Towards the conclusion of last week, the 2018 Bilzin Sumberg summer associates began one of the stages of the annual summer associate program: the real estate mock transaction. This exercise will take us through all of the stages of an actual real estate transaction while providing us with a practical dose of legal practice as we take on the roles of buyer, seller, and each parties’ respective attorneys. I will be representing Devin and Lucas, who will serve as the buyers, and Eric will be representing Brianna, who will play the role of our seller. Our fact pattern is (loosely) based on the recent Marvel Avenger’s Infinity War movie, with the buyer’s working to purchase the last “Infinity Stone property” from the seller Thanos’ holding company, “THE BAD GUY LLC”. Devin, Lucas, and I are the only thing standing between Thanos and world domination! As per usual, Jessica Bucshbaum and Betsi Cobas did an outstanding job making the exercise especially interesting by creating a fun scenario for us.

 

Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow, two partners in our esteemed Real Estate Practice Group, have been nice enough to volunteer their time to guide us through the mock transaction. Last Thursday, Adam and Phil primed us for our letter of intent negotiation on Friday by delivering an interesting seminar detailing the process of a real estate transaction from the offer to post-closing. They also gave us a more in-depth -presentation about the letter of intent to help us prepare for Friday. Newly-armed with a practical understanding of real estate and negotiation, both sides were thoroughly prepared when the time came to reach an initial agreement on our letter of intent. Eric and Brianna did an outstanding job representing their interests on the seller’s side, and I was fortunate to have two great “clients” in Devin and Lucas, who helped me to advocate on their behalf by clearly prioritizing their interests. Though many obstacles remain between us and final consummation of our deal, I think both sides were eminently reasonable in our initial negotiations and that an agreement is very likely. One final note: I would be remiss to neglect to mention (complain) that Eric, as a returning summer associate, has been through the mock transaction once before and thus has insider knowledge on the facts and process. Surely, this will be taken into account and will render the advantageous deal we ultimately procure from Eric and Brianna even more impressive than it would otherwise be!