Davis+Gilbert LLP

Real Estate

Partner/Co-Chair

Real estate attorney Robert Karin navigates landlords and tenants through their most challenging issues, from negotiating flagship locations for retailers to protecting landlords against the financial stress of COVID-19 or whatever the next upheaval in the real estate market may be. Clients rely on Rob’s practicality, sense of fairness in deals and market knowledge when they lease office and retail space or purchase, sell and finance high-profile commercial real estate.

During high-stakes, high-commitment transactions, Rob draws upon his understanding of clients’ industries — retail, food, hospitality, financial services and private equity, to name a few — to meet their unique use requirements. He steers marquee companies through cornerstone projects, such as Nike’s iconic street presence on Fifth Avenue. In addition, Rob guides new entrants in their market launches, as he did for Chick-fil-A’s successful rollout in New York City.

Whether negotiating an office lease for major hedge funds and banks or leading the sale of a shopping center, Rob deftly closes deals while preserving long-term working relationships among the many participants. His portfolio of experience covers a mix of categories and clients: warehouses, design studios, regional restaurant chains, apparel chains and retail locations for celebrity chefs, among others. In addition, major landlords consistently seek Rob’s assistance to negotiate critical office leases. While real estate markets have been reacting to the pandemic, major national retailers and landlords have been trusting Rob’s counsel on complex global deferral and abatement agreements to protect their investments.

Cornell University, J.D., 1978; Dartmouth College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1975