Areas of Practice

General Real Estate Litigation

Lawrence Shoffner has over 25 years of experience in real estate related litigation, including litigation involving some of the most important development projects in the State of Michigan. Mr. Shoffner has represented clients in disputes over the real property where Comerica Park, the Greektown Casino, the MGM Casino, and Stroh River Place now stand. Mr. Shoffner understands the unique problems presented by urban redevelopment projects.

In addition to representing clients in high profile matters, Mr. Shoffner has also represented clients in hundreds of more common disputes such as commercial lease evictions, land contract forfeitures, mortgage and tax foreclosures, boundary disputes, claims of adverse possession or prescriptive easement, disputes over real estate purchase agreements, and actions to quiet title. Mr. Shoffner's expertise in real estate law means that he can negotiate and draft settlement agreements in complex real estate disputes, including documents affecting title to the real property which is the subject of the litigation.

Commercial Real Estate Leasing

Lawrence Shoffner literally "wrote the book" on commercial real estate leasing. He is co-author, with Roger Chard, of Michigan Lease Drafting and Landlord Tenant Law, which was published by the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in 2003, and extensively supplemented in 2007. Additionally, Mr. Shoffner is author of the Landlord Tenant Courtoom Handbook, which is currently used by many District Court Judges as their bench reference book.

Mr. Shoffner has had extensive involvement negotiating and drafting commercial real estate leases. Over the past decades, his forms and clauses have become the standard for use by the real estate leasing industry in the State of Michigan. Moreover, Mr. Shoffner's extensive litigation experience means that he understands how those forms and clauses actually work in the real world, and more importantly, how they work in the courtrooms.