Polsinelli has welcomed Gary R. Clarke as a shareholder to the firm’s growing Philadelphia office and in the Real Estate Practice Group. He is the second new shareholder in the Philadelphia office this month and arrives on the heels of the office opening with 24 shareholders this past summer. Additionally, Clarke continues the firm’s growth in real estate, most recently with Cameron Weil in New York. Prior to joining Polsinelli, Clarke served as in-house real estate counsel for a high-growth startup and a national retail landlord.
“We are excited to welcome Gary to our Real Estate Practice and to our new Philadelphia office. His addition underscores our commitment to expanding our real estate practice nationwide and expanding that growth into the Philadelphia market is a great development for us and our clients. Our clients will benefit from Gary’s extensive experience in real estate development, including land use approvals, permitting and construction, and leasing, and from his insights from his in-house roles,” said Eric G. Greenfield, Polsinelli’s Real Estate Industry Chair.
“Our focus has been to strategically grow our already substantial Philadelphia office over the next years and build out practice areas that benefit our clients. Our recent additions show that we are serious about this growth and our goals, and we could not be more excited to welcome Gary to our team here,” said John D. Martini, Managing Partner of the Philadelphia office.
“I am excited to join the Polsinelli team and look forward to applying my experiences as outside and in-house counsel to provide practical, results-focused counsel to our clients,” said Clarke.
Clarke is an experienced real estate attorney who concentrates his practice in commercial real estate development and transactions, with an emphasis on site acquisition and disposition, land use approvals and permitting, construction and leasing matters. He has provided real estate transactional counsel to clients in the higher education, health care, multi-family residential, office, retail, hospitality and restaurant industries around the country and has assisted clients with major mixed-use developments and other large construction projects. His experience with commercial real estate transactions consists of acquisitions, dispositions and leases for uses including student housing, hotels, shopping centers, healthcare centers, and office buildings. He also advises clients on zoning and land use matters and has obtained zoning and land use approvals for a wide variety of clients and project types, including casinos, stadiums, mixed-use residential developments, office buildings, schools and restaurants.
Clarke first joined a venture-backed retail business where he led the rapid growth of the business’ national real estate portfolio. Later, he joined a private equity-backed national retail landlord where he negotiated leases, condominium declarations, commercial contracts, land use and title issues and managed legal operations.
He is a former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer and has participated in numerous U.S. Navy, joint service and multi-national operations over two wartime deployments. Clarke received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Source: www.polsinelli.com
