Lease and Real Estate Attorneys in the Woodlands

General Counsel Services – Real Estate Matters

Real Estate issues are always a concern for most businesses. Major corporations, of course, have internal law firms that are there to handle every regulatory issue as it arises. For companies that aren’t headed for the Fortune 500, however, that’s not practicable. What is practicable, though, is having a smart, nimble law firm a text or phone call away that will respond to your every regulatory need.

Hopkins Centrich, the premier business law firm, acts as general counsel for medium-sized companies and closely held businesses. Over the years we have been the primary outside general counsel (and chief compliance officer) for a variety of privately-owned companies from tech to software developers, healthcare providers, architectural firms, real estate developers, retailers, restaurants, breweries, CPA firms, and others.

Hopkins Centrich has been the “go-to” legal advisor to start-up ventures and more mature closely held and family-owned businesses, and national enterprises for over two decades. We work with you through all your real estate issues, concerns, and transactions.

What an Off-Site General Counsel Means

When asked about how Hopkins Centrich acts as a ‘General Counsel’ service we tend to answer with this: it means acting as an outside lawyer for all business-related law issues and occasional chief compliance officer to a variety of privately owned companies, tech companies, healthcare providers, architectural firms, among others . . . as well as advisor to start-up ventures.

Summarizing what we do as outside General Counsel for mid-cap sized (among others) companies is not easy: our services are too wide-ranging and involve so many areas of the law that it’s rather difficult to sum up in a few sentences.

And, once we start using examples, the discussion tends to focus too much on one area of the law at the expense of others – all of which can and probably will pop up throughout any business life.

What an Off-Site General Counsel Means

When asked about how Hopkins Centrich acts as a ‘General Counsel’ service we tend to answer with this: it means acting as an outside lawyer for all business-related law issues and occasional chief compliance officer to a variety of privately owned companies, tech companies, healthcare providers, architectural firms, among others . . . as well as advisor to start-up ventures.

Summarizing what we do as outside General Counsel for mid-cap sized (among others) companies is not easy: our services are too wide-ranging and involve so many areas of the law that it’s rather difficult to sum up in a few sentences.

And, once we start using examples, the discussion tends to focus too much on one area of the law at the expense of others – all of which can and probably will pop up throughout any business life.

Here are a few of the common real estate-related responsibilities we, as general counsel, may handle for a company:

• Review and negotiation of leases - Analyzing lease terms and negotiating favorable lease agreements for corporate office space, retail locations, warehouses, etc.
• Acquisitions and sales - Overseeing legal due diligence and closing processes for corporate real estate purchases and sales.
• Landlord/tenant issues - Advising on landlord/tenant rights and obligations, lease disputes, eviction proceedings, and subleasing terms.
• Zoning and land use - Navigating zoning changes, variances, permitting, and land use restrictions affecting company properties.
• Environmental compliance - Guiding compliance with environmental laws and regulations applicable to company-owned real estate.
• Title review - Examining title reports and surveying issues to identify risks, boundaries, easements, covenants, and encumbrances on properties.
• Financing - Negotiating mortgages, loans, and other financing for corporate real estate transactions.
• Construction contracts - Drafting and reviewing design, engineering, construction, and contractor agreements for corporate projects.
• Property taxes - Appealing tax bills, litigating valuation disputes, and negotiating tax incentives relating to corporate real estate assets.
• Disputes - Managing real estate litigation such as boundary disputes, zoning appeals, landlord/tenant lawsuits, and eminent domain proceedings.
• Compliance auditing - Conducting diligence to ensure company properties comply with applicable laws and regulations.
• Risk management - Identifying legal risks associated with corporate real estate holdings and transactions.