Retired Ballard Spahr Partner Morton Fisher Receives American College of Real Estate Lawyers' Highest Honor

Retired Ballard Spahr Partner Morton P. Fisher, Jr., has received the Frederick S. Lane Award, the highest individual honor of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL), a premier professional organization of real estate attorneys.

The Lane Award, named in honor of ACREL’s co-founder and first President, is awarded periodically in recognition of exceptional service by ACREL Fellows to the public, the legal profession, and the College. Mr. Fisher was presented the award during ACREL’s recent annual meeting in Denver.

Mr. Fisher is highly respected and well-known for his work throughout his career on the most sophisticated real estate transactions, particularly in retail development, and counted among his clients major developers, lending institutions, and commercial tenants. He became an ACREL Fellow in 1981 and served as the College’s President in 1989.

In addition to his ACREL service, Mr. Fisher held many professional leadership positions during his career, including Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law Section, and co-Chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Law Conference Committee. He is co-author of A Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate Transactions: From Contract to Closing, published by the ABA.

Since it was established 30 years ago, the Lane Award has been awarded to only 14 ACREL Fellows—two of whom practiced at Ballard Spahr: Mr. Fisher and the late Richard R. Goldberg, who received the Lane Award in 2017. Their ACREL service is just part of Ballard Spahr’s long tradition of membership and leadership in ACREL, with three firm partners—Mr. Fisher, Mr. Goldberg, and Roger D. Winston—having served as President.

At the recent annual meeting, Ballard Spahr Partner Raymond G. Truitt was elected to serve as ACREL Vice President in 2024 after serving as Treasurer, Secretary, and on the Board of Governors over the past three years.

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