Real Estate

The firm's core areas of emphasis is in providing real estate representation to local, national and international clients including commercial and residential developers, pension funds and pension fund advisors, insurance companies, asset managers, commercial landlords, retail tenants, mortgage bankers, manufacturing companies, real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), institutional trustees and "REO" departments of institutional lenders. Services to our clients involve both commercial and residential development, including multi-family housing projects, office buildings, warehouse facilities, industrial plants, resort developments, time shares, mobile home parks, planned unit developments, historic buildings and shopping centers.

Buying and Selling Real Estate/Brokerage Issues
Our attorneys have assisted clients in all aspects of the acquisition and sale of real estate, including due diligence, drafting purchase and sale agreements, setting up escrows, handling title insurance issues, and closings. The firm has special expertise in handling ground leases, simultaneous closings, and delayed exchanges. In addition, the firm is able to counsel real estate brokers and brokerage firms on regulatory and litigation issues, including issues relating to disclosure requirements, mortgage lending, finance, dual agency, and disciplinary proceedings. The firm’s attorneys have acted as general counsel to some of the State’s largest brokerage firms and have developed and implemented risk management programs that included client education classes and real time attorney-broker communication systems.

Development Permits, Land Use and Entitlements
Our attorneys have a long history of successful work with city, county and other governmental entities to obtain necessary consents, plats, permits, rezoning, subdivision maps, and approvals for real estate development. This work includes both counseling and litigation, including litigation challenging adverse land use determinations. Our land use work experience has included coastal projects, redevelopment, mixed-use, high-rise office and residential subdivision projects and entitlements practice includes appearances on behalf of our clients at public hearings and prosecuting lawsuits involving condemnation, inverse condemnation and other land use and zoning issues.

Lease Agreements
Our lawyers have experience in negotiating leases on behalf of both landlords and tenants, we assist clients in developing and negotiating leases for office buildings, shopping centers, and land, with specific expertise dealing with work letters, common area maintenance charges, operating pass-throughs, lease financing, fixtures, cost of living increases, environmental, percentage rent, and other issues.

Financing
With experience representing both institutional lenders, mortgage bankers, loan brokers and borrowers, the firm has the flexibility and creativity to help close financing arrangements for most any project or enterprise, including mezzanine financing, warehouse lines of credit, securitized financing, bridge loans, construction loans, and permanent financing.

Environmental
We are able to address and resolve environmental issues associated with the development, acquisition, lease and sale of real property. Our attorneys have extensive experience in due diligence investigations and in drafting provisions in real estate documents that address environmental issues important to purchasers, sellers, and lenders including cleanup and abatement orders, underground storage tank regulation, removal and remediation of hazardous substances.