I logged off my computer, changed into comfortable shoes, and headed to the elevators. With our first in-person event underway, I was thrilled to see my fellow summer associates, explore Brickell, and bring out my competitive side.
The summer associates met in the lobby to leave for the Scavenger Hunt that would include associates
Last night we had our last practice group outing, and it was awesome. The Real Estate group’s summer associate event was a scavenger hunt in Brickell City Center. We were divided into four teams and the goal
Last week mark
ed the culmination of the Mock Real Estate Transaction–a training program designed to give the summer associates exposure to the full life cycle and many phases of a real estate deal. The summer associates were divided into two teams, buyers (Team Captain America) and sellers (Team Iron Man).
Weekly sessions led by Adam Lustig and Phil Sosnow covered each phase of a real estate transaction, from Letter of Intent to Closing. Coaches Manny Gonzalez and Kent Koch were assigned to each team to help us understand and draft documents, as well as advise us in conducting negotiations. After the informative introduction, the teams would conduct a negotiation, attempting to reach a compromise by the end of the session. Buyers and sellers were given unique fact patterns for each phase, highlighting needs and wants to drive negotiation priorities.
The path to closing was not always smooth. In fact, during the Contract Amendment phase, our deal almost broke down entirely. Buyers and sellers fully embraced their roles and negotiations for an extension of the property inspection period got very heated. Personally, I learned a valuable and mildly embarrassing lesson about the importance of stepping out of the room to confer privately. Thinking aloud in role of the seller, I blurted out “what do we think of $X for Y weeks extension?” Buyers enthusiastically embraced my suggestion, my team shot me looks of stunned disbelief, and Adam declared “that sounds like offer and acceptance!” I frantically back-pedaled and thankfully we were permitted to disregard my comment and move on.
Continue Reading The Summer War – Let’s Make a Deal
King Lear, My Fair Lady, Hootie & the Blowfish. Although these three things probably have very little to do with each other, they were each noted last night when the summer associate class, thanks to Amy Podolsky’s suggestion, decided to partake in trivia night at Fado in Mary Brickell Village after work.
During orientation, we were told to seek out opportunities to meet with as many attorneys at the firm as possible. We were encouraged to invite attorneys to lunch.
Four weeks later, no one in the summer associate class has ever had lunch by