Pay It Forward: "Continue to Take Risks and Accept the Most Challenging Projects"
Nina Roket discusses lessons learned and her journey to her current role as co-administrative partner and leader of the commercial leasing practice real estate at Olshan Frome Wolosky.
Nina Roket, Olshan Frome Wolosky, New York.
Job title and practice area: Co-administrative partner and leader of the commercial leasing practice real estate
Law school and year of graduation: New York Law School, 1996
How long have you been at the firm and when did you make partner/? I have been at Olshan for 22 years and have been a partner for 16 years (since 2005).
Why did you decide to practice law in the real estate industry? I was given the opportunity to join Olshan as a second-year associate in the real estate group in 1998 without having real estate experience or a true understanding of what the practice of law in the real estate industry would mean. However, within two weeks of my start date, I was staffed to work on, and closed, a refinancing with a senior partner. I then immediately realized the important interplay of legal knowledge, business acumen, negotiating, and people skills in this field, and that is where my passion for my profession in real estate sparked.
I was named a partner in 2005. As a junior associate, I worked on a broad range of matters in the real estate group, gaining experience in areas including acquisitions, financing and leasing. I quickly developed a niche in leasing, and my first big break came when a broker on the other side of the table recommended me to represent the owner of an office building in downtown New York in leasing matters as a third-year associate. This early on experience, along with representing the buyer of a shopping center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and subsequently handling the leasing of the entire shopping center, spearheaded my career and specialty in both retail and office leasing.
What do you think was the deciding point for the firm in making you a partner and practice leader? I think there were several factors.
- I have always been very driven, diligent, hardworking, and prepared, all traits that have helped me to succeed.
- I approach every matter with a practical understanding that deals that need to get done should. Early on I appreciated the importance of developing a professional network and worked very hard at developing and fostering professional and business relationships.
- I earned, created and took advantage of opportunities that gave me significant experience over a short period of time, and that helped me to demonstrate my value to the firm and our clients. Clients appreciated my work, as they recognized that I was totally invested in their success.
- I was also fortunate to have mentors and sponsors at the firm along the way who saw and appreciated my value and took the time to teach and guide me and support me and my elevation, advancement and success.
Describe how you feel about your career now that you’ve made partner. I am passionate about my work and take very seriously the trust given to me by my clients for their important work. From my perspective, making partner was just the beginning of what I hoped to accomplish at Olshan and in my career. I continue to work very hard at building my professional network. I increasingly earned more leadership opportunities along the way, including being named co-administrative partner in 2009, founding and being named chair of Olshan’s Women’s Committee in 2004, and being named leader of Olshan’s leasing practice. In terms of my practice, I now enjoy mentoring and sponsoring junior female lawyers as they can benefit from the experiences that I encountered along the path to success.
What’s the key to successful business development in your opinion? For me, business development is successful when I can make a real connection with people, learn as much as I can about their businesses, and then have an opportunity to demonstrate to them how I can help them to be successful and grow their businesses with my guidance on real estate and related legal issues. I always want and strive to add value.
Who had the greatest influence in your career that helped propel you to partner in real estate? My client, Joey Jerome, a principal at JEMB Realty. I will never forget when he called me directly when I was only a junior associate and insisted that I take the lead and take over on a pending matter. He gave me the backing I needed to take my career to the next level.
What advice would you give an associate who wants to make partner in real estate? While the commercial real estate market overall is still a male-dominated field, many women continue to pave the way and show it can be done. I have served as a mentor to numerous women lawyers and have tried to serve as an example of the level of grit and hard work required to continue to advance to the partnership level.
In my experience, you need to continue to take risks, accept the most challenging projects, and put in 100% all the time to the best of your ability.
What challenges did you face in your career path and what was the lesson learned? I have certainly faced a few obstacles in my career, especially early on. Among them was being one of the few women launching a career involved in the commercial real estate sector 22 years ago, as across the board it was a male-dominated industry. The bar to success was high, and I was typically the only woman present at deal closings and negotiations, being shut down by more senior male counterparts when speaking up at meetings, which could feel intimidating. But I did not let it intimidate me. I navigated this and other obstacles through being the hardest worker in the room and the best prepared. Being consistent in my performance earned the confidence of clients and colleagues and helped to establish my place in the industry.
Knowing what you know now about your career path, what advice would you give to your younger self? Reflecting on my years as a young associate I recall how difficult it could be to balance the increasing demands on my time, especially balancing work and family. I have a clear memory of the difference it made in my daily practice and in my career to have a mentor to be available to ask the sometimes-difficult questions around how to handle a client or particular matter, how to negotiate life in a law firm, and sometimes just to share a laugh. Looking back on how grateful I am to have had those relationships, I would like to tell my younger self, “Hey, you’ve got this, and you have great colleagues and clients who are cheering you on.”
What lessons did you learn in 2020/2021 (the years of COVID-19)? That we always must figure out ways to reinvent ourselves. Nothing is constant or forever. Do not ever get complacent. Also, while my friendships and personal connections have always been very important to me, I learned their true value on a much deeper level, and just how much they nurtured and sustained me. And that sometimes you just have to work smarter and figure out ways to keep those connections ever more meaningful.
