Pay It Forward: “Hold on Tight; Enjoy the Ride”
"You do have to be passionate about the industry, know the current market trends and be able to talk shop," says George Craft Jr., managing shareholder of Winstead.
George Craft Jr., Winstead, Houston
Craft provides his clients with an elevated level of industry insight and understanding. Craft began his career as a commercial real estate lender for a national financial institution, putting that invaluable knowledge and experience to work as he embarked on his legal career with a focus on representing lenders in commercial real estate transactions.
Job Title: Managing Shareholder
What has been the biggest challenge in your particular role and how have you overcome those obstacles/? When starting out as an associate, you are likely to juggle matters for several partners and various firm clients, all of which demand your attention.
As a real estate practitioner, you will handle multiple matters on any given day. It’s not uncommon for me touch at least a dozen different files per day.
In order to succeed, it’s essential to prioritize based upon need and urgency and communication is key.
Always clearly communicate timelines and expectations with everyone that you work with. Aside from clear communication, I wish there was a one-size-fits all solution to the challenge of juggling multiple high priority tasks at once, but I think it is essential to develop a system that works well for you.
Over the years, I have developed a deal tracking chart that lists every active file that I’m working on, a list of the deal team, critical dates and deadlines and summaries of the current status. As you progress in your career, communication remains essential in terms of conveying deadlines with your co-workers and managing your client’s expectations. A developer client may work on one or two real estate developments at a time, and they expect your undivided attention, so you need to take a proactive approach and learn to anticipate what’s coming next to meet and exceed expectations.
What about your role at the company are you most happy with? The human aspect of my practice is extremely rewarding. Building a team and working with them side by side on a daily basis is extremely fulfilling.
Our firm has a client base that’s comprised of very dynamic individuals. It is an honor to work with them and many have become close personal friends over the years. When you share a multi-year business relationship with a client, it’s rewarding to transition from the role of simply negotiating and revising documents to becoming a valued advisor and counsel on their matters.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry? It’s essential to be proactive. Never leave something for tomorrow if you have time to tackle it today. This will help you to become more efficient in your practice and will clear your plate for new work and opportunities to work with new people and on new projects.
It’s okay and inevitable that mistakes will be made. This is after all the “practice of law.” The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes and never make the same mistake twice.
Do you have any advice specifically for the next generation? If your goal is to make partner in a law firm, you can start exhibiting the character traits that are needed for such a role while you are an associate. Take ownership of your work in the matters that you are working on and never assume that someone else will go ahead and do it for you.
Would you advise younger professionals to begin a career in CRE? Yes, I would encourage associates to spend time in the commercial real estate space or any other professional realm prior to attending law school. In my experience, associates who have had prior careers tend to exhibit a higher level of professionalism in the workplace.
What would you advise them to do to get a foothold in the industry? Spending time in this industry will really help you better understand if this is something you are passionate about and help you hone in on specific area of expertise in which you may be able to contribute.
Working in the industry prior to practicing law will give you a tremendous leg up in terms of market knowledge, understanding the market lingo and the business side of the real estate industry, which is all critical to succeed as a real estate lawyer. Beginning a career in commercial real estate will also help you establish connections for future business. Several of my clients are prior coworkers.
Please share with us the best lessons learned or a surprising component of your unique journey. When many attorneys begin their careers (myself included) they don’t realize that there is a large sales aspect component to practicing law. That being said, selling and developing relationships can be done anywhere.
Whether I’m coaching one of my kid’s basketball teams or participating in a civic event in my neighborhood, there are always opportunities to make connections and potential new clients in the commercial real estate industry.
One of the great aspects of the commercial real estate industry is that there is a large entrepreneurial component, which means that there are potential clients at all age and expertise levels, unlike some industries where the potential client may only be at the “C-Suite” level. For this reason, I encourage all of the associates on my team to actively pursue business development efforts. That being said, you do have to be passionate about the industry, know the current market trends and be able to talk “shop.”
Real estate developers, investors and lenders love to talk about past and prospective projects, so you better be able to keep up. It is also essential to market when you are busy, even though it may seem daunting to develop business when your plate is full. However, I am convinced that potential clients can sense your energy when you are busy and sniff out your desperation when you are slow!
Keep in mind that many first meetings with potential clients are simply exercises in planting seeds that may take a year or more to develop into your first matter. It’s all about relationship building.
In your opinion, what takeaways did we learn from the COVID-19 crisis?
- The practice of law is absolutely a collaborative effort. Working in an office with your team provides unparalleled opportunity for brainstorming, mentorship, strategic planning, and the occasional venting session when needed.
- In my opinion, an in-person work environment provides for increased opportunity for teachable moments, engaging conversation about legal issues and is essential to building a culture and a thriving team of legal practitioners.
- If you are an associate and are serious about making partner and moving ahead, then you need to be in the office.
What three statements would you use to describe your work mindset?
- “Hold on tight”; “enjoy the ride”.
- A career involving sophisticated real estate transactions is never boring and is continually challenging.
- You will encounter new issues on a weekly basis. In the same vein, it is extremely rewarding and pretty cool to point to a large scale commercial real estate development and explain to your kids how you were involved in its development.
