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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Real Property - Transactions

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, April 17, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00

This CLE webinar will examine how to guide tenant clients through conducting due diligence to determine landlord financial stability before entering into or renewing a commercial lease. The panel will also discuss drafting considerations for key lease provisions to protect tenant clients' interests should the landlord experience any financial downturn that impacts their ability to perform their lease obligations.

Faculty

Zana Lisa
Shareholder
Shipman & Goodwin LLP

Ms. Zana’s commercial real estate clients are situated throughout the U.S. with a focus on New York’s tri-state area, and include private developers, public companies, institutional owners, banks, and lessees of millions of square feet of real estate across the country in the luxury residential, mixed-use, retail, commercial office, data centers and colocation facilities, hotel and hospitality, healthcare and higher education industries. Her specific experience and areas of focus include: representing public and private companies that use millions of square feet of real estate, in negotiating build-to-suit and credit-tenant office leases, development agreements and state tax incentive agreements; acquiring, selling, financing and leasing data centers and colocation facilities; negotiating ground leases; negotiating retail leases on behalf of developers and the end retail users; arranging for and negotiating debt and equity financing; and negotiating corporate- and property-level acquisitions and sales.

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Liebman David
Shareholder
PowerPlay Real Estate Partners

Mr. Liebman represents buyers, tenants and investors in the acquisition, leasing, purchasing and execution of build-to-suit transactions of commercial buildings and land. With 30+ years of industry experience and more than 500 transactions, valued at over $900 million, he enables his clients to make informed real estate decisions that fulfill all objectives and requirements: economic, logistical and otherwise. As a former Executive Board Member, past Chicago Chapter President and multiple committee member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Mr. Liebman is highly respected locally and nationally, and leverages his many relationships to create significant and unique value for his clients. Previous employment includes 10+ years with each of CBRE and Colliers International; 5+ years as a corporate, real estate and litigation attorney; and 5+ years at a custom designer and fabricator of special purpose steel door systems and hardware.

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Description

In a volatile commercial real estate market where interest rates remain high and vacancy rates remain below their pre-pandemic levels, many commercial landlords are experiencing financial difficulties. When entering into a new lease or lease term extensions, commercial tenants take on numerous risks and liabilities that are compounded if a landlord is financially unstable. Tenants' counsel should be able to guide their clients through landlord due diligence and build tenant protections into the lease to mitigate risk for their clients.

Due diligence considerations include assessing landlord financial stability such as determining whether the landlord is in default under any financing secured by the building the tenant will occupy; or whether the building is fully occupied, and the tenants are paying rent to generate sufficient cash flow to fulfill any landlord obligations for building operations/maintenance.

If a landlord is in default or there is concern of future financial instability, the lease should include terms protecting tenant clients against those potential risks.

Listen as our expert panel discusses how to guide commercial tenants through conducting landlord due diligence before entering into or renewing a commercial lease, and how to protect tenant clients against landlord financial instability through key lease provisions.

Outline

  1. Introduction
    • State of the commercial real estate market
    • Commercial tenant risks when landlords are financially unstable
  2. Due diligence practices
    • Landlord financial stability
    • Operational history
  3. Key lease provisions to protect tenants against current or future landlord financial instability
  4. Practitioner takeaways

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

  • Why should tenants conduct due diligence of the landlord's financial stability before entering into or renewing a commercial lease?
  • What key information should be examined during the due diligence process?
  • What provisions should be included in a commercial lease to best protect tenants against current or future landlord financial instability?