About

Bruce Stachenfeld is one of the nation’s preeminent real estate attorneys. He is a founding partner of Adler & Stachenfeld LLP, founder of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, and the Firm’s Chairman. He previously served as Managing Partner from the Firm’s inception until 2018. Mr. Stachenfeld is recognized as one of the most “connected” real estate lawyers throughout the worldwide real estate community.

Mr. Stachenfeld serves as an industry thought leader known as The Real Estate Philosopher, sharing creative and iconoclastic thinking with approximately 50,000 parties in the real estate world.

Mr. Stachenfeld spearheads the Firm’s core mission to “Help Our Clients Grow Their Businesses.” In this capacity, he serves as both a business advisor to clients and a collaborator in creating transactions and relationships among clients and third parties. Periodically he brainstorms with each client to assist them in making their real estate businesses more successful.

As a lawyer, Mr. Stachenfeld brings close to 40 years of real estate law experience encompassing tens of billions of dollars of real estate transactions of all kinds. He distinguishes himself by pursuing challenging areas of real estate law where he and his team can provide particular value:

  • Mr. Stachenfeld is particularly known for representing clients in partnerships, limited liability companies, and co-venture situations. He and his long-term partners have developed one of the premier real estate joint venture practices in New York City, representing institutional investors, operators, platforms, strategic and other investors in U.S. and cross-border international transactions.
  • Mr. Stachenfeld and his real estate team are particularly known for representing clients in co-venture transactions, including platform transactions and programmatic, preferred equity, common equity, and other corporate real estate-type transactions.

Mr. Stachenfeld has represented clients in bankruptcies, workouts, and insolvencies throughout each of the real estate downturns of the past 40 years. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he applied his real estate expertise to numerous bankruptcy, insolvency, and workout matters while working in close conjunction with the bankruptcy departments of Latham & Watkins and Mayer Brown during his tenure at those law firms. Additionally, Mr. Stachenfeld commenced his career with a one-year stint as a litigation attorney. He also spent time as in-house general counsel for a shopping center development company. He is described as the “perfect lawyer” for a distressed real estate situation.

Mr. Stachenfeld’s reputation encompasses tenacious representation of his clients, creative thinking, and deeply caring for his clients’ welfare and success. He is known as a lawyer who absolutely loves his clients and will go to extraordinary lengths to support them and help them succeed.

Mr. Stachenfeld has developed extensive connections to many of the major players in the real estate world, including clients and adversary attorneys. These contacts enable him to provide critical assistance to his clients in achieving success in their transactions, from finding financing or the right operating partner to reaching across the table to find common ground with adversaries with whom he has deliberately cultivated friendly relationships.

As an “amateur real estate philosopher,” Mr. Stachenfeld provides invaluable insights to his clients in his core passion of helping them build their businesses. Due to the breadth of his connections in the real estate world, he is often able to provide invaluable insights.

Mr. Stachenfeld and his co-founding partner, Terri Adler, create what is described as “Bruce’N’Terri”, a dynamic duo combining one of the “best” real estate lawyers in NYC with one of the “most connected” real estate lawyers in NYC, a combination that can help clients achieve virtually any goal in the real estate world. This combination led to their selection for The Commercial Observer’s Power 100 Reader’s Poll List in 2013, naming the most powerful people in New York real estate.

As an industry thought leader, Mr. Stachenfeld publishes a regular series entitled “The Real Estate Philosopher®”; lectures on topics including the importance of attracting, training, and retaining “talent” as the critical ingredient for a successful real estate law firm or business; and previously authored a bi-weekly column for AboveTheLaw.com entitled “Power Niche Marketing,” dedicated to innovative marketing strategies in the legal world.

In April 2016, Mr. Stachenfeld was elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) in the Class of 2016. ACREL is the premier organization of U.S. real estate lawyers, with admission by invitation only after rigorous screening. ACREL’s distinguished, nationally-known lawyers are elected to fellowship for outstanding legal ability, experience, and high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of real estate law.

Mr. Stachenfeld is a prolific author. He has written a marketing book titled If You Want To Get Rich Build A Power Niche; a real estate thought book called The Real Estate Philosopher’s Guide; and co-authored How To Invest In Institutional Real Estate if You Know Nothing About Real Estate.

Beyond his legal practice, Mr. Stachenfeld has competed successfully in two Ironmans, written a 900-page historical fiction book under a pseudonym, writes poetry, plays, children’s books, and short stories, and recently launched The Bruce Philosophical Project, consummating his lifelong dream of being an actual philosopher.

Before founding Adler & Stachenfeld LLP, Mr. Stachenfeld was a partner at Shapiro, Shapses, Block & Stachenfeld LLP. Before that, he practiced at Latham & Watkins, Mayer Brown, and Shea & Gould.

Notable Recognitions

Publications

Books

Media

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • Member, American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL)

Bar Admissions

  • New York