David Kahn, Holland & Knight
In the spirit of Thanksgiving (since we can't muster much thanks for the weather today), we're paying tribute to 10 more of DC's top commercial real estate lawyers. In no particular order...
David Kahn, Holland & Knight
David spent more than 20 years heading the firm's real estate practice, growing it from five lawyers to more than 50 before stepping down from that role on Sept. 30. He grew up on the North Shore of Long Island and attended Cornell and GW Law, then joined small lender-oriented real estate firm Glassie, Pewett, Dudley, Beebe & Shanks, then Dunnells, Duvall & Porter, which merged into H&K in '94. One memorable deal was repping the owners of Maritime Plaza, a five-phase development of two office buildings on an environmentally contaminated site by the Navy Yard. The environmental issues brought a new layer of complexity--but the project still finished with no delays. Sunday mornings, no matter the weather, look for David in Norwood Park playing a weekly game of football with a group that's played together 22 years. The rest of the week, you can find him spending time with his wife, or (if they're in town) his twin 25-year-old daughters and 21-year-old son. Best lessons: Become the best lawyer you can, and get involved in the community and meet people--that's how you're going to develop a practice.
