Christy David, EVP, COO, general counsel, and secretary of InvenTrust Properties Corp. (NYSE: IVT), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITwise: 2023 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference held March 21-23 in Phoenix, Arizona.
David said that if the general counsel and legal function of a company is performing well, that helps facilitate the business and the operations team.
“When I became general counsel [at InvenTrust], I really was looking for ways to provide operational efficiencies for the department, [and] I was looking for ways to better our processes and really imbed the legal function throughout the business,” she added.
David also said that legal training is instrumental for many different executive roles at REITs, even for those looking to move beyond the general counsel’s office into a business role.
“It’s important to remember to give solution-orientated advice,” she said. “Lead from the business side and implement your decision making within the confines of the law, as opposed to letting the law lead all of your decisions.”
David added that from a general counsel’s perspective, one of the biggest risk factors for REITs in 2023 will be understanding and thoughtfully applying the SEC disclosure rules to the business.