The Art of the Deal

As a child, Day Pitney partner Jennifer Solberg wanted to be an artist.

She loved sketching scenes and drawing designs on paper with pen and pencil, making sure every detail was just right. "I really enjoyed the entire creative process," Solberg said.

Although she eventually turned her attention to more-commercial pursuits, to law school and a career in real estate law, Solberg feels fortunate to have found another creative outlet.

"Many of the things I loved about art are an essential part of what I do now: developing a plan, paying attention to all the details, communicating my vision and then seeing my work completed," Solberg said. "Now my end product is not a piece of art; it's a deal closed or a contract signed."

A member of the Real Estate and Environmental practice at Day Pitney, Solberg represents individuals, developers, and institutional investors in commercial real estate transactions throughout the United States.

Solberg takes an artisan's approach to her work. "When I'm drafting agreements, my goal is to take complex issues and break them down into simple terms. I want someone to be able to pick up the document in five or 10 years and understand it as if they were in the heart of the deal," she said.

Solberg joined Day Pitney as a summer associate in the Hartford office in 2005 and moved to the New Jersey office about three years later. Since then, she's put her creative approach to work in many real estate transactions – from representing a real estate investment manager in the $65 million acquisition of a pair of warehouse and light industrial buildings in northern New Jersey to representing a developer in the acquisition and $43 million construction financing of a multifamily development project in Hudson County, New Jersey.

Clients appreciate Solberg's intelligent, thorough approach. One of them is David Trager, chief investment officer of Woodmont Properties in Fairfield, New Jersey. Solberg recently represented Trager's company when it closed on the acquisition of and construction financing for a development property in New York. "We achieved a great result," Trager said. "We would not have been able to manage the deal without her experience and passion for getting the job done right."

Trager complimented Solberg's ability to move deals with complex financing to completion by developing innovative ways to achieve desired results.

Like an artist.