Legal Elite 2023: Real Estate/ Land Use Q&A

Title: Partner

Other legal specialties: In addition to real estate, I am involved with my firm’s opinion committee and do a lot of opinion letter work.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; law degree, University of Michigan

Family: Wife, Marisol Slater, and our dog, Roxy

Career mentors: Everyone at Reed Smith has been incredibly helpful and willing to teach. It has been a huge asset to my career, and I try to pass it on by helping the junior attorneys. 

Fan of: Michigan Wolverines! Go blue!

Bingeworthy TV show: For no reason at all, I re-watch all episodes of “Entourage” once a year. 

What is the biggest trend you’ve seen among your real estate clients lately, and how does it affect your practice? Office real estate has slowed, and multifamily residential (at least up to this year) and industrial have increased. There is a lot of investment going into what were considered “secondary” cities. This has been good for my practice, because I have clients involved in all of these.

What made you choose real estate as the focus of your law practice? I knew going into law school that I was only interested in commercial real estate. To me, it is a tangible practice where you get to physically see what you have worked on.

Check out the rest of the 2023 Legal Elite.