Commercial Leasing

The Margolis Law Firm has more than thirty years experience in guiding leading developers, owners, and tenants of all types through the intricacies of New York lease law. Specific areas of representation include leasing of offices, industrial, and retail/restaurant properties. We have developed a specialty niche in shopping center, urban retail and restaurant leasing. All cases are personally supervised by attorney Jeffrey A. Margolis, a nationally recognized real estate lawyer who has often lectured and written on this highly specialized area of New York law.

The Margolis Law Firm was designated as approved outside regional counsel for a major insurance company’s corporate real estate leasing program. We represent clients in simple and complex lease negotiations. Further, we have given clients advice on transaction structures and, when needed, exit strategies.

Jeff Margolis is a nationally recognized authority on retail and restaurant leasing. He has presented numerous leasing training seminars to clients, brokers and to other attorneys. Past speaking engagements included: First National Conference on Restaurant Leasing (Las Vegas, Nevada), Office Leasing (New York City), and Guerilla Leasing Tactics for the Smaller Office, Retail and Restaurant Tenant (New York City). Recent programs have included Leasing and CV19 New Leasing Realities, and Commercial Leasing,  which Jeff taught as an adjunct professor of Real Estate at Brooklyn Law School in 2016.

Over the years, Jeff has represented both institutional (Equitable Life, Cadillac Fairview) and private sector clients (for example, the Weiler-Arnow family). Before starting his own practice in 1982, Jeff did leasing and other transactional work for a number of leading New York real estate owners, including the Rudin Family, Benenson Capital and the Tisches (Loews).

Representative transactions include:

‧ Office lease for international law firm
‧ Represented landlord in major office lease to government agency
‧ Represented major regional mall shopping center developer in its leasing programs
‧ Represented major national tenant in NY store leasing program
‧ Represented local chain of wireless communication store
‧ Represented local chain of Japanese restaurants

As a result of the extensive work that we have done for both landlords and tenants, we understand each party’s perspective on negotiations and leasing issues in the current market. We are thoroughly knowledgeable about all of the negotiating strategies and issues (and, most importantly, the practical solutions to those issues) that arise in leasing transactions.

The following are representative clients for whom Jeff Margolis has handled leasing transactions:

‧ The Equitable Life Assurance Company of the United States
‧ Cadillac Fairview Shopping Centers
‧ The Weiler Arnow Family
‧ Compass Management and Leasing
‧ Nippon Life Insurance
‧ Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Inc.
‧ Rudin Management
‧ SEB-Immobilien
‧ Tiffany & Co.
‧ Bed Bath & Beyond
‧ Dinosaur Restaurants
‧ Itochu Corp
‧ Komagashi Restaurants
‧ Franklin Covey
‧ Restaurant Nippon
‧ Matsuya Restaurants
‧ Wireless Warehouse
‧ Building Blocks
‧ Copperfields
‧ Fromagerie Bel (Laughing Cow)