Tech Cos.' Chase For Space Adds Deal-Making Complexity

Law360 (June 6, 2014) As Bay Area tech companies race to procure space for future employees, lawyers are faced with a changing real estate environment, and even lawyers who represent non-tech buyers and tenants say tech companies are impacting their deal-making. With tech companies like Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. voraciously picking up space across the Bay Area, companies are paying premiums for space, but they are actually saving money by not risking a future loss of new talent due to lack of space, lawyers say. One impact on lawyers is that deal time frames have gotten extremely short, said Anton N. Natsis of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, who represented developer Boston Properties Inc. in the Salesforce deal. "Salesforce, from the moment they signed the [letter of intent] to the time they signed the lease: five weeks," Natsis said. "You better have depth of experience among all of your lawyers. You better be prepared to work hard. We redrafted Salesforce every weekend. Those things fly off your screen at 3 in the morning on Sunday."