Although the firm is being launched amid the challenges of thecredit crunch, O'Keefe tells GlobeSt.com that it wasn't formed as acrisis management team. Discussions to form the partnership beganlast spring, well before the Wall Street upheaval, he says. "Werealized that as we were going into the down cycle, there might bemore people that need our type of expertise--people with realestate assets that they didn't intend to wind up with. But by nomeans do we think we're only germane in this type of market, orthat we can only help people who have problems. Alternatively,people might have opportunities that they need advice on. We're notlike the workout specialists of the 1990s who went into somethingelse after things improved."

In a release, Glick calls the new firm "the ultimate real estatedepartment for hire." The four principals bring diverse backgroundsto the new venture. O'Keefe and Gallin have both representedtenants and landlords in the leasing of millions of square feet ofoffice space, and Gallin helped create the Edward S. Gordon Co., apredecessor to what is now CB Richard Ellis' New York operations,while O'Keefe served as president of Grubb & Ellis New York.Glick's background includes owning and operating portfolios ofmultifamily, industrial and office properties, while Sullivan'sexperience in finance and investment sales has translated intosenior positions at Goldman Sachs and Jones Lang LaSalle.

"Our value proposition is that when you hire us, you're hiringall four of us," O'Keefe tells GlobeSt.com. "We have overlappingexpertise, but also expertise that extends into some differentplaces for each of us. Not only do you get all of four of us, youonly get the four of us. There are no juniors or associates. Wedon't sell the assignment and then bring in other people to doit."