by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Darden Yerkes has been a commercial real estate attorney with Driver, McAfee, Griggs & Peek located in Independent Square for a little over a year.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
Yerkes specializes in all aspects of commercial real estate law including titles, negotiating contracts, reviewing loan documents, survey review and lease negotiations.
HOW DID YOU BECOME AN ATTORNEY?
“I worked for American Express for six years in their customer service department. When they shut the facility down, I decided then that I wanted to go to law school.”
HER HISTORY
After college, she went to work for Disney doing retail sales at Epcot Center for three years. She then moved back to Jacksonville and went to work for American Express. While there, she earned her real estate license. “I went to a seminar and met a real estate attorney, Bill Jeeter. He was very dynamic and made being a lawyer sound much better than being a realtor.“After law school, Yerkes went to work with the Marks Gray law firm and did litigation for some time. “I didn’t like litigation, so I went to work for Bill Jeeter and did residential real estate law for three years.”
HOW DO YOU LIKE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE LAW?
“It’s good. I like it better than residential real estate law. Residential law is fun, but it is a little repetitive. We have a title company down the hall and I help them with their title issues and do some of their closings which helps keep me in the loop. It’s been more interesting to do commercial, especially now because you can watch how the city and surrounding areas are developing. You can see what is being bought and these huge tracts of land being developed. It’s just more interesting.”
WHO ARE HER CLIENTS?
Developers and investors.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES FACING COMMERCIAL REALTORS?
“There really isn’t anything right now, but if they change the homestead laws, I think you are going to find that commercial real estate will be affected. I think the idea of moving here and putting your homestead here where you could have it ripped out from underneath you might have some issues. But right now the industry is doing so well. If there’s an issue, it’s that we are just so busy because there is so much going on.”
FAVORITE THING ABOUT HER JOB?
Yerkes said closing day is her favorite part of her job. “You’ve worked very hard to get where you are and while it can be very stressful, in fact two times out of 10, you might have issues come up on closing day that makes it more stressful, but usually you can see the results of months of work. If everything was done properly, which it usually has been, it’s really easy on closing day and it’s kind of your reward for your hard work.”
WHO IS HER MENTOR?
Bill Jeeter. “He was a good mentor because he had so much knowledge. He knew not just about residential, but what was going on in commercial (real estate). He has so much knowledge about Jacksonville itself from his long family history. He has a vast knowledge about real estate in general, how to treat people, how not to treat people, how to go hard core after something and how to back off other times.”
BEST PROFESSIONAL ADVICE EVER RECEIVED?
“You need to be a team player. Even if it’s just you and another person, you need to be a team player. If you want to succeed that is what you need to do.”
ANY ADVICE FOR NEW LAWYERS?
“Probably, the first thing you thought you were going to like to do may not be it. I really thought I would like litigation. As my mom (Betty Yerkes of Norville Realty) will tell you, I like to argue. But, I really didn’t like it at all. Also, everything you studied in law school is probably something you will never use again. They really don’t teach you in law school how to practice law. They teach you about law, but they don’t teach you what you need to do when you get out there, depending on where you went to law school.”
WHAT ARE HER KEYS TO SUCCESS?
Working late, being patient and being a team player.
COLLEGE
Yerkes earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama. She earned her law degree from Mercer University.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville, Jacksonville and the Florida Bar.