Mark Katz, Arent Fox

DC has the best lawyers in the country (we're not biased at all). To highlight some of the city's best commercial real estate attorneys, we applied extensive use of statistics and the scientific method and bring you our latest installment of the legal minds that help DC's real estate industry thrive. (Check out Part 1 and Part 2.)

As chairman of the firm, Mark balances his real estate practice with managing 350 lawyers. (Each takes up 75% of his time, he smiles.) After attending Oberlin and UVa Law, Mark clerked for US District Court and the Fourth Circuit, then came to DC to "save the world." He started out as a white collar criminal defense lawyer, helping defend Richard Secord in the Iran-Contra hearings. In '87, he turned to real estate--having been exposed to it through his uncle, GC to NY-based Jack Resnick & Sons--and joined Arent Fox. Mark's handled projects like buying a 650-acre Costa Rican peninsula to develop into a luxury resort (repping Steve Case and Revolution), and acquiring a $1.5B EQR portfolio of 27 properties in six states (repping Greystar and longstanding client Goldman Sachs). He reps 1788 Holdings on The Lauren, the Bethesda condo development that includes DC's most expensive condo unit ($10.5M if you've got your checkbook out). Best lessons: Be generous with your time and collaborative with your network. View yourself as a corporation (with stakeholders, a board of directors, and business and marketing plans); continually invest in yourself. Here's Mark with his children and wife, NFL SVP Cynthia Hogan, on a Norwegian glacier.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Washington, D.C. Newsletters
Related Stories

Lawmakers Punt On Stripping Approvals From 15 Projects In Data Center Alley

Affinius Relinquishes Big Office Building Next To Capital One Arena

One Thomas Circle, The Elevated Workplace For The Way D.C. Works

DCHA Taps Executive Director: The D.C. Deal Sheet

The Multifamily Boom Is Putting HVAC Decisions Back In The Spotlight

Gould Starts $25M East End Office Renovation, Seeks Tenants For Top Floors

Elme Finishes Liquidating With 3 D.C.-Area Sales

What It Takes To Build For A Thriving Prince William County

INSIDE THE SPACE: 8821 Preston Ct., Jessup, Maryland

Robotaxi Firms Quietly Growing Real Estate Footprint, Even Where They're Not Yet Legal

Court-Appointed Receiver Takes Over Jemals' Historic Woodies Building

FOR LEASE: Maryland Industrial Property Offers Purposeful Design And A Desirable Location