News
FLEXIBLE & ENTREPRENEURIAL
August 21, 2009
| When Lehman filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, the real estate world changed forever. Now is the perfect time to be a real estate generalist, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe attorney Marc Shapiro told us when we stopped by his Fifth Avenue office. (We're taking our summer break next week, so this article has lots of red meat and facts to tide you over.) |
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| We’ll soon be back to buying for the long-term, Marc says, as real estate is no longer experiencing the same growth trajectory. The market will return, but if we stay flexible and maintain our historical relationships in the interim, we will position ourselves for success, he adds. If you think you understand, take a step back, look again and don’t take anything at face value. |
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| Marc with colleagues Jason Schlessel and Jill Block. He and his group had financed over 700 commercial projects by last September; now, the backbone of his legal work is restructurings, which are much different from the downturn 20 years ago. Enormous dollars and greater complexity account for most of the differences, he notes; clients need a lawyer who can translate this complexity into digestible information and present the options in a way that facilitates decision-making. Clients engage them to provide solutions, and the last thing they want to hear from their lawyer, or their dentist for that matter, is that they have a challenging problem. |
