Practice areas: Real Estate, Business & Corporate
Licensed in Louisiana since: 1978
Education: Boston College Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2008 - 2025 Steeg Law Firm, LLC
201 St. Charles AvenueSuite 3201
New Orleans, LA 70170 Phone: 504-582-1199 Email: Robert M. Steeg Visit website
Details
As one of the most experienced real estate lawyers in New Orleans, Managing Partner Robert Steeg is highly respected for his handling of a wide variety of real estate transactions.
Reflecting on his 38 years of experience in this field, Rob points to two important aspects of his approach to his law practice. “First, I try to treat every client with respect and with awareness that the transaction at hand is one of the most important things in their life at this moment.”
“Second, I try to understand the business realities my client is facing, and what my client is trying to accomplish in the transaction. Then, I can tailor my services to serve the client’s goals.”
These qualities have contributed to him being widely recognized by his peers as one of the best in the industry through inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Super Lawyers, New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law Hall of Fame and New Orleans Magazine Top Lawyers. Rob was also named Best Lawyers 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Commercial Transactions / UCC Law in New Orleans.
Rob has assisted hundreds of clients with handling thousands of purchases, sales, loans and leases for all sizes and kinds of real estate throughout the southeast Louisiana region, including industrial, office, multi-family, and retail properties.
First Admitted: 1978, Louisiana
Professional Webpage: https://www.steeglaw.com/attorney/robert-steeg/
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Member, New Orleans, Louisiana and American Bar Associations
- Commissioner and Former Chair, New Orleans City Planning Commission, The City of New Orleans
- Member, International Conference of Shopping Centers
- Member, ABA Section of Litigation and Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law
- Member, New Orleans Bar Association Real Estate Law Committee
- Member, New Orleans Commercial Real Estate Women
- Former Member, City of New Orleans Board of Zoning Adjustments
- Former Member, Tax Fairness Commission, Mayoral Advisory Committee to Mayor Mitch Landrieu
Transactions:
- Business formation and negotiation of upscale shopping center lease for new retail business in downtown New Orleans.
- Negotiation, preparation and execution for the landlord of major amendment and extension of office lease in downtown New Orleans.
- Negotiation of loan documents for refinancing of multi-million dollar multi-family apartment complex in New Orleans.
- Successful conditional use application for expanding commercial business in downtown New Orleans.
- Purchase and development of site for company-owned office building in Jefferson Parish.
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Trustee, New Orleans Museum of Art; Member of the Executive Committee; Former President; Former Chair of the Acquisitions Committee
- Member, Executive Council, WWNO
- Member and Committee Co-Chair, Goldring Family Foundation Center for Jewish-Multicultural Affairs
- Former Member, LSU Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry Advisory Board
- Former Board Member, Congregation Temple Sinai
- Former Board Member, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans; Member, Executive Committee
- Former Board Member, Metropolitan Crime Commission
Honors/Awards:
- Super Lawyers – Real Estate (since 2008), Super Lawyers
- Best Lawyers 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Commercial Transactions / UCC Law in New Orleans, Best Lawyers
- One of a select group of attorneys to have received this honor for more than 25 years., The Best Lawyers in America – Real Estate Law, Commercial Transactions/UCC Law (1995-present), Best Lawyers
- Chambers USA - Real Estate, Chambers USA
- Martindale-Hubbell - AV Preeminent
- Leadership in Law Hall of Fame, New Orleans CityBusiness
- Leadership in Law (2010, 2016, 2018), New Orleans CityBusiness
- New Orleans CityBusiness – Money Maker (2014, 2017), New Orleans CityBusiness
- Top Lawyers in Real Estate, New Orleans Magazine
Educational Background:
- University of Pennsylvania, B.A., graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude, 1973
- Boston College Law School, J.D., Order of Coif, 1978
- The Annenberg School of Communications, University of Pennsylvania, M.S., 1975
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- The evolving economy, climate change and health concerns are forcing real estate buyers and sellers to adapt their standard purchase agreements for a changing world. Agreements may now need: specific provisions to address more intense weather events; general force majeure provisions for entirely unanticipated events; and tweaks to standard provisions to better address the impacts of rising interest rates., Modernizing Real Estate Purchase Agreements for 2023 and Beyond, Reuters Legal, 2023
- Let’s say that you represent a party in a real estate transaction, such as a real estate agent, lender or buyer. The title insurance company hands you a title insurance commitment for the property involved in your transaction, as part of the due diligence process. Do you just say, “Great, title is good,” and check the box on your checklist under “Title” and move on to the next issue? Hopefully not. Remember that the title insurance commitment is not the title policy itself. It is a promise to issue the title policy later, subject to certain limitations and restrictions. You need to study those limitations and restrictions before you can be confident that the title is “good.”, Understand the Title Insurance Commitment Before You Put It In the File, Reuters Legal News, Real Estate, 2023
- Musician Don Henley famously sang, “Lawyers dwell on small details." He was certainly right if he was singing about lawyers who handle real estate and business transactions. However, he should have added a line about how those details matter. Following are six seemingly unimportant issues that can arise in real estate documents and business contracts that can turn into big problems, and tips on how to avoid them. In other words: DO sweat the small stuff., 6 Small Issues With Real Estate Documents That Can Turn Into Big Problems, Reuters Legal News, Real Estate, 2023
- This article identifies some provisions that will protect solely the interests of the seller in a commercial property purchase agreement. What will the warranties be? What will the seller be liable for, and on what issues will the seller be relieved? What will be the inspection rights of the purchaser before the sale, and will there be any limitations on those inspections? Some of these provisions will be extremely strong, and therefore will lead to serious negotiation., Some (Quite Strong) Provisions to Protect the Seller in a Purchase Agreement, Steeg Law Website, Real Estate, 2023
- A case recently decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit underscores the need for precision in defining servitudes at the time they are created, rather than leaving them to the vagaries of trying to remember how and where they were used in the past., Establishing Servitudes: The Hard Way and the Easy Way, Steeg Law Website, Real Estate, 2023
- Over the last two years, lawyers’ standard lease language was tested by natural disasters, the pandemic and drastic changes in the way people work. To adapt to changing times, attorneys should consider incorporating a variety of practical provisions into their corporate leases regarding term, base and additional rent, casualty insurance, premises rights, and force majeure., Practical provisions for commercial leases in light of changing times, Reuters Legal, Real Estate, Leases, 2022
- A new study by the engineering firm Arup and the non-profit First Street Foundation contains important predictions about flooding that are of particular importance to real estate development in Southeastern Louisiana., Increased Flood Risk in Southeastern Louisiana: Consequences and Opportunities, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2022
- In the recent case of Harp v. Bryan (consolidated with Wade v. Bryan and Lewis v. Bryan), decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, it seems pretty clear that the court felt that one of the parties to a real estate transaction was trying to avoid its obligations by asserting that it had never signed the document (an option to purchase) in question. The court didn’t let that party avoid its obligations because that party had engaged in conduct consistent with the document, and the court therefore ruled that the non-signing party had nevertheless confirmed the agreement and was bound by it. The lesson is: what a person does can be as important as what they sign., Be Careful What You Do in Addition to What You Sign: How Conduct Can Confirm an Agreement in the Absence of a Signature, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2021
- Lawyers, transactional lawyers in particular, are sometimes criticized for being too picky and for paying too much attention to the little things. In his song, “The End of the Innocence,” musician Don Henley even has a famous lyric about it: “Lawyers dwell on small details.” But several recent Louisiana appellate court cases, in different areas of the law, illustrate the often serious pitfalls of minor, technical errors. In many cases, the law sets out very specific, detailed procedures that must be followed, and if they are not, the results can be very serious. The following three cases demonstrate why you should be glad your lawyer is a stickler for details., Why You Should Be Glad Your Lawyer Is a Stickler for Details, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2021
- Why are servitudes important at all? They are a very useful real estate device to create rights in favor of one parcel of real estate over another. They cover a multitude of uses, ranging from vehicular and/or pedestrian passage to parking to height limitations to the availability of access to light and view. Servitudes are complex creatures, and too often there is too little attention paid to them when they are created or when subsequent transactions involving them occur. The recent case of Brehm v. Amacker illustrates several lessons:, Servitudes Need Extra Care, but the Survey is Key, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2021
- The legal concept of “force majeure” has vaulted from near-obscurity to intense scrutiny, all due to the novel coronavirus. Here is a general outline of how it applies to leases, purchase agreements and other contracts in today’s world., Force Majeure In Today’s World, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2020
- At the most recent meeting of the Louisiana chapter of the Urban Land Institute, two back-to-back presentations highlighted how “new urbanism” can transform huge (over 1,000,000 square feet) buildings into vibrant centers of urban life. The speakers showed how this unique kind of urban development has already taken place in Memphis and how it is expected (hoped) to take place in New Orleans., Unique Urban Developments, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2020
- Servitudes are making their way lately into quite a few cases being decided by the appeals courts of Louisiana. I recently wrote an article, “Apparent Servitudes: When Purchasing Property, Take Note Of What You See,” about a case, Naramore v. Aikman, that was decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit. It demonstrated some established but little known principles of Louisiana law that every person dealing with real estate in Louisiana should be aware of. Now, a case decided by the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Brunson v. Crown Brake, LLC, sets forth some important principles governing servitudes. , Written Servitudes Must Be Clear, Steeg Law website, Commercial Real Estate, Residential Real Estate, 2019
- A recent case, Clement v. Menard, illustrates the pitfalls to be avoided so that a person enjoying a right-of-way (servitude) over adjoining property does not inadvertently lose those rights. It is an important lesson for developers, property owners and property managers., How to Lose a Right-Of-Way (Servitude) or Avoid Doing So, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2019
- Hurricane season begins on June 1. With reminders like Hurricanes Michael and Katrina fresh in our minds, many of us will begin to review steps for hurricane preparedness in our homes and offices. Have you also considered that you need to do the same for your real estate agreements? Now is the time for people involved in real estate to check and make sure that their documents are completely up-to-date with various measures that anticipate the possible effect of storms like these. Here is a quick list of some of the more important provisions for purchase and sale agreements and for leases., Are Your Real Estate Documents Prepared for Hurricane Season?, Steeg Law website, Real Estate, 2019
- A recent case, Naramore v. Aikman, decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit demonstrates some established but little known principles of Louisiana law that every person dealing with real estate in Louisiana should be aware of. The issue is servitudes, roughly the equivalent of “easements” in common law., Apparent Servitudes: When Purchasing Property, Take Note Of What You See, Real Estate, 2018
- In a recent case decided by the Louisiana Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, a landlord put into its lease all of the proper provisions to relieve the landlord from liability for injuries inside the leased premises, but those provisions still could not prevent the tenant from having her day in court to try to impose liability on the landlord., Belts and Suspenders for Landlords, but the Tenant Can Still Cause the Pants to Fall, Real Estate, 2018
- A relatively small case, recently decided by the Louisiana state Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit illustrates two important principles: First, a court will often find a way to get around legal technicalities when they are being used by a party to achieve what the court perceives to be an unfair result; and Second, written contracts may always be modified orally or by the conduct of the parties, so be careful what you say and do after the ink is dry., Small Case, Important Principles For Written Agreements, 2018
- When your attorney is poring over every word of a purchase agreement that you are about to enter into, and you are getting frustrated with the way the attorney is fretting over small details, think about the case that partner Robert Steeg is about to describe. Your attorney is protecting your interests by worrying about the meaning of every phrase., In a Purchase Agreement, Words Matter—A Lot, Real Estate, 2017
- Many property owners are generally familiar with the idea of deferring the taxable gain on the sale of real estate by applying the proceeds of the sale to the purchase of another parcel of like-kind property under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code—a so-called “Section 1031 exchange.”, Some Tips on Section 1031 Exchanges, Real Estate, 2017
Industry Groups:
- Leases
- Lending
- Sales
- Secured Transactions
- Title
Office location for Robert M. Steeg
201 St. Charles Avenue
Suite 3201
New Orleans, LA 70170
Selections
18 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2008 - 2025