Ones To Watch: Innovators in CRE: Brian Sahn, Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP

Innovation in Action:

AI is the big topic. How will that drive legal services? We will see integration of such services in delivering a better product and outcome for clients. Efficiency and time savings matter, such as lease abstractions, use of these tools for reviewing and cross-checking loan documents, and review of title commitments, etc. But first we will have to balance speed with mandatory human oversight to prevent mislabeled risks, confidentiality breaches and false citations. The flip side is that clients will look at traditional billing structures and likely question the use of the billable hour.

Looking Ahead:

Real estate equals excitement. Traditional brick and mortar retail is booming back to life post Covid. Multifamily is hot and driven by those outpaced by market conditions to buy homes. Office growth is on fire in multiple regions; look at New York City, with rents rising at the high end that is driving lower class buildings to increase rents. High-quality, amenity rich office buildings that are wellness-oriented and tech-enabled are driving the market. Finally, the data center boom is on fire, eating up credit and construction materials and workers to build these out.