Retail and commercial leasing have been a major part of Einbinder & Dunn’s commercial real estate practice since the founding partners first joined together in 1990. In the decades since, our New York real estate attorneys have handled virtually every type of retail and commercial leasing need and issue faced by commercial property owners, managers, brokers and tenants.

Our clients include landlords and tenants in the Greater New York metropolitan area, in each of the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, as well as throughout the United States.

We represent a broad spectrum of property owners and tenants, from large commercial tenants like movie theatres and restaurants, to smaller business owners operating out of storefronts, to enclosed malls, shopping centers, and retail operators in urban and suburban settings and warehouses, manufacturing and distribution sites.

We understand that each client has unique concerns and we tailor our counsel to your business objectives. Depending on your needs, we can structure, draft and negotiate anchor leases, in-line leases, ground leases, triple net leases, subleases, master leases and outparcel leases, as well as lease amendments and other agreements incident to the retail leasing process.

Our retail and commercial work is highly diverse, including:

Cinema or movie theater leases: Our clients include the largest motion picture theater chain in the country. We have serviced the chain’s needs in numerous states throughout the U.S.
Restaurant leases: We have represented owners, tenants and franchisors and franchisees in restaurant leases and are familiar with the complicated financial transactions that are often involved in leases of that nature.

Retail store leases: From local boutiques to nationwide retail franchises, we negotiate, draft and review retail leases. We also have the capacity to handle all stages of the shopping center development process, including drafting and review of anchor and major store leases.
Sale/Leasebacks: An attractive alternative to real estate financing is for a property owner/operator to sell the property to an investor, then lease it back at attractive rates. We can walk you through this process.

Our commercial and retail leasing experience is a tremendous asset to our franchisor and franchisee clients. See Franchise Law — Real Estate. (link)

Real Estate Litigation & Disputes

At Einbinder & Dunn, we blend extensive experience in real estate litigation, arbitration and administrative hearings relating to real estate with partner-level attention. Our firm appreciates the costs and risks of litigation and is committed to working closely with clients to explore both traditional litigation strategies and more cost-effective alternative solutions. This unique approach and ability to think outside the box to side-step what may initially seem like an inevitable litigation is another way our firm stands apart from its competitors.

In the last two decades, our real estate litigation attorneys have handled cases involving a wide range of legal subject areas, including:

Contracts (typically breach of contract claims involving LLC and limited partnership agreements, commercial leases and other contracts);
Property rights (disputes involving property lines, easements, sewer and water lines, air rights, title defects and other complex title issues);

Municipal approvals (disputes related to municipal building and development codes, zoning, land use issues, and environmental matters); and
Real estate financing and development (including construction claims, mechanic’s liens, shareholder and member lawsuits and more).

We have also handled complicated lease-related disputes, representing landlords and tenants in matters related to lease terms and property use. These include provisions relating to rent or additional rent, construction, permitted uses, hazardous materials and insurance coverage, or assignment and sublet provisions. Drawing from this broad base of experience, our firm is able to resolve complex, multi-million dollar real estate disputes in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Our firm practices in New York State and Federal Courts nationwide, as well as pro hac vice in other states.

Purchases, Sales & Financing

The real estate business in New York and the Metropolitan area is more complex and competitive than anywhere else in the country. Our attorneys at Einbinder & Dunn have been representing New York property owners for decades. We are well versed as to the details and application of the particular rules governing the City’s zoning, real estate taxes, exemption programs, title issues, as well as the broader concerns attendant to any complex real estate transaction. We have negotiated and drafted the agreements and closed the deals for every possible form of real estate conveyance, acquisition, financing and development, for individual owners and Fortune 500 companies. We have closed on acquisition and development agreements for luxury condominium developments in Brooklyn and a major lease in the enormous and historic Essex Crossing development deal in downtown Manhattan. We frequently represent large scale developers in deals in the five Boroughs and beyond.

Transactions and real estate legal services associated with this area of our practice include:

Purchases and sales of buildings for new commercial or mixed-use purposes;
Purchases and sales of real property related to residential or commercial real estate development;
Negotiation, drafting and review of commercial real estate contracts and all necessary closing documents;
Commercial real estate purchases and sales involving franchisors and franchisees;
Purchases of existing businesses with real estate holdings;

Formation of real estate LLCs;
Services related to financing and refinancing, including mortgages, institutional and private, for acquisitions and construction;
Title and survey review;
Analysis of air and related property rights, environmental concerns, tax issues, restrictions on the use of properties, and other matters;
Legal aspects of site development, including zoning changes, permits, air rights transfers, tax abatements and economic development incentives.

If you are involved or becoming involved in a real estate transaction in New York or another state, Einbinder & Dunn’s commercial real estate attorneys can help you. For more information, contact us today, and learn how our real estate legal services can move your business to the next level.

On This Page

Retail and Commercial Leasing
Real Estate Litigation & Disputes
Purchases, Sales & Financing