Real estate development with a JD
Has anyone ever recently seen a JD with big law RE experience make the move over to the development side? Is it more lucrative? What firms are open to JDs lateraling or hire from top JD programs?
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Not sure about firms specifically but the founder of my REPE started in law. Moved over almost immediately to office development.
See this very often, lots of developers started as lawyers. Some 'broke off' to start independent firms, some got hired as "in-house counsels" and some just be came development associate/managers. I would say it is one of the most common fields for transition to real estate development (along with brokerage, architecture, const. mngt, and RE finance).
yea, especially if you have land use/zoning experience. very transferable.
100% yes. You'll need to learn a million things but law is a good foundation from what I've seen in the affordable housing development space. If I were you I'd just go in house legal for a developer or try for an associate role. Just get deal experience and start reviewing every piece of diligence on the checklist, particularly things like the appraisal, market study, phase 1, and of course the construction budget and pro forma. I also know an attorney who is basically a development consultant to mid size developers and runs the entire lender/investor due diligence/underwriting process as well as the legal stuff. He's basically a one stop shop and adds tons of value. Good luck.
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