Related Posts
Bowl Leader
Conversation Starter
Community Builder
Additional Posts in Real Estate - Law
Pro forma or proforma?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
Sign Up to see all discussions
- Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
- Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
- Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
"" is an unusual email domain. If correct, please proceed to the next step
Messaging rates may apply
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Share
Embed this post
Copy and paste embed code on your site
Preview
Download the
Fishbowl app
Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile
Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl
Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl
Messaging rates may apply
Retail leasing attorney here. There are a ton of valuable resources out there…
1. Join Commercial Lease Law Insider. Subscription is like $500 per year or get your company to pay for it. They’ve got an entire database of sample provisions for every situation. They send out a great newsletter every couple of months. They publish two great books (Best Commercial Lease Clauses), one for those drafting for landlords, the other for those drafting for tenants.
2. Join ICSC. Attend their North American Law Conference. It’s every October. The CLE is top notch and you get to meet a ton of industry peers. Both in-house and outside counsel. The conference is expensive ($1500) but well worth it imho.
3. Join the ABA RPTE section. The Leasing Group is very active and hosts many free seminars geared toward commercial leasing. For example, they have a free “Nuts and Bolts” series for commercial leasing that is great.
4. PLI. These courses are fantastic, but the subscription is not cheap. It’s like $5k per year. Big Law firms tend to have subscriptions. Not sure if your company has the budget for that, but if it does, by all means ask for it. You’re likely to get the same thing from Commercial Lease Insider along with other books.
5. These books are helpful: The Leasing Manual (ABA book), Friedman on Leases, Mark Senn’s Commercial Real Estate Leases. ABA has any books on drafting leases.
If you ever need assistance, feel free to hit me up at josh@crowfootlaw.com. Happy to share whatever you need if you’re in a pinch. Good luck and welcome to a fun practice area!
I’ve just had to Google a lot of things and honestly has taught me a lot. Biggest gray areas for me that I had to read multiple articles for were CAM charges and the caps associated that, operating costs and exclusive uses. PLI has good videos too if your company covers that. Good luck!
Honestly, the best way to learn is to gather as many leases as you can and draft summaries of the material terms: identifying the premises, term, permitted use, rent, cam, other financial obligations, renewal options, indemnification provisions, maintenance obligations, assignment and subleasing, etc. Keep track of provisions that are tenant friendly and archive them for future reference.
I always joke that rent is the thing I negotiate the least - which is actually a fact. For retail you will also want to make sure you understand percentage rent, exclusives (benefitting and burdening), and issues relating to condo/shopping center associations, where applicable.
Don’t lose sight of commercial reality which is what really counts. After 40 years practice in this area the thing that strikes me most about many young lawyers is that they rarely get off their butts and go look at the sites and they forget to ask their tenant clients what their business plans are in this location and to advise them to get a structural survey done. Remember to find out if your client needs to be there long term or have the ability to break the lease and move on or to sublet excess space. Find out if your client may need additional space or permitted changes of use. Remember that it is not all about the rent, important though that is - your client can get screwed by excessive service charges if you don’t cap them off or be crippled by repairing costs if you don’t limit his exposure. Above all, remember most of this lease will be relevant only if certain things happen (most will never happen) - what is definitely relevant is the suitability of the lease as reflecting the client’s actual and perceived business premises needs now and over the next few years. Find out about the business and ask what the trading, growth and relocation plans are. Most real estate lawyers never bother to ask that. And if possible, go see the site. You’ll be amazed what you discover in reality and how much the client appreciates that.
Check out the ABA leasing manual
This is all that I do. I suggest you get your hands on a few leases and read them start to finish to get a better idea of the landscape. Over time you’ll see that most leases have the same framework with variations depending on tenant mix, geography, etc. your outside counsel colleagues can be a great resource .
Coach
Take a look at the book, Friedman on Leases. Parts of it may be dated (because commercial leases today are more sophisticated than they were when the book was written). But if you’re new to leasing, it will give you a good foundation on which to build.
Mark Senn. Amazing lawyer and person. Try to snag an invite to the Georgetown Advanced Commercial Leasing seminar.
Where are you based?
On the west coast but I look at leases all over the country.
ICSC has really good seminars on this. They do law-specific conferences, but there are also a lot of industry events where you can pick up the “broker” stuff like CAMs, TI strategy, etc.