Leah K. Burton

Biography

Leah K. Burton is a Member of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC’s Collin County Office. She serves as general counsel to property owners’ associations, including but not limited to single-family communities, master-planned developments, condominium regimes and cooperatives in all aspects of corporate governance, including governing document creation, amendment and interpretation, contract review, collection of delinquent assessments, restrictive covenant enforcement, alternative dispute resolution and federal and state law compliance.

Leah developed a passion for property owners’ association law when, upon relocating to Florida following five years of practice in California, fate led her to a community association law firm in Sarasota, Florida. Although small in size (but mighty!), the firm represents hundreds of communities in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. As a result, Leah was able to gain valuable ground level experience in all aspects of the practice.

Leah strives to develop meaningful relationships with her clients, as well as to provide prompt service, healthy communication, competent and effective counsel and ongoing education on topics of concern to community associations.

Leah is most passionate about her continued work to improve diversity within community associations. Her work on the topic has been featured by Community Associations Institute (“CAI”) on an international scale and formed the basis of CAI’s renowned Diversity and Inclusion Guide. Leah is frequently called upon by boards, managers and attorneys across the country to advocate for and provide education on the topic. Leah’s 2021 and 2022 Law Seminar manuscripts entitled “Overcoming Racism: Attorneys as Agents of Change” and “Tackling Mental Health in Community Associations” were both awarded the esteemed College of Community Association Lawyers (“CCAL”) Best Manuscript Award and have been subsequently published by CAI and other national publications.

Leah currently serves on the Board of Directors of the CAI DFW Chapter. She also serves as a member of the CAI National Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force and the Texas Bar College and is Board Certified in Property Owners Association Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Leah is a graduate of the Bexar Country Women’s Bar Foundation’s LEAD Program, which serves to encourage the retention of women attorneys in the legal profession and to assist them in attaining the highest levels of success in their firms, organizations, and communities. Leah received her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and History from Bucknell University and her law degree from Southwestern Law School.