Work-life balance is more than time out of the office. It’s also about having a fulfilling career while also enjoying a solid quality of life outside the workplace.
That’s why it wasn’t a hard decision for McKeehanon Rue, an associate at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C., to set up shop as a young attorney in Chattanooga a few years ago after graduating with honors from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
What made Chattanooga the place to be for you after law school?
“I was familiar with the city, as I’d attended the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga to play on the golf team. I liked it a lot and had a great experience here. Although I eventually transferred to Tennessee Wesleyan University to finish school, and then went to law school in Knoxville, I always had Chattanooga in mind.
“After I got married, my wife and I moved to Nashville. I wanted to change up my career a bit, and both our sets of parents lived in Athens, which is about 45 minutes from Chattanooga, and so we came here. It offers a lot – close to family, and also what I considered to be a pretty big and sophisticated market to practice law.’’
You states you practice in a variety of areas in and around real estate, property law, mergers and acquisitions, and other financial areas. How’d you settle into that niche?
“It was all pretty organic, really. When I joined the firm, I was in a business section with lots of subcategories, one of which was real estate. I really liked what I was doing, and from there became involved in other areas of our business-development practice.
“If you look at any successful business, you’ll see that they own or lease property. I liked being involved in helping clients with those major decisions and creating relationships that can grow over time.
“I’ve been able to grow in my practice through those relationships; someone might come in for some help in restructuring a lease, and then we begin to speak about other challenges. I like to problem-solve, and so I can bring that life experience to the business. My strategy is pretty simple: be genuine with people and see where the relationship can go from there.’’
Your firm has many areas of service. Was that important to you as a young lawyer?
“We are full service, and this is a very sophisticated firm reflecting the market it’s in. We have divisions for employee law, nonprofits, estate planning, business needs and a full litigation service. That’s a huge benefit to me. I was able to find a niche area to grow in, but if I am curious about another area of law, or have a question, I’ve got people down the hall or on the floor below with a totally different background to offer advice. We have a huge amount of experience in the knowledge base here.’’
As someone who’s plugged into Chattanooga’s commercial real estate market? What are you seeing these days?
“There’s certainly still a lot of uncertainty, but that doesn’t mean people are standing still. We have handled a lot of rent deferments, which have been a big issue with all the temporary closings that have occurred.
“We’re seeing people work through that, and maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I believe this whole COVID-19 situation is creating stronger relationships moving forward. I think we’ll look back and see where a lot of landlords and tenants saw how they worked together, struggling in a situation that neither of them could have predicted, and found a way forward.’’
How do you think Chattanooga compares to other Southeast markets in that regard?
“I believe people are trying to work together wherever they are, but Chattanooga excels at it because this is a very tightly knit community. You can see by the Riverwalk area alone how Chattanooga gives back to itself, and how it wants everyone to succeed. The real estate community is that way as well. Everyone is pitching in, and people who care about each other and care about their community are going to work together. This is not an ‘everybody for themselves’ kind of city.’’
What do you think the real estate market is going to do next?
“We were growing in a lot of different ways coming into 2020. Commercial and industrial were solid, and I think a lot of deals that were in the works are still in place – just on hold. The foundation has been laid for a lot of future growth, and the relationships have been formed. That’s not going to go away, especially given the time and money that’s already been invested in various deals and projects.
“Once we get to whatever normal is going to look like again, I think we’ll see people wanting to get running with the plans they have on hold right now. If you’ve got an agreement drafted, it won’t be too hard to pick that back up, see what needs to change and get moving.’’
Do you think you’ll see much of that in 2021?
“It’s going to be a slower year, and there are also going to be a lot of changes. For example, think about how curbside pickup has taken off for restaurants and retail. How does that translate into commercial real estate? People may want that curb space if they are opening a restaurant or a shop, and that might not have been in a lease before.
“The deals will get done, the leases will happen, we’re just going to see a lot of people coming up with practical ways to get to their end goal.’’
How’s your firm handling social distancing and other challenges?
“We’ve gotten back into our office, and we’re obviously still working a lot online. Email, Zoom, everything we’ve had to adapt to has been embraced. It’s really a testament to our firm, as well as our clients, that people want to get things done, and get them done safely. We are taking all the extra steps, or finding a different avenue, to accomplish our goals.
“That really sums up Chattanooga. If we can’t meet live, we’ll get together online, to keep moving ahead.’’