Caroline Rogers Nichols has been a commercial real estate attorney with Pappas, Metcalf, Jenks and Miller in Riverside since September 2003.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
“I do commercial real estate work mostly involving condominiums, homeowner’s associations and commercial real estate sales, leases and closings.”
WHERE WAS SHE BEFORE?
She was doing commercial litigation at Smith, Gambrell and Russell.
HOW ARE LITIGATION AND COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LAW DIFFERENT?
“The difference is night and day. Basically litigation is when a deal goes bad or someone is fighting and in court. Here it’s more transactional. It’s working with the other side to accomplish that both sides are working toward. Whereas in litigation you are always fighting and constantly at odds.”
WHY DID SHE DECIDE TO GET OUT OF LITIGATION?
“Mostly I wasn’t enjoying litigation. It didn’t suit me. I didn’t like the contentious nature of litigation, I wanted to do something more facilitative.”
HOW DOES SHE LIKE THE CHANGE?
“I love it. It can be tough here too. Sometimes we have kind of a hard deal and we have to negotiate and you are not always on the same page as the other side, but at the end of the day your clients are happy and the other side is happy. It’s not as hostile.”
SPECIALIZE IN?
Condominiums and homeowner associations. “Really just creating the organization, doing the declarations and all of the governing instruments that govern the condominium and homeowner association.”
PASSED THE BAR?
In 2002.
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in French and English from the College of William & Mary and a law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.
WHY PRACTICE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“I like the complexity of it. You are always learning something new and different. Every deal is different and it’s challenging and I like that.”
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BE AN ATTORNEY?
“I’ve always liked writing and reading. You do a lot of that in law. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do coming out of college, but from what I knew about law school it sounded very interesting. I like the idea of the law very much. I think I changed and learned a lot in law school because I went in not knowing what to expect. It was different than what I expected. I liked the intellectual exercises of it and thought it was fascinating. I like the writing even though is totally different than what I did as an English major.”
HOW HAS YOUR LITIGATION EXPERIENCE HELPED YOU IN YOUR NEW JOB?
“The litigation experience was very good background for what I do now. When I put together documents if there is a provision that has raised red flags in the past, I’m aware of it. So, I can draft around it, because I know how litigation attorneys think. When you are drafting documents and contracts it’s good to always keep in the back of your mind ‘What can I do to make sure this client is not subjected to litigation because of my document’. Having had that background it makes me more aware of the different pitfalls and things I want to avoid.”
ISSUES FACING COMMERCIAL REALTORS AND DEVELOPERS?
“They are all really market issues to a large degree. Condominiums were very big in the 1980s, and then you didn’t have a whole lot of them. Right now they are booming. You never know what the market is going to do. The land is always an issue and the environmental regulations are something to always be very aware of.”
MENTOR?
“I primarily work with one of the partners here, Tom Jenks, so I mostly work on his client’s files now.”
ADVICE FOR NEW COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS?
“Pay attention to the details. It’s a nit picky business. I find that the more organized and meticulous I am, the better I do.”
WHAT HAS HELPED YOU MOST TO GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
“Hard work and persistence. Also, realizing that the law was a lot bigger than litigation and if I took my time and look for something, I’d find my niche.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“Have patience. I’ve learned that there is no such thing as a bad experience. Even if you make choice that ends up not working out for you, you still take away so much from that experience.”
WHAT IS ONE BEST THING YOU COULD TELL REALTORS?
“Make sure you are on board with your lawyers because they can help you know what sort of requirements are necessary before selling condominiums.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“My boss, Tom Jenks. He is a wonderful teacher.”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Urban Land Institute, The Florida Bar, Jacksonville Bar Association and the Jacksonville Christian Legal Association.
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
FAMILY
Her father is Arnold Rogers, a commercial real estate broker, investor and consultant who owns Merrimac Capital Corp. Her mother is Claudia Naughton, who is active in civic affairs. Caroline has been married for one year to Oliver, a medical malpractice attorney with Bullock, Childs, Pendley, Reed and Seelie.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?
Read, play tennis and fixing up their house, which was built in the late 1940s.
RESIDES
Ortega.