Skip to content
A law office with books and a gavel

Real Estate Attorneys

For the deals that are not standard.

When to bring in a lawyer

Pennsylvania does not require an attorney at closing, and most standard purchases settle without one. The exceptions are worth knowing: for-sale-by-owner deals, estates and inherited property, boundary and easement disputes, zoning variances, and anything involving a partition or a family transfer.

Agents use standardized statewide forms, which cover the common cases well. An attorney earns their fee when the contract is not standard: custom riders, new-construction agreements written by the builder, multi-unit or mixed-use property, and leases with options to buy.

Verify any lawyer's standing on the Disciplinary Board's public lookup before you engage them, and ask up front whether the work is flat fee or hourly. County bar associations run referral services if you do not have a name already.

Showing 122 of 122 listings

Related stories

Licensing & resources

Pro Corner

For real estate attorneys

The profession consumers call when a deal gets complicated, and the one other pros refer to weekly.

Practicing real estate law in PA

  1. 1Earn the JD and pass the Pennsylvania bar exam
  2. 2Register annually with the Disciplinary Board
  3. 3Meet PA’s annual continuing legal education requirement
  4. 4Build the referral bench: agents, lenders, and title companies send the work
Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of PAAttorney registration, standing, and public lookup.

Work in this field? Teach a short course, speak on a Cardinal Live webinar, or co-host a meetup for local pros. We supply the audience; you bring the expertise.

Raise your handFeature your business
Attorneys: featured placement here reaches readers whose deals just got complicated.