The longtime general counsel to Brandywine Realty Trust has joined Duane Morris as a partner.

Brad A. Molotsky has joined Duane Morris' real estate and energy, environment and resources practice groups, the firm announced Tuesday. He will be based in the Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, offices.

Molotsky served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Brandywine for 18 years. When he started at Brandywine, the company had four buildings, and by the end of his tenure in April it had about 300. Brandywine was founded in 1994, and now has properties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Texas and California.

"He was the [type of] person we were selling services to for 18 years," said George Kroculick, co-chair of Duane Morris' real estate practice group.

Brandywine is beginning to grow through building and development rather than through acquisitions, Molotsky said, so it seemed like the right time to make a change. He said he preferred to work on acquisitions. He spoke with investment banking firms, development firms and law firms before deciding that rejoining the private practice of law would allow him to work on core acquisitions and sales of Real Estate, sustainability and affordable housing.

"A lot of folks I talked to were only interested in part of that, not all three things," Molotsky said.

He said he was attracted to the depth and breadth of Duane Morris' practices and the fact that the firm is interested in growing. Brandywine was not a client of the firm, Molotsky said, but the firm had represented parties on the other side of the table in a few lease transactions he worked on.

Molotsky's practice will focus on commercial leasing, acquisitions and divestitures, property management, financing and real estate joint ventures, the firm said. He has also worked on board governance and public company issues, and has experience with energy efficiency and sustainability.

Before joining Brandywine, Molotsky spent eight years at Pepper Hamilton, where he did some work for Brandywine before he went in-house. The deals became larger and more frequent, he said, as the company grew.

According to The Legal's annual ranking of general counsel for public companies by total compensation, Molotsky ranked 18th in Pennsylvania for 2015...

In developing his book of business, Molotsky said he plans to reach out to contacts at other real estate investment trusts and local developers. Having served as a general counsel, he said he is able to provide an understanding of the client's perspective and needs.

"I bring a little bit of having been on the other side of the equation," he said.

Kroculick said he has no doubt Molotsky will develop a significant amount of business.

"He'll be able to get meetings," Kroculick said. "With his experience, expertise, his background and his brand, it doesn't take as much luck."

As for the current state of the real estate market, Molotsky said there is "caution in the wind." The last two to three years have been busy with construction and transactions, he said, but uncertainty over how the upcoming election will affect the market is creating a cautious attitude. Transactions will continue into the beginning of 2017, he said, and then it will be time to take a fresh look.

Also Tuesday, Duane Morris announced that Marc Gottschalk joined as a partner in the corporate practice in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. Gottschalk was a national co-leader of Sidley Austin's corporate venture capital group.

Reprinted with permission from The Legal Intelligencer, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.