Biglaw

The New Practice Area Blowing Up The Lateral Market

On the back of a 'recording-breaking year,' real estate attorneys are finding out just how valuable they are in the lateral market.

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We already know that the Biglaw lateral market is on fire in 2021. And firms *know* that, hence they’re throwing money at folks to keep them right where they are. For attorneys in super hot/busy practice areas, some Biglaw firms — like Skadden — are upping the ante with retention bonuses (not for everyone mind you, just for the über valuable attorneys in M&A and capital markets).

So when a particular practice starts really hopping, it’s worth sitting up and taking notice. And wow, is real estate a hotbed of lateral movement right now.

Take a gander at some of the recent lateral moves in the real estate space, as reported by Law.com:

  • Withers gained former Greenspoon Marder partner Loretta Thompson in Los Angeles;
  • Loeb & Loeb got former Jones Day partner Peter Bergan in Chicago;
  • Nixon Peabody picked up former Holland & Knight partner Laura Sugarman in New York;
  • Riemer & Braunstein gained former Jones Day real estate partner Mark Appelbaum to open a Newport Beach, California office;
  • Peckar & Abramson got former Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott lawyers Amy Hackett and Richard Briansky to open a Boston office;
  • Virginia-based boutique Pender & Coward hired Richard Biemiller formerly of Parks Zeigler;
  • Spencer Fane is opening a Fort Lauderdale, Florida office led by partner Shawn Whitney;
  • Seyfarth Shaw hired partner Iryna Ivashchuk, formerly of  Berger Singerman,  in Atlanta;
  • Forman hired Jason Gabriel, former city of Jacksonville, Florida, general counsel; and
  • Georgia-based Bouhan Falligant hired Julia Weaver.

Bergan noted of his recent move to Loeb & Loeb, in real estate the “big” of Biglaw isn’t always the most important thing:

“I wanted to go to a firm where real estate is both national and growing,” Bergan said. “When I started looking at firms, I was surprised to see Loeb & Loeb had done things to grow their practice in LA and New York, to transform regional practices into more national practices.”

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Robert Stern of Trenam said it’s super busy out there: “Our real estate and lending lawyers are jammed out and maxed out. It’s all hands on deck.” And Spencer Fane partner Shawn Whitney said 2021 looks to be a record-breaking year, “Last year was a record year in terms of deals closed, and this year I’m on pace to exceed that.”

No wonder the practice area is booming right now.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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