Orlando partner Angela Shaw is an experienced commercial real estate attorney who represents developers, purchasers, sellers, and borrowers with all aspects of commercial real estate transactions for multi-family, retail, office buildings, and mixed-use projects. Angela has a diverse and sophisticated real estate practice which reaches beyond the State of Florida. She is an extension of her client's development teams, and they often work with a collaborative approach.

Why real estate?

My uncle was a national mall developer, and he inspired me to be a commercial real estate attorney. One of the best aspects of my job is that I have been able to work on some really great projects. It is rewarding to be able to the see those projects once they are built and to know that I played a role in making that happen.

What are some of the traits that you admire the most amongst your peers? 

I am fortunate to work with an incredibly talented and dedicated group of attorneys. My transactions often require a collaborative approach with other practice groups such as corporate, intellectual property, construction, and health care (for the senior communities). We handle each transaction with a “team” approach. It is highly beneficial to our clients to be able to offer a team of experts to assist with whatever issues they may encounter. 

At this point in your career, what would you say has been your biggest accomplishment? 

Although I take pride in all of the projects I have worked on, I think my biggest accomplishment is the trusting relationships I have developed with my clients. They know that I am committed to their success and have a “whatever it takes” attitude to get the deal done. 

What’s one piece of advice that greatly impacted you and your career trajectory?

Trust is your currency. Integrity and trust are vitally important qualities for any attorney. You can be a brilliant attorney, but without integrity and the trust of your clients, you have nothing.

What are key trends that you are noticing in the industry?

Adaptive Reuse is an interesting trend in commercial real estate, which involves taking an existing structure and redeveloping it for a different use. With the growth of e-commerce and the pandemic, brick and mortar retail and office sectors have declined. This has fueled a growing trend of redeveloping office buildings and retail into multi-family and mixed-use projects. Adaptive Reuse can present some interesting challenges, but it is an inventive way to turn lemons into lemonade.