What Does a Commercial Real Estate Attorney Do?
What Does a Commercial Real Estate Attorney Do?
A commercial real estate attorney helps their client achieve the client’s business objectives in a risk efficient manner. An experienced real estate attorney helps a client understand what to expect with respect to a particular transaction, helps the client think through potential issues that may arise in the future and helps bring the transaction to a successful close, navigating any impediments and issues that arise along the way.
The Role of a Commercial Real Estate Attorney
1. Drafting and Reviewing Contracts
One of the primary responsibilities of a commercial real estate attorney is drafting and reviewing contracts. These documents are the backbone of any real estate transaction, outlining the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties involved. Contracts in commercial real estate can be complex. An attorney can help ensure that they are appropriately structured to mitigate potential risks and ensure that their client’s interests are protected. The attorney’s attention to detail at the outset of a transaction helps prevent future disputes and ensures that a transaction proceeds smoothly to closing and accomplishes the parties’ intention.
2. Due Diligence and Title Search
Many commercial real estate transactions involve a significant due diligence process. During this process, the attorney works with the client to conduct a thorough investigation of the subject property. Frequently, this review will include a title search, which verifies the property’s ownership history and ensures that there are no liens, encumbrances, or legal disputes that could jeopardize the transaction or inappropriately burden the attorney’s clients.
In addition, if requested by the client, an attorney may also review any existing leases, licenses, easements, restrictions or other agreements affecting the property.
Conducting a through review at the beginning of a transaction helps ensure that the transaction can proceed without unexpected complications and can help avoid costly legal battles down the line.
3. Negotiation and Transaction Management
Negotiation is a crucial aspect of commercial real estate transactions. A skilled commercial real estate attorney can make a significant difference by leveraging their legal expertise and knowledge of the market to secure favorable terms for their clients.
A commercial real estate attorney also manages a transaction from start to finish, coordinating with all parties involved, including brokers, lenders, title companies, escrow agents, and other third parties. This ensures that deadlines are met, documents are properly executed, and any issues that arise are promptly addressed.
4. Resolving Disputes
Despite best efforts to prevent them, disputes do arise in commercial real estate. Whether it’s a disagreement over contract terms, issues between partners, a disagreement between an owner and a contractor or conflicts between a landlord and tenant, commercial real estate attorneys play a crucial role in resolving these disputes.
Attorneys may employ formal dispute resolution procedures such as mediation, arbitration, and litigation or they may assist their clients in resolving disputes through informal processes and negotiation. An attorney can help resolve these disputes while minimizing the time, cost, and stress associated with such conflicts.
