The Dirt Lawyer's Blog Archive

We are at the unofficial end of summer this weekend. What has this meant for me the last, oh, I cannot remember how many years? Time to buckle down and prepare for a maelstrom of work. When I left the BigLaw track I thought that might change. Guess again. In fact, the complexity and the burden of the deal flow might be worse now than before. But the profits should be a little higher, too. And, based on a meeting I had with a client yesterday, 2007 will be no different. So, as Jerry Lewis yells "Timpani!" (which is the musical instrument I play, by the way) on Monday evening, I know it will be time to settle into a heavy work pattern. Recession? If there is one or a fear of one, I'm not seeing it.

General George Patton and Dubai have one thing in common: the ability to consume real estate rapidly. Thanks in part to the amazing Red Ball Express delivering supplies, the Allied armies were able to move at unprecedented rates through France in 1944. Dubai seems to be constructing buildings at a similar rate. My recollection is that the only thing that slowed Patton down was a shortage of fuel supplies. The same could eventually occur in Dubai. I stumbled across this post warning that without massive expenditures on new plants there could be more brownouts and blackouts in Dubai. Part of the problem appears to be a shortage of natural gas. I also find it interesting that the possibility of solar energy is being considered as a power source. Given the amount of sun in that part of the world it makes sense even with so much oil in the area.

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.

Kroger is building a new grocery store down here in Bourbonnais and it was scheduled to open on September 13. Unfortunately, in a situation that almost reminds me of a bar exam question, the opening has been postponed indefinitely because there is no "curb cut" permit, or a permit to access the property via the adjoining street. (Kroger operates in a nearby building that it rents; I know one of the owners of that location and I’m sure that person is happy.) I do not purport to know all the facts here, nor am I assigning blame or even suggesting that anyone is in fact to blame. But, had I been involved, is there anything I could have have done to try to prevent this problem? Maybe, maybe not. At the least, I would have tried to obtain title insurance over this issue when buying the land. A basic title policy only insures ownership of the property in question. In a commercial deal of this size, if representing the buyer I would have insisted upon obtaining an access end...

Yup. The SuperCenter type stores were already going smaller because of better distribution channels. But now we're hearing more and more about smaller store formats. Here's David Bodamer's post on the topic.

Your guess is probably as good as mine. There's mixed feelings in this post , with a reaction that if any area might get hit real estate might be among them. This has probably not happened since the early 90s when I left law school. Some things I do know are as follows: By the late 1990s there was a complete dearth of good real estate lawyers out there. I don't see that kind of black hole happening again. We are also, however, in a different paradigm than we were some years ago, when even then there were associate layoffs. Whereas profits have always been important, when you see the things going on these days at some firms to maximize profits over any other factor, then associates and non-equity partners are, in my opinion, more fungible than ever. Well-run law firms will be prepared for this and will have reduced hiring in advance and taken other measures to be in a position to ride out a market slump. They will also be willing to tell partners to be prepared to take such...

Sorry, I could not think of a clever headline this morning -- must be vacation mode though I am writing while the boss is at the spa. An investment group called Save the Queen has bought the remainder of the Queen Mary's lease in Long Beach (including the surrounding retail) through a bankruptcy auction. Because I have always liked this place and used to live nearby, I will be interested in seeing what happens next. The bidders bear out O&S Holdings, which in my opinion had a very dull redevelopment plan. Will the winners do any better?