Real Estate

Our firm’s real estate clients are diverse, ranging from large corporations and major government entities to small privately owned businesses and individuals. Working closely with other Bickerstaff attorneys who practice regulatory, energy, employment, water, and environmental law, our real estate attorneys provide a broad range of legal services, which bring to bear the firm’s vast collective experience handling matters for both public and private entities. Our real estate practice provides legal services in connection with the following kinds of matters:

Sales and Acquisitions

Including real estate agreements; contracts for the purchase and sale of unimproved property; legal issues related to site selection, such as land use and development issues, subdivision, zoning, and other legal requirements; title issues and insurance; contract issues and disputes; closing complications; and environmental assessments, compliance with remediation and abatement requirements;

Acquisitions by Public Entities and Utilities

Including assisting clients with the acquisition of real property, easements, street right-of-way, water rights, water leases, and other property interests in connection with street, water, wastewater and development projects, including acquisition through condemnation; and representing clients in the purchase of existing facilities such as power plants, water distribution systems, wastewater treatment plants, lift stations, and telecommunication facilities; and the preparation of requests for qualifications, bidding and construction documents in connection with public entity and utility projects;

Easements

Including representing public entities, utilities and telecommunication companies in legal matters involving the granting of easements, the acquisition and retention of easements, and the interpretation of easement provisions, including land use easements, eminent domain, condemnation, and complex easement requirements;

Leases

Including representing tenants and landlords in the negotiation and preparation of lease documents for residential and commercial properties and counseling clients in lease disputes and in the enforcement of lease rights, including eviction and collection activities;

Construction Issues

Including counseling clients regarding competitive bidding, negotiating and drafting contracts, and insurance and bonding for a variety of projects, including assisting clients with commercial and residential projects involving contracts with architects, engineers, and contractors; and assisting clients to successfully resolve disputes with design professionals and contractors through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and/or litigation;

Financing

Including drafting loan documents for lending institutions in connection with residential, commercial and construction loan documentation; assisting clients with asset collection by conducting residential, condominium, shopping center and other types of non-judicial real property foreclosures, as well as non-judicial foreclosures on notes receivable secured by real property and on an assortment of types of personal property; and representing lenders and borrowers in handling loan workouts in which the loans were collateralized by various types of property, such as office buildings, raw land and shopping centers.