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The Hedgehog Principle
Shams follows the Hedgehog Principle, which stands for the proposition that he really cares about his clients and their business at a deeper and higher level. Instead of just doing great legal work, he goes above and beyond to make sure his clients avoid risk and maximize profitability in their real estate business. Shams is a core teammate in helping his clients succeed in the real estate business.
This Hedgehog Principle is his guiding force and the reason why he gets up in the morning determined to do a great job for his clients. Without a reason “why”, he does not believe there is much point to being in business.
A hedgehog is given to all clients as a reminder of what Shams stands for.
Results-Based Business Model
Shams has a dramatically different business model from other attorneys: to help his clients grow their real estate business. This is a unique value-add that distinguishes him from other attorneys. Instead of “only” looking to send bills to his clients, he dives deeply into what his clients often need more than anything else, namely, assistance in growing their real estate businesses successfully. Shams is proud to say that today he practices commercial real estate law at the highest level, going toe-to-toe with large, legacy law firms on hundreds of transactions every year.
Industry-Leading Fee Arrangements
Shams practices sophisticated commercial real estate and corporate law using industry-leading fixed-fee arrangements. Many of his clients come to him after paying inflated legal fees to lawyers billing hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars an hour from big and midsize firms, who are solely focused on staffing matters with many associates, maximizing billable hours, and generating legal fees.
Unlike bloated midsize and large firms, Shams focuses on outcomes, not on hours. He often handles the most complex commercial real estate deals, corporate transactions, and private fund formations, generally valued between $1 million to $250 million, on a fixed-fee basis. His fixed-fee arrangements are based on the outcome or result in he obtain for our clients. Depending on the arrangement, Shams also waives “pursuit” fees, meaning his clients don’t pay any legal fees for pursuing unsuccessful deals or deals that don’t close. This is based on the notion that his compensation is tied directly to the success of his clients. Shams believes there are only two things clients should ever pay their lawyers for: outcomes and results.
That being the case, if a client prefers Shams bill them at an hourly rate, he is happy to do so. His rates are often 40-60% less than his peers practicing sophisticated commercial real estate law. Shams doesn’t “over-lawyer” or bill legal fees to simply “work the file.” His focus is on getting deals done and resolving complex disputes in the most efficient way possible while providing practical guidance and timely service along the way.
Market-Leading CRE Experience & Knowledge
Shams is actively involved in straightforward acquisitions of commercial real estate such as the acquisition of a multi-tenant retail center all the way up to complex transactions such as the sale of the North American headquarters of one of the largest public corporations in the world. Shams helps new entrepreneurs form private real estate investment funds and syndications to acquire single assets, but he also represents leading private equity funds with billions under management in the formation and management of complex real estate funds. He helps lease neighborhood shopping centers and entire floors of towering skyscrapers. He reviews and negotiates typical fixed-rate permanent purchase money loans to complex CMBS loans and defeasance transactions. He helps develop shopping centers and industrial projects and also helps develop institutional quality mixed-use lifestyle centers and state-of-the-art, class-A apartment buildings. He assists in the repositioning of big-box shopping centers to the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of portfolios of warehouses for retail & office use. No matter what you’re working on—no matter how simple or complex your project—Shams knows how to get you to the finish line.
Scalable Platform for Your Business
Shams built his real estate practice specifically to scale with his clients’ growing real estate businesses and to handle transactions and litigation efficiently using industry-leading technology. Whether his client is doing 2, 5, 10, or 20+ deals, he never ceases providing his clients responsive and dedicated service at a predictable cost, resulting in greater profitability for your real estate business.
Industry-Leading Response Rate
Because Shams understands the business of commercial real estate, Shams also understands how important it is to be timely turnaround documents, resolve disputes, and be hyper-responsive to his client’s needs. He knows the fast-paced nature of the real estate industry, and he knows how to ensure his clients succeed in it.
Vertically-Integrated
Shams is an industry-leading commercial real estate attorney dedicated to providing a one-stop-shop for complex transactions, development, leasing, financing, securities/fund formation, and real estate disputes. As part of a leading full-service real estate law firm, Shams changed the paradigm for how high-value, commercial real estate transactions are handled.
Growth-Focused. Client-Centric.
Once a month (or once a quarter depending on our client’s preferences), Shams checks in with his clients for a 30-minute phone call, at no cost. These monthly or quarterly check-ins are to evaluate ongoing transactions and other legal matters, discuss future projects, keep up to date with his client’s businesses and lives, and, most importantly, see how he can help his clients grow their businesses.