Blank Rome partner Clara Feldman, chair of our Luxury Brands, Specialty Goods, and Retail practice, will serve as a speaker at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (“ICSC”) law conference, ICSC+U.S. LAW, being held October 21 through 23, 2026, in Orlando, Florida.

Clara’s session, “Without Giving Away the Secret Sauce: What Really Matters to Today’s Tenants,” will take place on Wednesday, October 21, from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.

About the Session

This session explores the key business drivers and lease priorities that influence tenant decision making in today’s commercial real estate market. Without revealing confidential strategies, this session breaks down what truly matters to retail tenants and highlights recurring themes attorneys should recognize when negotiating lease terms and structuring deals. Participants will gain practical insight into how these tenant priorities impact risk allocation, economics, and long-term lease performance.

Speakers:

  • Clara Feldman, Blank Rome LLP, New York, NY
  • Brian Sheedy, McDonald’s Corporation, Chicago, IL

Other sessions include:

  • A PSA (Public Service Announcement) on PSA (Purchase and Sale Agreement) Representations and Warranties
  • AI Tools for Commercial Leasing: Byte-Sized Solutions for Improving Your Practice
  • Alternative Occupancy Agreements: Agreements for “Not the Usual Occupant”
  • “AS-IS”, But Not Exactly: How to Draft and Negotiate Nuanced Delivery Conditions
  • Bankruptcy at the Bargaining Table: An Interactive Primer for Lease Negotiations
  • Can’t Buy Me Love (But Can Buy Me This Property): Purchase and Sale Agreements from the Buyer and Seller Perspective
  • Common Area Maintenance Charges Demystified: Exclusions, Inclusions and Audit Rights
  • Common Area Maintenance Costs, Operating Costs, and Additional Rent. What Can and Cannot Be Passed Through to Tenants?
  • Condemnation and Casualty: Are You Really Ready to Negotiate these Provisions in a Lease?
  • Construction Provisions in Commercial Leases: Timing, Deadlines, and Requirements
  • Co-Tenancy Clauses: Structuring Remedies and Managing Risk
  • Deal or No Deal: Negotiating Core Purchase and Sale Agreement Provisions
  • “Didn’t We Already Agree to This?”: SNDA, Estoppels, and Landlord Lien Subordination as the Second Lease Negotiation
  • Due Diligence: Leases vs. PSAs
  • Economic Incentives for Retail Development: What to Look for and How to Find Them
  • Environmental: The Past, Present and Future of Staying Clean in the Green Scene
  • Ethical Traps in Professionalism: Crossing the Line in the Digital Age
  • EV Chargers: Do We Want Them at Our Property and What Are the Issues to Consider?
  • First Floor, Front Line: Ground-Floor Retail Challenges
  • Generative AI in Law Practice: The Lawyer’s Nondelegable Duty to Verify
  • I Surrender: Obligations at Lease Expiration to Repair and Restore
  • In the Beginning: Negotiating Key Provisions in LOIs
  • Insurance Essentials Part 1: Property Insurance
  • Insurance Essentials Part 2: Liability Insurance
  • Lease Defaults: Whose Default Is It Anyway (And What Can You Do About It)?
  • Leasing for Entertainment and Immersive Experiences: Navigating New Frontiers
  • Letter Perfect: Work Letter Negotiation Essentials
  • Litigation and How to Avoid It: Monday Morning Quarterbacks Provide Practice Pointers
  • Managing Stress Mindfully: Practical Pointers for Handling Stress
  • Navigating Generational Differences, Disabilities and Implicit Biases in Order to Foster a Respectful Workplace
  • Negotiating Gross Sales Exclusions for Percentage Rent: When Sales Go Up, Rent Goes Up, or Does It?
  • Negotiating Landlord and Tenant Work Letters: Critical Concepts and Common Pitfalls
  • New and Creative Assignment and Sublease Language: Should I Stay or Should I Go
  • Real Estate Case Law Update: The Votes Are in on Recent Precedent and Trends
  • Real Estate Ownership Alternatives: When Ownership Is Not (Fee) Simple
  • Recent Insurance Trends, Including Climate Change Issues and Captive Insurance: Insurance Provisions That Weather the Storm
  • Recent Trends in Retail Landlord/Tenant Disputes and How to Draft Around the Issues
  • Redeveloping Occupied Retail Centers: From Just Operating to Optimizing
  • Remedies for Refusal to Consent: You Can’t Make Me! Or Can You?
  • Retail Turf Wars: Landlord Leverage vs. Tenant Protections in Exclusive and Prohibited Use Provisions
  • See Your Future, Be Your Future: The Best Tips to Ensure Success as a Legal Real Estate Professional
  • Shopping Center Parcelization: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
  • Should I Stay or Should I Go: Tips for Negotiating Lease Exit Rights
  • Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat: Negotiating Key Environmental Provisions Without Going Overboard
  • Speaking Construction: Construction Contracts for Leasing Attorneys
  • The ABCs of REAs, CCRs and OEAs
  • The Business of Law: What They Don’t Teach You in Law School
  • The Ethics of Effective Contract Drafting: Because If You’re a Good Legal Writer You Don’t Write Good
  • The Third Wheel: The Reality of Negotiating Franchise Riders
  • This Makes No “Cents”: Understanding Real Estate Finance Terms
  • Top 10 Lease Provisions to Negotiate for a Tenant Without Leverage
  • Two Sides of Every Lease: Understanding Core Leasing Concepts From Landlord and Tenant Perspectives
  • Untangling Management and Brokerage Agreements in Retail Real Estate
  • Urban Street Leasing: “Takin’ It to the Streets” and Dispelling “What a Fool Believes” About Urban Locations
  • Use Clauses, Exclusives, and Prohibited Uses: No Soup for You
  • Wellness in Extreme Environments: Leading and Thriving Under Constant Pressure
  • What Are You Drinking or Toking? Alternative Approaches to Alcohol and Cannabis Use
  • When Leases Stack: Practical Strategies for Prime Lease/Sublease Alignment
  • Without Giving Away the Secret Sauce: What Really Matters to Today’s Tenants
  • You Are 100% Right: Negotiating Percentage Rent Clauses in Commercial Leases

For more information and to register, please visit the event webpage.