DLA Piper: we need more real estate lawyers

Just as others are concerned about layoffs, DLA Piper steps to the plate and gets a solid hit by announcing that it is opening an office in Abu Dhabi, considering moves into Qatar and Mumbai, all in connection with an expansion of its real estate practice. (Call me naive, but I thought they already had a global real estate practice.)

Chicagoans who have been around more than a few years will remember that the firm's predecessor here, Rudnick & Wolfe, had about the biggest and best dirt practice in town for many years. So perhaps this kind of move is less surprising to us in the Windy City. I think the firm hit the nail right on the head by announcing this kind of expansion and at this time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The latest on Strategic Hotels - a missed target

Since I know some of you follow locally-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts, here is the latest from Crain's : Chicago-based Strategic Hotels, a real estate investment trust, said Wednesday that its comparable funds from operations were a loss of $2.5 million, or 3 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with FFO of $36.4 million, or 48 cents a share, in the second quarter last year. Analysts on average had estimated a 1-cent loss in FFO, according to Bloomberg L.P. I'll let people who know more about the company comment. Regular readers know I have a soft spot for any company run by a admirer of Winston Churchill .
Read more

Steve Jobs and introspection about oneself

Image
As the whole world knows, Steve Jobs died . And it wasn't a surprise. He'd been battling illness for years. He was the Thomas Edison of our era . But let's go beyond that. Why?  Because of this famous Stanford commencement speech:  Several quotes stick out the most, and they have been repeated ad infinitum all over the Internet and the news. I will repeat them anyway, taken from The Stanford Daily's text of the speech: You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it....
Read more

Cap rate spreads - making sense?

I really like this analysis by David Lynn posted at NREI. Why? Because it makes sense to me. At one point, the numbers were insane. People buying deals at a 4 cap with the unfounded expectation that the bubble would go on and on and on smelled of tulips in Rotterdam. And yes, the frost came. But look at the charts now, if you happen to be a chart person. Add in your risk premium and real estate is slowly starting to make sense again. Buy at a 10, sell at a 8 is the maxim I have mentioned here before. And as the caps reach reasonable levels, real estate's making sense again. That is the beauty of cycles. The thing is - it could still get better. But I agree with the analysis that smart money will start jumping in again with relatively "safe" deals - reasonable interest rates, LTVs and expectations.
Read more