Eric Meer, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Name: Eric Meer

Title: Partner elect (partner as of 01/01/21)

Company Name: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

What was the most challenging part of working during the pandemic?
In the early days of the pandemic, I needed to focus on my family’s safety and well-being while also being available and responsive to the pressing needs of our clients. Developer clients needed quick answers to understand how ongoing projects would be impacted by government-mandated shutdowns of construction sites. Lenders with exposure to retail and hospitality assets looked to us to help navigate them through their available remedies and to document forbearances. All of these personal and professional demands, coupled with the uncertainty of our new collective reality, were quite challenging to navigate.

What aspects of working from home did you enjoy most?
While I have always favored working from my office (and still do), I loved having a family dinner every night, being home to put my young children to bed and then seamlessly logging back on for several more hours of efficient work time. In addition, prior to COVID, lawyers generally interacted with their clients on the phone—the introduction of Zoom has led to more frequent virtual face-to-face interaction with our clients, which has helped foster and grow our relationships.

What are your predictions for commercial real estate in 2021?
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that attempts to predict the future are futile. Nevertheless, we can see some early trends heading into 2021. As effective treatments and vaccines are distributed throughout the general public and the spread of the virus hopefully starts to subside, the animal spirits of the market will return. Those capital providers with liquidity and a willingness to take on risk will become more active, particularly within those sub-markets that have the greatest amount of distress (i.e., retail and hospitality assets). As treasury rates will remain indefinitely low, investors that have previously remained on the sidelines will eventually decide to transact in search of greater yields. Many sponsors are in the process of raising opportunistic funds in search of such opportunities.