Top Lawyers: Sarah Tadros Awad Of Romer Debbas On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law
An Interview with Eric L. Pines
Attention to detail — you have to make sure you are covering all your bases and ensure your clients are protected on both the due diligence and contractual fronts.
The legal field is known to be extremely competitive. Lawyers are often smart, ambitious, and highly educated. That being said, what does it take to stand out and become a “Top Lawyer” in your specific field of law? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law”, we are talking to top lawyers who share what it takes to excel and stand out in your industry.
As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Tadros Awad.
Sarah Tadros Awad is a senior associate and team leader in the firm’s residential real estate department and supports the firm’s active transactional real estate practice. Sarah specializes in assisting buyers, sellers and lending institutions involved in residential real estate transactions. Sarah is well versed in pre-contract due diligence, contract negotiations, and closings. She has handled countless transactions start to finish and understands the importance of keeping both the client and broker informed throughout. She is an integral part of the firm’s real estate practice. In addition to residential real estate, Sarah has extensive experience handling corporate matters related to real estate as well as various litigation matters.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about the nature of your practice and what you focus on?
I’m a residential real estate attorney, so I help people buy and sell real estate. The residential real estate world in NY is super-fast paced and balancing top quality work with efficiency is key.
Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? What unique qualities do you have that others may not? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Listening — being able to listen and understand your clients’ needs has been valuable because every client is different and should be approached and dealt with accordingly.
- Reliability — being able to be there for my clients when they are buying their dream homes or spending several millions of dollars has been important.
- Organization — there are so many moving parts in my practice so being organized helps me keep everything together, on track and managed with success.
Do you think you have had luck in your success? Can you explain what you mean?
Oddly enough, I don’t think so! I’ve worked really hard, and I think my career is a reflection of that. I always joke with my sister that I’m not the type of person that wins anything, so don’t bother bringing me along to the casino!
Do you think where you went to school has any bearing on your success? How important is it for a lawyer to go to a top-tier school?
I think going to a mid-tier school has helped me because I knew I had to put in the work to succeed in the legal industry in NYC. This drove me to go after internships and networking to help me succeed. I knew I couldn’t rely on having the top tier school name on my resume to carry me directly where I wanted to go.
Based on the lessons you have learned from your experience, if you could go back in time and speak to your twenty-year-old self, what would you say? Would you do anything differently?
I would say you’re doing great, enjoy more and stop stressing because everything is going to fall into place. I wouldn’t do much differently actually, I think the path I took makes sense for me.
This is not easy work. What is your primary motivation and drive behind the work you do?
My motivations have changed over the years. Right now, my drive is my two daughters and being an awesome example for them. I want to show them that they can be successful women and with hard work and focus they can excel at anything!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
We represent purchasers at the new development in the Waldorf, which is such an exciting new project. I had the chance to go see it recently, and it’s such a classic New York staple and I find it so cool that I get to represent buyers there.
Where do you go from here? Where do you aim to be in the next chapter of your career?
I would love to continue to grow with the firm I am at as a residential real estate attorney in NYC and meet more brokers and agents and help people reach their real estate goals. I would also love to get involved with real estate development some day.
Without sharing anything confidential, can you please share your most successful “war story”? Can you share the funniest?
Every time I walk into a closing, it’s a tossup. Sometimes it’s the standard process, but other times there’s fights, tears, or laughter; you have to be prepared for whatever gets thrown at you!
Let’s now shift to discussing some advice for aspiring lawyers. Do you work remotely? Onsite? Or Hybrid? What do you think will be the future of how law offices operate?
I work in a hybrid fashion which I am blessed to be able to do as it works for my family needs. My bosses are very supportive in that as they understand the needs of a working mom. I think the future will be hybrid because people like the option of in office and remote working. It also takes the pressure off of those with long commutes, which makes for healthier and happier employees.
What do you prefer? Can you please explain what you mean?
I prefer hybrid as I like the variety my week gets by staying home and working some days, where I’m able to tend to my children and also being in the office sometimes and getting the in-person work connections that are important.
How has the legal world changed since COVID? How do you think it might change in the near future? Can you explain what you mean?
Working remotely is a new thing that has come out of Covid. I remember pre-covid working remotely was a foreign concept. Also, conducting closings “remotely” and electronic conveyance of documents, contracts etc. is a new norm which had made the day-to-day much easier.
Based on your experience, how can attorneys effectively leverage social media to build their practice?
I think just showcasing networking events and talking about the market and economy as it relates to real estate law (in my case) is helpful.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law?” Please share a story or an example for each.
- Organization — there are so many moving parts to a real estate transaction. Keeping organized is the only way to stay on top of it.
- Responsiveness — not only are there so many moving parts in a real estate transaction, but so many different parties. Each party has an exception of “staying in the loop” as each has an interest in the successful completion of the transaction. Clients, brokers, attorneys, etc.
- Attention to detail — you have to make sure you are covering all your bases and ensure your clients are protected on both the due diligence and contractual fronts.
- Care — ensuring you are working to meet your clients’ real estate needs and goals is key.
- Efficiency — everything has to happen in a New York Minute in the NYC real estate world!
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this.
Shaquille O’Neil! He’s leveraged his skills and financial position to be a successful businessman. I’d love to learn how he’s done that and any advice he has. I also appreciate his generosity and support of his community. Plus, I think it would be a really fun lunch!
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
