Over 30 Years representing office and industrial users…and counting:
TRANSACTIONS
STATES
COUNTRIES
Assignment: Multiple office lease transactions, site selection and feasibility for build to suit new construction, multiple lease audit and review.
“They get it. The Avocat Group understands the needs of the corporate user of real estate. Yes, real estate is about the bottom line, but numerous other factors go into a successful project. The Avocat Group have demonstrated their understanding of this. There is a high level of comfort in knowing that you have the smartest guys in the room on your side of the table. For us, the Avocat Group is the trump card and has made a clear and positive impact to our success.”
Assignment: Management of seven location office portfolio, structuring of over 250,000 SQFT of leased office space.
“Eric was able to extract us from a very disadvantageous lease and replace it with a superior building, with tremendously improved economics, and I ended up with a lot happier lawyers, a much better balance sheet, and an improved bottom line. He brings a series of things to the table that I find absent in other more traditional engagements of real estate brokers by law firms. As a former attorney, as a former developer, he understands both sides of the equation.”
Assignment: Firm-wide management of leased office space.
“Eric was reared in Brooklyn and educated at Stanford. The combination is devastating: He’s both intelligent and streetwise, and very resourceful. Being a lawyer, he understands not only the economics of the practice of law, but also the practicalities of the practice, law firm dynamics, and how law firms make decisions.”
Assignment: Management of 100+ location North American office/warehouse portfolio; Lease administration and data management; project management of FF&E and construction oversight; negotiation of over 240 transactions representing over 5 million SQFT.
“Avocat Group saved PSS millions of dollars through the above actions and played a vital role in the implementation of our strategic plan. Because of the extraordinary value that Avocat Group brought us, I strongly recommend them to other organizations.
Below are a few of the actions Avocat Group took that brought PSS tremendous value:
Assignment: Representation on 130+ location portfolio including strategic planning, site selection, standards optimization, and completion of over 200 lease transactions.
“Getting organized on over 100 branch locations, each with unique considerations, is no small undertaking. You helped us get ahead of the game, stay pro-active, provided us with negotiating leverage and followed up on laborious items enabling timely commencement of leases. We’d gladly refer you to anyone needing oversight on their portfolio of leased locations.”
Assignment: Management of 100+ location North American office portfolio; Lease administration and data management; project management of FF&E and construction oversight; acquisition of land, pre-development services, and financing of $22M headquarters facility.
“When we first hired your firm, we had seventeen locations and occupied less than 15,000 SQFT in our corporate headquarters. Now, four years later, our revenue has grown tenfold, our offices number over 100 across the U.S. and Canada, and our new 138,000 SQFT headquarters is under construction. Throughout this time you and your firm have diligently supported our dynamic evolution and have played a key role in our operational success. Your staff has become integrated with our own, and are vital to our real estate decision process.”
Assignment: Representation of approximately one million square feet of Class A office space in 25 lease transactions in multiple countries including Palo Alto, New York City, Austin, Reston, Los Angeles, McLean, Washington D.C., Wilmington, San Diego, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Brussels.
“(Eric Berson) thinks strategically, always looking ahead; he’s whip-smart, and knows all about (or knows how to quickly find out all about) the markets where we are, or want to be. He is proactive, sometimes to the point of being mildly irritating; he is truly available 24/7. In short, he makes us feel as if we are his best and only client. I suspect he makes his other clients feel the same way.
We find it a plus that Eric is a lawyer. His concern for his (and our) reputation for ethical and fair business practices guides his thinking. He is loyal to his client and the relationship, in an industry where his confreres tend to be primarily loyal to closing the transaction at hand. Our management team respects Eric for his experience, intelligence, and judgement, and while we have come to appreciate his Brooklyn bred charm, it is his professional skills and negotiating savvy which have earned him WSGR’s business.”
Assignment: Strategic planning and relocation of regional headquarters for a Bell South subsidiary operation. Subsequent expansion and relocation.
“Thank you for representing our firm in the negotiation and leasing of 26,000 square feet of new office space… Your assistance, from locating the space through construction planning and execution was completely professional. I am certain that your method of obtaining bids from prospective buildings, and then working those bids down, helped us to obtain a rate lower than any of our expectations.”
Assignment: Representation of lease transactions in Washington D.C, San Francisco, West Palm Beach, Miami, Houston, Caracas VZ, Warsaw POL, Budapest HU, Moscow RUS, Kiev UKR
“In addition to through market research and insightful analysis, Berson’s knowledge of the (legal) industry, builders, and landlords was invaluable to us as we considered our choices. He is a consummate strategist — able to look at the immediate from multiple angles while also considering the long range implications of any decisions. His guidance during executing the phases of executing the letter of intent through the eventual lease was significant. Even more important, from my perspective, is that Berson and his team didn’t disappear once the lease was signed and executed…”
Assignment: Relocation and expansion of 35,000 SQFT office and critical data center facility.
“On behalf of TTI Technologies Inc, I wish to thank you for all of your help during the relocation of it’s facility … Due to your well thought-out planning and professional approach, TTI made the transition without missing a beat. I realize that you were put through some challenging feats that, at times, seemed almost impossible to achieve. The end result was that you successfully located a new facility in a short period of time, which increased our floor space and cut our cost. When it came time for the tough to get going, you were always there. The final hours ran like clockwork because you had done your homework and coordinated every aspect of the move right down to any possible “what-if” scenario.”
Assignment: Relocate world headquarters, expand Spalding Sports headquarters, relocate Evenflo Baby Products world headquarters, consulting on various manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout North America.
“Many thanks for the efforts you and your staff have provided with our headquarters relocation and the various operating divisions around the country. In each transaction, your efforts have yielded positive results by lowering our operating costs and exposure to risk. …your concern for our future requirements helped us align our real estate decisions with our long-term business strategy.”
Assignment: Relocation of headquarters location in Class A office. Two subsequent renewal and extensions of lease. Subsequent relocation of suburban office.
“My partners and I could not be more pleased with the job you performed for us… You are, in the true sense of the word, a professional. We were particularly impressed with your willingness to listen to our concerns and with your ability to make us comfortable enough to welcome you into our decision-making process.”
Assignment: Relocation of Class A headquarters office lease.
How great it was to have someone working for my best interests rather than for the building owner. I can assure you that having negotiated three other leases on my own I will never lease space without representation again. And you will be that representative.
Assignment: Restructuring and early renewal of flex office lease to reduce costs.
“…(at our renewal) you were able to reduce our rent by over 20% from our prior rate and negotiate the landlord’s purchase of special equipment for us. I highly recommend your service to anyone who has a lease expiration approaching.”
Assignment: Relocation of regional headquarters office, subsequent representation on 18 additional office locations.
“With your assistance we were able to increase our size by over 33% with no increase in rent. From market searches to lease negotiation and construction, your services proved to be valuable to us.”
Assignment: Strategic expansion for technology company in Class A tech space.
“It was very obvious to us that the landlord (representative) did indeed represent only the building owner’s interests and not ours. By having you represent us, we were not only able to reduce our rate, but actually increase our size without an increase in cost.”
Assignment: Analysis of market for new home construction permits, competitor locations, and strategic placement of distribution facilities. Various subsequent assignments in eastern United States.
“I feel confident that not only did you locate all potential sites, but you did a professional job in both presenting them to us and negotiating the best rate. It would have been difficult if not impossible for someone without your knowledge of the market to accomplish the same results.”
Assignment: Relocation of regional headquarters office. Two subsequent lease renewals.
“My initial reservations were that we may end up paying a higher rate through your service. On the contrary, it was both surprising and satisfying to learn that we have the lowest rate in the Paragon Center, even lower than Delta Airlines.”
Assignment: Renewal and expansion of Class A office lease. Subsequent renewal and extension.
“Our corporate office considers this to be a “model lease” containing the special terms that you helped us to negotiate. The air conditioning clause alone will save us several thousand dollars per year over our prior arrangements.”
Assignment: Relocation of regional offices, subsequent renewal, subsequent expansion of leases.
“… you went into great detail to satisfy our needs for space and your follow up and eventual follow through were excellent. I feel we benefited by having you as our personal representative, in both selection of the building and negotiation of the terms.”
Assignment: Renegotiating and restructuring of lease on an early renewal to reduce costs.
“(You) saved us time… In a business where time is money, we were able to take advantage of having a professional represent us.”
Assignment: Relocation and expansion of office to Class A building.
“You were able to represent our best interests without being biased toward any particular building and therefore helped us to save thousands of dollars over the term of our lease. I’d be glad to highly recommend your services to others and look forward to doing additional business with you in the future.”
Assignment: Multiple lease transactions in multiple cities for Akin Gump, Wilson Sonsini & others.
“As you know we have engaged in many transactions over the years, involving both major tenant requirements as well as smaller “courtesy” transactions for valued national clients. The transactions have ranged in size from over 300,000 RSF leases to less than 5,000 RSF short term deals for important professional relationships. Regardless of the size of the transaction, you devote 100% of your resources to the best possible solution for you client and working diligently until a successful solution is realized.
You have represented clients in all five of our regions, navigating the nuances of the respective markets easily, either independently or in partnership with the “best in class” associates (either internally or handpicked from other national brokers). It is this aspect of your practice, ( i.e., picking the best available advocate for your clients in each market, regardless of their relationship to you) that distinguishes your practice from other national brokers.
While aggressively representing the interest of your client, you did so with a common sense approach that fosters an environment of good will that is hallmark of the negotiations and results in the best possible outcome.”
Assignment: Representation of lease transaction for 100,000 SQFT regional office in Charlotte.
“My experience in 33 years of practicing law is that lawyers like to be in total control of all they survey. However, I learned almost 15 years ago from watching you handle lease negotiations for me here that you were a critical and leading element of the team.
Having cross-examined many witnesses, I enjoyed watching you talk with the representatives and obtain the critical information about the local market, individual buildings, and landlords as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates. I was (and am) a very busy trial lawyer and law firm manager and simply did (and do) not have the time for all of the conversations and meetings that you handled.
I am happy to discuss with anyone the recent experience with you as you worked with my leadership team and me in the lease negotiations for the Charlotte Office of Womble Carlyle.”