Hiring the right lawyer in multifamily real estate can make or break deals and can increase or decrease your future deal flow from brokers and other investors.

ELITE INVESTORS ALSO CHOOSE LAWYERS WHO SHARE THEIR BELIEFS ABOUT DEAL MAKING AND EMPATHY. This is huge! Every Elite Investor I know is represented by a lawyer with whom I thoroughly enjoy working. They show empathy in transactions, and they truly thrive on doing deals rather than suspiciously searching for ways the other party is trying to get the upper hand. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

Some investors choose attorneys who thrive on redlining as many words as they can so their client thinks they are really good. When they find a clause they don’t like, instead of thinking about solutions, they build up the issue to be more important than it is. Attorneys are used to seeing redlining, so it is no big deal to them. But when investors open a document like that, they are completely deflated, angry, and aggravated. Even if most of the redlines are grammatical, it still sours the review process.

Elite Attorneys have an encouraging tone that a deal can get done; they give realistic probabilities on issues, never raise their voice, and never start building up the other side as villains. These attorneys know that the more deals they can help their clients do, while still keeping them safe, the more those clients will use them and help them grow their own law practice. Also, Elite Attorneys know that they contribute to the Elite Investor’s reputation as well. They don’t want to be seen as difficult and unpleasant. They know their behavior will affect future deal flow.

Choose attorneys who have the right balance of deal making and keeping you safe. Choose ones that play nice with other attorneys, even when the other attorneys are difficult. If you don’t have an attorney yet, ask around. In any given market, you’ll start to hear the same recommended names come up, or ones to avoid if you ask enough people. Then interview them, preferably in person, and see how your interests align.