. Ms. Kitay is a California Certified Accessibility Specialist (CASp) and an Accessibility Inspector/Plans Examiner certified by the International Code Council. She was formerly a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Steven F. Griffith Jr., chair of Baker Donelson's Business Litigation Group, said, "Terry has a national reputation as a preeminent authority in defending actions from agencies such as HUD as well as state and local municipalities to enforce compliance with accessibility issues under the Fair Housing Act and similar statutes. With her enforcement background with HUD and her extensive experience in the defense representation of housing professionals since leaving HUD, she is uniquely qualified to counsel clients on how to avoid and address civil rights issues."
Ms. Kitay routinely serves as a subject matter expert on fair housing and accessibility for the National Apartment Association and has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on these issues. She is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council and serves on the Fair Housing and Accessibility Task Force for the National Apartment Association and on the Fair Housing Task Force for the Atlanta Apartment Association. She serves as a steering committee member of the Fair Housing and Public Accommodation Subsection of the State Bar of California and is a member of the Fair Housing Coach Board of Advisors.
A graduate of Emory University School of Law, Ms. Kitay has also completed multiple programs on housing accessibility at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.