The New York market for real estate attorneys is making a comeback, with mid-level associates in particular demand.
When the housing market collapsed in 2008, it took down with it the market for real estate attorneys. The housing boom had created an influx of legal positions in real estate law; many of those same attorneys were soon out of jobs. For those graduating from law school in 2008 and in the years immediately following, those who wanted to go into real estate were hard-pressed to find positions in pretty much any segment of real estate law.
Now with encouraging signs of recovery in the housing market, New York real estate attorneys are again riding that rising tide. If the last couple years have been a game of survival of the fittest, real estate lawyers who did manage to find positions in a down market are now in a prime position to make a lateral move. Simply put, there are not very many well-qualified associates with real estate experience. The bad market forced most lawyers interested in real estate law into other practice areas, meaning that any real estate attorneys who managed to survive and gain at least a few solid years of experience are now highly prized by firms.
Within real estate law, those with experience in finance are in particular demand. Funding is always one of the primary issues for home buyers or developers, and real estate attorneys who have knowledge in securing bridge loans, mortgage loans, and other types of financing are especially needed. If you are a mid-level associate with experience in real estate finance, now would be a good time to make a lateral move.
Even for someone currently practicing in a different area, but hoping to make a move to real estate law, now would be an optimal time to do so. Good reasons for considering a switch would be if you are unhappy in your practice group, or if your choice was dictated less by affinity for that particular field than the availability of real estate positions at the time. Even if you do not have any prior experience in real estate, you may be able to position yourself as a competitive candidate if you can make the case for how your skills and experience in your current practice area are transferrable. Candidates with actual real estate experience will still have a considerable advantage, but in some cases, firms may be willing to consider a candidate if he or she has strong credentials and comes from a reputable firm.
If you are fortunate enough that your current firm has available openings and your standing there is favorable, you can use this to your advantage. The benefit of switching to another group within your own firm is that hopefully your work there will already speak for itself: find partners and senior colleagues who can speak highly of your abilities to put in a good word for you. The challenge will be making a compelling argument for how your experience in another area will be beneficial in real estate law.
The positive hiring trends for real estate attorneys have been affirmed by BCG Attorney Search recruiter Margaret Gilleran. As a seasoned lawyer and now recruiter, Gilleran began as a litigator before switching to M & A for the second half of her law career. Eventually, she realized that law was not something she wanted to do long term, but that her skills and background made her a perfect fit as a legal recruiter. Fast forward to 2012 and Gilleran has been a recruiter now for ten years, working out of BCG Attorney Search's New York City office. She has helped to place attorneys at both small and large firms, hedge funds, investment banks, and Fortune 500 companies.
In this interview, Gilleran talked about why the New York market for real estate lawyers is making a comeback, which other practice areas are hot right now, and why New York lawyers who pay their dues can land jobs anywhere in the country.