The Calm Before the (Litigation) Storm?

“When there will be distress, litigation will follow,” says Scharf.

NEW YORK CITY—Veteran real estate attorney Y. David Scharf, partner with Morrison Cohen LLP, has gone to court on numerous occasions for parties linked to the Plaza Hotel, the Sears Tower and the General Motors Building, among other well-known properties. His clients as a trial lawyer and litigator have ranged from private equity funds to developers. At the moment, he says, commercial real estate is far from the kind of litigious environment we saw in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Here, he provides his views on what’s behind the comparative lull—and what factors could bring it to an end.

GlobeSt.com: Have you observed any particular types of litigation on the rise in recent months?