Monday Mentors with Dallas Real Estate Lawyer Kevin Cherry

Kevin Cherry, founding partner and board certified lawyer at Cherry Petersen Landry Alpert, joins us on today's show. Kevin talks about finding your own way, getting to work early, and being yourself in a job interview.

His firm/practice:

• Practiced at another law firm his first three years out of law school, worked hard, but his heart wasn't in it
• Left the law firm and went to work at a real estate company (not practicing law), but that didn't work out
• Fortunate to then become an in-house attorney (1986) and now his heart was in it, and success followed
• His job was eliminated when the company was bought, and he had another decision to make
• Turned down an offer from a great firm, and instead hung his own shingle (1991)
• The real estate market was in recovery, he had built up good relationships with his old firm, old company, and others from growing up in Dallas
• Another firm approached him and wanted to bring him/his practice on; they tried it for a few months but he returned to just his own firm
• So his firm was a real estate boutique until 2009 when they added a litigation group
• 20 lawyers (15 real estate transactions plus 5 litigators)
• Took him a little longer to find his path than others; and that's okay!
• In real estate law,
  • the lawyers come in at the last minute, when the deal is 75% done
  • so perspective is trailing the market
  • retail and office real estate business is tough
  • industrial/warehouse is good
  • residential is good (multi-family pretty good; single family very good)
  • Lots of business in Texas, and the real estate business is local (i.e. relationships)
  • likes that deals are done relatively quickly (compared to litigation)

Advice to lawyers in practice

• Get to work early!
• Manage your email and guard your time well
• Show that you care about the quality of the work that you are doing; care about every project you do
• Doesn't mean perfectionism, but consistency and quality; clients can tell!

Advice to lawyers who are looking for a job

• Small firm perspective, and it is an inexact science
• Didn't start hiring lawyers from law school until a few years ago
• Has recently hired on the spot based on referrals and a short interview (strong referral in this circumstance)
• Looks for a personal connection that he finds compelling, and/or something in their academic record that is impressive (e.g. one interesting
• It's not an objective process, no specific GPA, it is individual
• Relax in an interview and be yourself (he had braces for his interviews and made it through!)
• Book: What Color is Your Parachute? - lots of nos before a yes

Rapid Fire Questions

• One trait or characteristic you most want to see in an associate: humility
• What habit has been key to your success: keeping up relationships
• Favorite app/tool: podcasts (Megyn Kelly, Michael Lewis, Malcolm Gladwell, Tim Keller)
• Favorite social distancing activity: bicycling
• Favorite legal movie: Breaker Morant (though Wedding Crashers might be if it is a legal movie!)

Thanks again to Kevin Cherry for joining us on the show!