2020 Legal Elite — Real Estate/Land Use Profile

Clark H. Worthy, Gentry Locke Attorneys, Roanoke

Published November 30, 2020 by Virginia Business

Title: Partner
Other legal specialties: General business practitioner
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Virginia; law degree, Washington & Lee School of Law
Spouse: Mary “Kate” Robey Worthy
Children: C. Hatcher Worthy Jr.; Alexandra A. Worthy; Reagan R. Brown
First job as a lawyer: Clerk for the Hon. H. Emory Widner Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Abingdon)
Hobbies or pastimes: Traveling with my wife and dogs in our RV; visiting craft breweries
Career mentors: My father, Howard G. Worthy Jr.; G. Franklin Flippin; my wife
What trends are you seeing in real estate law?
The ability to close transactions remotely with the use of electronic signatures and notarizations is the biggest trend that I believe will emerge from the pandemic.
Are extensions on 1031 exchanges being used more?
The initial extension by the IRS of the replacement property identification period until July 15 was extremely helpful for clients that had closed 1031 transactions on or after Feb. 15. However, the failure of the IRS to also extend the 180-day closing deadline greatly limited the benefit of identification period because it effectively reduced the due diligence period during a period when conducting due diligence was problematic at best.
Have canceled or postponed real estate transactions during the pandemic altered your practice?
We have been fortunate that the pandemic has not adversely affected any transactions that were in the pipeline before March. Additionally, many of our clients have continued to buy and sell commercial properties during this time. The main issue that we have had to deal with is that … title searches have a longer lead time due to the competition for time and resources from the increase in residential closings and refinancings.