Real Estate Law Group LLP

Focus and practice areas

Two areas anchor the firm: commercial real estate transactions, and partnerships and joint ventures. The firm works from Sacramento, California, and its work centers on commercial property. That focus shapes the matters it takes on: purchases, financing, leasing, and the agreements that set how a property is owned. Commercial deals tend to be large and to carry many moving parts. A firm that stays inside this field builds a working knowledge of how these deals run.

What the firm handles

The firm names four services under its commercial heading: commercial and secured transactions, commercial purchases and sales, commercial leasing and landlord and tenant matters, and subdivisions. Each is a distinct strand of real estate practice. Together they cover much of the legal work behind commercial property in a market the size of greater Sacramento.

Commercial purchases and sales usually move through a purchase agreement, a due diligence period, and a closing in escrow. Buyers use diligence to review title, survey, existing leases, service contracts, and financial records. Contingencies in the agreement give a buyer room to walk away or renegotiate if a problem surfaces. The lawyers draft and negotiate these terms and shepherd the paperwork to closing for one side of the deal.

Secured transactions turn on the documents that let a lender take property as collateral. Loan agreements, promissory notes, and deeds of trust set out the terms of the loan and what happens if a borrower defaults. Title insurance and recorded filings protect the lender's claim against later claims on the same property. The wording here decides where a lender stands if a deal goes wrong, so the drafting has to be exact.

Leasing and subdivisions

Commercial leasing and landlord and tenant matters cover the agreements between property owners and business tenants. A commercial lease fixes rent, term, maintenance duties, and the treatment of common areas, and it often runs far longer than a residential one. Clauses on assignment, subletting, and renewal decide what a tenant can do down the road. In my opinion, this is one area where clear early drafting saves the most trouble later.

Landlord and tenant matters continue after a lease is signed. Questions come up over rent increases, repairs, defaults, and the return of a security deposit at the end of a term. A tenant may want to leave early, or a landlord may need to enforce a term the tenant has missed. The lease itself usually decides how these questions get answered, which is why the first draft matters so much.

Subdivisions involve splitting land into separate legal parcels, which brings in local maps, approvals, and recorded documents. In California, the Subdivision Map Act governs much of this process, and it usually calls for a tentative map and then a final map filed with the local agency. Developers rely on lawyers to line up the filings that a city or county requires before lots can be sold. It is detailed, procedural work tied closely to local rules.

How ownership gets structured

Partnerships and joint ventures, the firm's second core area, govern how people hold property together. A real estate project often brings in several investors, a developer, and a source of financing. The terms that bind them come from a partnership or joint venture agreement, which sets each party's capital contribution, share of profit, and role in decisions. Many of these ventures use a limited partnership or a limited liability company as the legal shell.

This area connects to the transactional side, since a single deal often needs both an ownership structure and a purchase or a loan. The agreement also sets how partners exit, how disputes get resolved, and what happens if one party wants out early. As a reviewer, I read the pairing of these two practice areas as a sign the firm keeps related commercial work together.

How the team is built

The firm names four attorneys. Andrew F. Sackheim, Jason L. Hoffman, and Emil G. Tung are partners, and Adam W. Levy is an associate. That is a small group weighted toward its partners.

In my opinion, a three-to-one ratio of partners to associate suits a firm built on transactional depth. Clients at a firm this size tend to work directly with a partner on their matter. That partner can stay with a deal through the drafting and the negotiation, which gives a client one steady point of contact.

Who the firm works with

The firm lists a range of representative clients. They include development companies, investment firms, and banks. Two named institutions appear on the list: California State University, Sacramento and the Sacramento Children's Home.

Institutional clients like these hold real estate for long-term use, and they answer to their own governance and budget rules. A university or a nonprofit may buy, lease, or develop property to support its mission, and each step needs board or administrative sign-off. Work for such clients calls for steady, well-documented transactions and careful record keeping. The client list names both private developers and public institutions.