LOS ANGELES-Selecting legal representation in commercial real estate has long been a battle between quality and cost. This week, attorney Eli Taban is eliminating the dichotomy with the launch of his debut law firm Big Law Partners, GlobeSt.com learns exclusively. The firm will offer its clients highly experienced real estate attorneys sans the high prices through a value-driven alternative model developed by Taban, which will save clients an estimated 40% on billing rates compared to the typical costs incurred at larger firms.

“I started to think about why this problem exists, and it occurred to me that there are a lot of excess overhead expenses at the bigger firms that most clients would choose not to pay for if they could,” Taban tells GlobeSt.com. Some of these superfluous expenses include trophy office space, a word processing staff and ample secretaries, and these are the expenses that Big Law Partners plans to forgo. “These don't ultimately translate to improvements to substantive work product, which is what the client really cares about,” Taban says. “The client cares about a lawyer who can help get deals done while mitigating risks and a lawyer who can identify issues and find solutions."

Perhaps Taban's experience as both an attorney and client helped him pinpoint these excessive costs. Most recently, he handled legal and business matters for Jade Enterprises, and he began his legal career at Pircher, Nichols & Meeks representing institutional investors and lenders in acquisitions, dispositions and debt financing.