Related Practices
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry announces the addition of two Atlanta-based real estate attorneys: shareholder Stephanie Friese and senior counsel Christine Norstadt. Friese and Norstadt have worked together for 18 years, advising clients in all phases of commercial development and transactions. They join three attorneys in Chamberlain’s Atlanta real estate practice.
“Stephanie and Christine’s depth of experience is an asset to our growing Atlanta office,” said Wayne Risoli, Chamberlain’s managing shareholder. “The strategic expansion of our real estate practice is in response to client needs and is reflective of our commitment to providing integrated services for virtually all legal matters related to real estate transactions and development. Stephanie and Christine will work closely with our talented corporate and tax teams, who regularly field interest from clients for commercial real estate transactional and litigation support.”
Strategic advisors and negotiators, Friese and Norstadt have spent their entire legal careers working together advising real estate developers and property owners on complex real estate matters, including leasing and development. In 2018, they negotiated more than one million square feet of office leases totaling more than $50 million in value. Last year, Friese and Norstadt represented Safavieh in the acquisition and development of a 1.6 million square foot distribution center in Savannah and negotiated subsequent industrial leases to Wayfair and Electrolux.
Friese received Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Atlanta’s prestigious Deal of the Year award in 2017 for her involvement in representing the landlord in a 65,000 square foot Class A office lease in Midtown Atlanta. She was also awarded Best Mentor in 2018 by the Daily Report, based on a nomination by Norstadt highlighting her commitment to developing up-and-coming lawyers.
Active in the Atlanta community, Friese is a past president of CREW Atlanta and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers. She was also selected as a 2017 Woman of Influence by Real Estate Forum. She earned her law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Stetson University.
Norstadt advises clients on fast-moving, complex transactions, including leading commercial closings, negotiating leases and facilitating general corporate real estate transactions and foreclosures. She also defends clients in litigation matters, including quiet title proceedings, lease enforcement, post-foreclosure litigation and prosecutes federal collections litigation.
Norstadt received her law degree from Emory University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a past president of the Georgia Tech Bar Association and a 2011 graduate of Urban Land Institute’s Center for Leadership program.
“We are excited to join the growing team at Chamberlain,” said Friese. “As our clients and their transactions become increasingly sophisticated, the decision to join a dynamic firm with an award-winning reputation and involvement in corporate, tax and construction law enables us to better support complex deals, and Chamberlain’s additional practice areas such as intellectual property and labor and employment allow us to support more of our client’s business needs.”
“Stephanie and Christine are highly respected attorneys in the industry and deepen the strength of our real estate practice. With extensive experience in transactions and litigation, they will be an invaluable resource and natural extensions of our existing capabilities,” added Bill Montgomery, chair of Chamberlain’s real estate practice.