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Practices

Biography

Rob is a nationally recognized real estate lawyer who is known for his negotiating and deal-making skills, business acumen, and exceptional client responsiveness. Clients and fellow attorneys have described him as a “superb lawyer in all respects” and “an attorney of high intelligence, integrity, and knowledge” who “handles complex real estate issues with great skill” (Martindale-Hubbell).

For more than three decades, Rob has been a trusted advisor to developers, institutional owners, national retailers, restaurant chains, lenders, commercial brokerage firms, and private investors on high profile real estate transactions that have helped shape the Philadelphia region. His practice focuses on sophisticated commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, portfolio sales, sale-leasebacks, development projects, tax-free exchanges, borrower-side financing, and leasing across all asset classes, including office, industrial, retail, and hospitality.

Rob is widely regarded as one of Philadelphia’s preeminent commercial leasing attorneys. He represents both landlords and tenants in large-scale office leases, major headquarters relocations, industrial and retail transactions, restaurant expansions, and shopping center leasing matters.

Rob is an active leader in the Philadelphia community and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia and Legacy Youth Tennis and Education. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding charitable and pro bono work.

Outside of his real estate practice, Rob enjoys traveling and spending time with his family and friends. He is also an avid Triumph motorcycle enthusiast.

Other Info About Rob

Experience

Legal Work Highlights

  • Represented a developer in connection with a $58 million sale of a 518,000 square-foot warehouse facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
  • Represented a lender in a large deed-in-lieu transaction involving several Class A office buildings and restructured the deal in order to save the client over $660,000 in realty transfer taxes.
  • Served as special Pennsylvania counsel to a large national developer in connection with several multi-million dollar sale-leaseback transactions.
  • Represented a large owner/developer of warehouse distribution facilities in connection with a sale-leaseback transaction involving the acquisition of a 136,000 square-foot industrial building in Pennsylvania, and the long-term lease of the property to the seller.
  • Represented a large multinational pharmaceutical and consumer goods company in handling acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing of their Pennsylvania real estate portfolio, including negotiating the $38 million acquisition of a large office complex by one of the company’s subsidiaries, the sale of an office building to a national REIT, and several large industrial property leases.
  • Represented a large privately held company in connection with a $3.5 billion M&A transaction involving the acquisition of numerous automobile dealerships in several different states across the country.
  • Served as special Pennsylvania counsel to a New York department store chain in connection with a 100,000 square-foot lease for the chain’s first department store in Philadelphia.
  • Represented several large and medium-sized law firms in Philadelphia regarding their office leases and renewals.
  • Represented a large privately held company in connection with a 55,000 square-foot lease for the relocation of its corporate headquarters to a new office building in Santa Monica, California.
  • Represented a major professional Philadelphia sports team concerning the lease of the team’s practice facility in Philadelphia.
  • Represented a developer in connection with the $34 million sale of three office buildings in Austin, Texas to a group of investors.
  • Served as special Pennsylvania counsel to a national supermarket chain concerning a securitized loan transaction involving $1.6 billion in loans from various lenders.
  • Represented a large privately held company in connection with a $30 million sale of 64 acres of land and several industrial buildings located along the Delaware River and the leaseback of the industrial buildings from the purchaser.
  • Served as the real estate partner-in-charge of a major hotel/casino acquisition in Central City, Colorado, and a $45 million bond issuance to finance the construction of a new four-lane superhighway to provide access to Central City.
  • Represented several large national retailers concerning new store leases and acquisitions nationwide.
  • Represented an owner of several large shopping centers and malls in Pennsylvania regarding the lease-up of those properties to various retail tenants.

Education

Law School

Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 1988

Undergraduate School

George Washington University, B.A., 1985

Bar Memberships

Rob is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

Pennsylvania, 1988

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Award Selection Methodology

The Best Lawyers in America®, Real Estate, Pennsylvania, 2020 – 2021

Top 100 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, 2015; Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, 2014 – 2019

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated

Featured in ABA Journal’s “Lawyers Giving Back” article for spearheading a group of volunteers to help construct a playground in a single day at the Shane Victorino Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia.

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

Urban Land Institute (ULI)

Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member, Real Property Section

Philadelphia Bar Association, Member, Real Property Section

Montgomery County Bar Association

Presentations

Rob was invited to speak at the following events:

Roundtable and Program Discussion Leader, ICSC Shopping Center Law Conference, 2011 – 2020

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