THE ATTORNEYS

Richard C. Eisen is a 1972 graduate of Northwestern University and a 1980 graduate of Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1980. He worked from 1972 until 1978 for the Housing Assistance Council ("HAC"), a national nonprofit rural housing organization, and from 1978 until 1982 for the Metropolitan Washington Planning and Housing Association ("MWPHA"), a metropolitan DC nonprofit housing and planning organization. At both HAC and MWPHA, Mr. Eisen was extensively involved in financing and development of subsidized and cooperative housing and in legislative and policy analysis and advocacy at the national, state and local levels. From 1982 through March, 1988, Mr. Eisen maintained a solo law practice similar to the Eisen and Rome, PC practice.

Mr. Eisen was the co-chairman of a committee of young lawyers in 1978 and 1979 (and one of the two primary draftsmen) who developed the DC Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act (it is often referred to as TOPA, which stands for the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act; TOPA is actually Title IV of the Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act). The version they drafted was introduced by Councilmen John Wilson and John Ray and was largely adopted as drafted. Mr. Eisen was also the primary author of the 1983 amendments to that Act and of the 1983 Lower Income Homeownership Tax Abatement and Incentives Act.  More recently, he was a primary drafter of the Nonprofit Tax Relief Act of 2012.

Mr. Eisen is the author of a law review article concerning TOPA and his testimony concerning TOPA has been cited with approval by the DC Court of Appeals in several cases.  Mr. Eisen was also involved in the drafting of the rent control law and its amendments, as well as other more recent legislative enactments.

Mr. Eisen is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell. His time is focused on representing nonprofit housing developers, handling commercial settlements, and advising about cooperative and condominium housing developments and TOPA transactions. 

Eric M. Rome graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978 and obtained his law degree from Antioch School of Law in 1982. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1982. As a student, he worked for the Fair Housing Section of the US Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and for the National Housing Law Project. Following graduation, he clerked for the Honorable Frank E. Schwelb, DC Superior Court (now Associate Judge (Ret.) of the DC Court of Appeals). Mr. Rome was a supervising attorney for University Legal Services, a nonprofit housing law firm from 1983 through April, 1985. From then until March, 1988, Mr. Rome maintained a solo law practice similar to the Eisen and Rome, PC practice.

Mr. Rome is one of the authors of the DC Standardized Jury instructions for real estate matters. Mr. Rome was also involved in the drafting of the rent control law and its amendments, as well as other more recent legislative enactments. Mr. Rome frequently lectures and conducts training sessions on TOPA and rent control for the District of Columbia Bar and is a mentor in its pro bono program. He has served on the Board of Directors of Housing Counseling Services for over 25 years and is currently its Vice President.

Mr. Rome is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell. He is the primary litigator at Eisen and Rome and was the attorney in the vast majority of the cases cited in the tab on Significant Cases. He also spends a significant amount of time on TOPA and other real estate matters.

L. Terrance Frierson graduated cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University in 2000, received an MBA from the University of Kansas in 2012, and received a J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 2016.

Before attending law school, Mr. Frierson served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve obtaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Mr. Frierson has been admitted to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Mr Frierson became Of Counsel to Eisen and Rome in March 2017. His time is focused on real estate litigation, condominium registration, cooperative and condominium association representation, and TOPA transactions. Mr. Frierson’s real estate litigation practice focuses on condominium warranty claims and real property disputes