Pay It Forward: "Focus on Learning, Work Hard and Be Accountable"
"The best part of the job is being able to see the tangible results," says Nichole D. Cortese of Loeb & Loeb in New York City.
Nichole D. Cortese, 43, Loeb & Loeb, New York.
Practice area: Real Estate/Commercial Leasing.
Law school and year of graduation: Fordham University Law School, 2004
How long have you been at the firm and when did you make partner/? I joined Loeb in 2008 and was named partner in 2014. In 2018, I was chosen to become chair of the firm’s CRE leasing practice.
Why did you decide to practice law in the real estate industry? Very early in my career, I was exposed to work in commercial real estate as I was assigned to supporting roles in leasing and subleasing transactions and mergers and acquisitions. I became interested in the ways in which attention to physical space serving a specific purpose can be integral to the success of a business, a building or a community. As I became able to steer the trajectory of my career, I gravitated towards work in commercial real estate leasing, where I enjoy working with landlords to create spaces and provide services that allow businesses to thrive, as well as working with retail and office tenants to obtain spaces that meet their needs for development and growth and serve their employees and customers.
The best part of the job is being able to see the tangible results, whether in the form of a new amenity center in a commercial building or a great new restaurant on the corner.
Describe how you feel now about your career now that you’ve made partner. Even prior to becoming a partner in 2014, I found my legal career to be both challenging and fulfilling. I take a business-oriented approach to negotiations and try to place an emphasis on finding efficient and practical solutions to issues that arise. I am fortunate to work with a fantastic group of clients and colleagues, and above all else, becoming a partner, and later becoming the chair of the commercial real estate leasing group, was an affirmation of their trust and respect, which I continue to strive to earn and maintain each day.
What’s the key to successful business development in your opinion and how do you grow professionally while everyone is navigating working remotely and in-person? The first key to business development is to provide excellent work and service, with a particular emphasis on the service component of the business. There are many good lawyers in the city, and in order to distinguish yourself (and ideally your entire team), there needs to be a consistent focus on attention to detail, responsiveness to communications, and speed (without sacrificing quality) in delivery of work product. With transactional work, time can be the enemy of momentum, and it is important to have clients come to trust you as a member of their team—so they need to know that getting the deal done is just as important to you as it is to them.
Of course, outside of any particular transaction, business development is also about building relationships, which can be more challenging in a virtual world. We have gotten creative during the pandemic and aimed to provide engaging virtual experiences for clients, such as wine and cheese tastings and other similar events. The important thing has been to always stay in touch, whether by phone or by Zoom, when it isn’t possible to share a meal or sit in the same room during a negotiation. We’re all working through this experience together, and it’s important to maintain that human connection.
Who had the greatest influence in your career that helped propel you to partner in real estate? I’ve had the benefit of several fantastic mentors throughout my career, both personally and professionally, but the greatest influence on my career as a real estate professional has definitely been Raymond Sanseverino, the head of the real estate department at Loeb. When I joined the firm a young associate, I had the opportunity to work closely with him for several years and learn many things about the art of negotiation and the business of client service. As I have progressed in my career, he has been a consistent guide, advocate and sounding board, and provided me with a fine example of mentorship that I hope to pay forward.
What advice you could give an associate who wants to make partner in real estate? Initially, focus on learning the law and the business and providing excellent work and service. Be responsive to communications and accountable for your work product and pay meticulous attention to detail. What is most important is building a reputation for being dependable and caring about the quality of your work.
As you advance in your career, it is also important to learn to be practical and efficient, to have good business judgment, and to learn to develop business by cultivating relationships with clients and brokers. Perhaps the best advice is to keep in mind that the practice of law is more of a journey than a destination, and if you’re routinely seeking out challenging work and delivering results, success will follow.
What challenges did you face in your career path and how did it influence your career? The biggest challenge that I faced in my career path was actually in deciding to embrace it. When I graduated from law school, I expected to pursue a career in commercial litigation, which had been my focus in law school and in my summer employment prior to graduation. However, upon reporting for work at my prior firm after the bar exam and summer break, I was immediately assigned to work on transactional real estate matters to meet the need for extra hands. I was told that after about six months, I would be free to rejoin the litigation team. I decided that rather than approaching the assignment as a few months of detention, I would embrace the opportunity to learn something new.
I am glad that I kept an open mind, as I was very quickly drawn to the work, and after only a few months, I approached the department head, and let him know that I wanted to stay. Had I not embraced the opportunity and learned the fundamentals of leasing and subleasing, title and survey, and all of the other foundational components to my career in real estate, I would not have found my way to the real estate team at Loeb.
Knowing what you know now about your career path, what advice would you give to your younger self? My advice to my younger self would be consistent with my advice to young associates: Focus on learning as much as you can, work hard, be accountable, and keep an open mind as new experiences and opportunities present themselves.
What lessons, if any, did you learn in 2020/2021 (the years of COVID-19)? This past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, like many real estate professionals, I’ve found myself helping landlord and tenant clients to complete new leases and to restructure existing leases to preserve viability and competitiveness as the industry has faced (and continues to cope with) the unprecedented challenges posed by the lengthy pandemic.
Much of my client work during this time and into the present has focused on allowing both landlords and tenants to successfully navigate one of the most complex eras that the commercial real estate industry has faced. More than anything, I think the take-away has been about community and resilience as the industry and the city looks forward to embracing the new normal that will emerge as we come back together.
