2016 Women in Real Estate: Terri Adler

Name:  Terri Adler

Title: Chair of the Real Estate Department

Company Name:  Duval & Stachenfeld LLP               

Email:   [email protected]                   

Years in real estate:  20

Telephone: (212) 692-5533

How did you get your start in real estate? 

I have spent my entire legal career focused on real estate

What real estate associations or organizations are you a member of?

WX, Inc.

What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

My greatest accomplishment has been participating in the growth and development of our clients and our attorneys on some very innovative deals like NorthStar’s investment in RXR Realty, the Angelo Gordon/Extell Carlton House deal, and Halpern Real Estate Ventures’ development at 100 Varick Street (the first major New York development to get debt, equity and mezzanine financing all from China).  Each deal required intensive collaboration between the lawyers and clients on unique and complex issues and structures with tight time frames. 

What recent honor, achievement or recognition has meant the most to you and why?

I changed my golf swing and increased my yardage and accuracy – which means maybe one day I can beat my husband on a couple of holes.

What have been some of the benefits of being a mentor or having a mentor?

Mentoring is a humbling experience because it isn’t about you – it’s about the person you are mentoring.  So it takes you outside of your own perspective and you have to think about the world from the view of someone in a much different position.  It helps you to keep the world in balance – and also to keep your own ego in check!

Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why?

The strongest influence on my career has been starting a firm.  It made me conscious of responsibility in a way that I would not have discovered if I had just taken a position at an established firm.  Lawyers are typically trained not to make decisions – just to point out risks and problems and let the client decide.  When you run a company you don’t have the luxury.  As a business owner, I had to be willing to be make decisions and choices that impact people’s lives.  As a result, when dealing with our clients or opposing counsel, I am much more willing to propose solutions and filter through the minutiae to get to the result.

What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you?

Get up early, go the gym and get to work before everyone else.  That way you get everything done before the phone starts ringing.  Lawyers can’t control what happens in their day – anything you plan will get interrupted by a call or a deal going sideways.  So, get done what you have to get done before everyone else starts their day.

What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?

The best advice I ever received was from my grandmother who told me not to listen to other people’s advice.