John Mercer serves as the chair of the firm’s Financial Services & Real Estate Section. He has extensive experience with the acquisition, financing, leasing and development of commercial real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the United States. John has assisted regional and national landlords and tenants with the negotiation and preparation of complex office, retail and industrial leases on a regular basis. He serves as outside real estate counsel for several publicly traded companies.

 

John Mercer serves as the chair of the firm’s Financial Services & Real Estate Section. He has extensive experience with the acquisition, financing, leasing and development of commercial real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic and other parts of the United States. John has assisted regional and national landlords and tenants with the negotiation and preparation of complex office, retail and industrial leases on a regular basis. He serves as outside real estate counsel for several publicly traded companies.

John has published numerous articles and conducted seminars on commercial real estate and financing topics. He is a member of the Commercial Leasing Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the American Bar Association, and is former vice-chair of the ABA’s Office Leasing Subcommittee. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and a past president of the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate, where he serves on the board of directors. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America©  (2008-present) and was named the Best Lawyers’® 2011 Richmond Real Estate "Lawyer of the Year." He has been named to Virginia Business magazine’s list of “Legal Elite” (2010-2017, 2008 and 2020), listed in Virginia Super Lawyers magazine (2012-present, 2009) and included in Chambers USA (2015-present, 2008-2010).  In addition, Martindale-Hubbell has rated John an AV attorney, its highest rating available.

John received his Juris Doctor degree in 1985 from Vermont Law School, where he was editor of the Vermont Legal Research Group, a member of the Moot Court Advisory Board and a contributing writer to the Vermont Law School Forum. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. John is a member of the Richmond, Virginia and Connecticut bar associations.