The Dirt Lawyer's Blog Archive

NALP, the National Association for Law Placement, has a study out stating that there are plenty of jobs for lawyers, but the pay is not the huge sums the media talks about. According to a NALP press release , while jobs may be aplenty, "It is also clear, however, that a strong employment market does not mean that every new graduate started work at a large firm at one of the much publicized $135,000 or $145,000 salaries. In fact, just 14% of salaries were either $135,000 or $145,000. Far more, 42%, were $55,000 or less. Far more graduates started work in small firms of 50 or fewer lawyers or in non-firm settings (71% of those employed) than at firms of more than 100 lawyers (just 20% of those employed)." And those numbers are up from last year. Check out the link for more interesting details. I hope every aspiring lawyer thinking s/he is going part of the 13% (and becomes a lawyer for no other reason) reads and thinks long and hard about this before going six figures into de...

Wolf Point is a parcel of land right at the confluence of the North and South Branches of the Chicago River. As the crow flies it is about 300 yards from my Chicago office. The Kennedy family owns the dirt, having retained it after selling the Merchandise Mart and the Apparel Center to Vornado. The Kennedys, in connection with Hines, L.P. (the office developer) and Habitat Co. (a well-known local residential developer) have revealed plans to build three buildings on the four acre site: an 89-story tower with condos, apartments and hotel rooms, a 40-story building with a million sf of office space and a 56-story condo tower. Cesar Pelli is the architect. Here's some random thoughts on the project. Notwithstanding the glut of hotels and condos, this project could do very well just because of the spectacular location. You can get an idea of the types of views by watching the Nicolas Cage film The Weather Man . And who knows what the market will be like in five+ years anyway? This is...

Most people were very happy for me when I decided to end the daily grind of working at a first-rate boutique law firm specializing in real estate. It really was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made because I truly liked the place. Some, however, said I was doomed to working on routine, even dull legal work because only the big firms got the "sexy" deals (note the use of quotes because I've yet to see an arousing real estate deal). Admittedly, I do some more mundane work these days than I used to. And that is okay. I also have some cutting edge work, too, and time to write and do other things I enjoy. Besides, clients are apparently becoming more and more interested in attorneys like me to do their legal work, both large and small. And this is all in spite -- or perhaps because -- of the mega mergers in law firms and predictions that people like me would go the way of the Model T. Why? Check out this story about small firms and solos working for compani...

One of my earliest posts predicted potential bargain luxury hotel rates in Chicago in a few years because so many new rooms were coming on line. A story in Crain's quotes people who are more sanguine than I about these prospects. McCormick Place West is now coming online, which will help Chicago compete with other markets for the largest conventions (union rates and so-so onsite food choices notwithstanding). But a 25% jump? Hmmmm. The story cites one developer who "says he has seen financials for proposed developments projecting average daily rates of $400 to $500, 'which are insane in Chicago.'" I cannot disagree with that if it is true. Maybe at peak times, yes, but every day? How can you realistically underwrite that? If this trend is accurate, predictions of foreclosures and bankruptcies down the road are probably not far off the mark at all. I'll be interested in following this as both a real estate guy and as as a hotel consumer.

I thought it might be interesting to talk about legal terminology from time to time. Watching an old episode of The Jetsons was the clincher to start with encroachments. An encroachment is when a structure intrudes on to the land of another. Usually it is a fence, a garage or some kind of building. Sometimes an encroachment can be on to someone's easement, which is one form of a right to use another's property. A common example of this is a toolshed built over a utility easement. I cannot tell you how to deal with any particular encroachment because the resolution of such a matter is really done on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes it is a big problem, other times it is not. Sometimes title insurance is available, insuring over forced removal or diminution of value or against adverse possession (an interesting topic for another time), and sometimes ( e.g. , especially with fences) it is not. As we all say, consult your attorney. Some of you are probably asking: why the he...

This came in over the weekend -- CMBS defaults in the second quarter are up 13% from the first. The other bad news is that some of the defaults are on very recent loans, which is leading some to speculate that the subprime problems in the residential market may leak into the commercial market. We all talked about lenders chasing all kinds deals with very aggressive terms because there was just SO much money out there begging to be lent. But we also have to remember that these defaults are still near historic lows. And perhaps more important (a) buyers are still looking for deals at right prices, even on defaulted properties, thus mitigating damages, and (b) most important of all, real estate fundamentals are solid thanks to generally rising rents. So don't panic -- yet. By the way, if you want to learn more about CMBS, check out Simple RE . I just saw it for the first time thanks to David Bodamer and it is clear that Kenny Pratt knows what he is talking about!

In a post on Thursday I mentioned that downtown office buildings in some major markets were doing well, but that I was concerned about, among other things, rents and vacancies in the suburbs. Here's a story in the Tribune confirming my suspicions . The gist of the article? Because of the subprime residential debacle, businesses that service the residential market such as mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, title companies and the like have given up 1,000,000 sf of their space, thus creating even more vacancies in the 'burbs. Vacancies mean lower rents and lower sale prices in the suburbs. The real question is to see whether the trend continues over the long term or not. And will some tenants choose to relocate or move some portions of their businesses out of downtown to save money? If the predictions of rising downtown rents are correct, I would not be surprised.