PHILADELPHIA ― Sept. 12, 2018 ― Nationally recognized commercial real estate attorney Robert D. Lane Jr. has joined global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, bringing his four decades of experience to the growing Real Estate group he will lead in its Philadelphia office.
“We are excited to have someone of Bob’s caliber and profile to steer our Philadelphia Real Estate Practice,” said Curtis B. Toll, managing shareholder of the Philadelphia office. “He is well known, both locally and nationally, for bringing fresh approaches to development deals, focusing on client relationships and providing clients with top-tier, quality work at good value.
“With his accomplishments, he could simply rest on his laurels. But Bob wants to keep building, not just for himself but for those coming into the field behind him. Given all of that, plus his history as an entrepreneur, a mentor and a civic-minded leader, it was an easy decision. Those traits echo the culture of Greenberg Traurig,” Toll added. “We’re excited to welcome him to the firm and to the Philadelphia office.”
Lane, a graduate of Penn Law and Brown University, handles all aspects of commercial real estate development, acquisitions and financing for an array of private and public entities – from Fortune 500 companies to area nonprofits. Lane has been at Stevens & Lee for the past 10 years.
“We are thrilled to have Bob join our ever-growing real estate team in Philadelphia. He is a strong cultural fit for our group and commitment to deliver quality and value for clients, whether locally or on a global scale, across sectors,” noted a statement from the firm’s Real Estate Practice Co-Chairs Robert J. Ivanhoe, Corey E. Light, and Richard J. Giusto.
During Lane’s 40-year career, he has chaired the real estate groups at Pepper Hamilton and Morgan Lewis & Bockius and has served as managing director for a China-based infrastructure investment venture.
“I gave serious thought about what I wanted to do next,” Lane said. “I’ve grown a practice from two attorneys to a team of 65, another from 13 lawyers to 85 lawyers. I’ve been a free agent. At my last firm, I was comfortable. I was content. But I wanted to be challenged.
“I’m a builder. Some people like to hold on until they’re 99 years old with no succession. I figured if I am going to stick around, I want to do something and make it count. When I met with Greenberg Traurig and described my wish list – the global platform, the community ties, the opportunity to help mentor younger real estate attorneys, what I want the legacy for my practice to be – they said, ‘This is exactly what we want.’ This is a fit,” Lane added.
A longtime board member of the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation and its immediate past chair, Lane’s imprint spans a wide array of industry, government and arts organizations.
He is an elected fellow and meetings committee co-chair of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, a member of the American Bar Association’s Advisory Panel, as well as an elected fellow of the American Bar Foundation. A past member of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Center City Zoning and having just rotated off the advisory board for the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute on Aging, he continues in his elected board position on the Center City District.
A former trustee for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Lane co-founded The ArtSpace Collaborative and has served as board president for Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. He has been a fixture on Sirius XM Radio’s business radio network since 2014, when he joined as co-host of The Real Estate Hour, powered by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Philadelphia office: Founded in 1997, Greenberg Traurig’s Philadelphia office is home to 43 attorneys and practices that include Real Estate, Public Finance, Litigation, Labor & Employment, Environmental, Government Law & Policy, Restructuring & Bankruptcy, Corporate & Securities, Intellectual Property, Business Immigration & Compliance, Investment Regulation, and Tax. The Philadelphia office represents clients in the manufacturing, health care, real estate, energy, financial, and insurance industries, state and local governments, professional service, and energy firms and individuals.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Real Estate Practice: Greenberg Traurig’s Real Estate Practice is a cornerstone of the firm and recognized leader in the industry. The firm’s real estate attorneys deliver diversified and comprehensive counsel for property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring, and disposition of all asset classes of real estate. The team draws upon the knowledge and experience of more than 400 real estate lawyers from around the world, serving clients from key markets in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The group’s clientele includes a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, and private owners. The firm’s real estate team advises clients on a variety of matters across a broad spectrum of commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, including structured equity and debt and the hybrids.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.