Shameer Soni, managing partner and real estate lawyer with Patel Law Group in Dallas, joins us on today's show. Shameer talks about starting a law firm, the real estate practice, communicating via resume, and wide receivers v. linemen. His firm/practice Runs the real estate practice: multi-family purchase/sale/development. Works with retail/industrial/hospitality clients as well Started the firm 11 years ago with two other partners built around entrepreneurs and business owners. The idea was to represent these clients in their core business as well as their investment portfolio (i.e. real estate). Started with clients whose core businesses were doctors, IT staffing, hotel Led to corporate immigration and real estate practice areas Also had/have a title company Now have a litigation practice as well that has recently pared down to work with clients adjacent to the real estate practice Got his start at a larger firm doing entertainment/film finance in Atlanta, but when he came over to start this firm, the Dallas/Texas market didn't support the film finance area, which led to the transition to real estate He went to every networking event, meetup in the beginning to get the firm off the ground His partner Anish went to a networking breakfast every week at 6am at Steak and Shake There is no bad meeting, no bad meetup. Your network has value in perpetuity. In the early days, he built relationships with lawyers who knew what they were doing and were willing to help when he got into situations he was unsure about Learned a lot about firm culture and the things they wanted in a firm while working for others, and then used that info to build the culture in their firm. Want to be the un-law firm law firm. From social interaction to limiting hourly billing (they do zero hourly billing on the transactional side). Conduct exit interviews with lawyers who leave and learn more about ways to improve the firm's culture. Market 90% of their work is in Texas; 60% in north Texas. Deals ranging from $2M to $300M and all of those are in a strong market right now. Industrial is hot right now as well. Community retail is picking up. Hotels were crushed and remain so for now. Residential is on fire in Texas, but COVID has slowed down the process with supply chain issues, etc. Advice to lawyers in practice Learn business development and client relationships early; be proactive in asking to go with your partner on client visits Learn everything about a deal, not just your specific task/role Do as many meetings as you can You want to become a profit center as soon as possible rather than be a cost center for the firm Recognize that you are part of the deal and collaborating with the client for a win-win scenario; it is more than just a piece of paper Clients aren't hiring you to be a title review guy; they are hiring you to do a deal Must understand the forest and not just your tree Establish trust with your partners quickly so they are comfortable bringing you along to meet partners without embarrassing them Advice to Lawyers On The Lateral Market Recognize what the firm is looking for and make sure your documents clearly communicate your ability to meet those needs Be specific about what you have done What size deals? What type of deals? What role did you have? Find ways to connect with the partners (did you go to the same law school?) He rewrites his bio on the law firm website every quarter! It is a good exercise to think about when writing/rewriting your resume. Looking for the right fit for the need they have at the time Broadway show staffing example Football recruiting example Final Thought Attitude makes up for a lot; skills can be learned/taught. Much harder to teach...