Best Lawyers Near You in St. Augustine, Florida for Real Estate Law

Florida is home to more than 23 million people, hundreds of industries and a wide range of legal needs. From individuals navigating personal matters like divorce or estate planning to businesses managing complex contracts or regulatory hurdles, legal guidance plays a critical role in daily life across the state.

Florida’s unique economic drivers—tourism, real estate, agriculture and healthcare—create specific legal demands that often require attorneys with focused regional experience. Whether you're in the Keys, the Panhandle, or Central Florida, understanding the local context can be just as important as understanding the law.

When it’s time to find the right attorney in Florida for your needs, language matters too. In Florida—as in most states—lawyer and attorney are often used interchangeably. But technically, only an attorney is licensed to practice law.

That distinction matters here. Best Lawyers only includes professionals who are fully licensed and actively practicing—legal advocates recognized by their peers for excellence in skill, ethics and service.

Whether you're facing a personal challenge, planning for the future, or trying to protect your business, Best Lawyers connects you with attorneys across Florida who are qualified, trusted and ready to help.

How to Use This Page

Our directory makes it easy to find a Florida attorney who fits your needs. You can search by practice area, city, or name. Whether you’re based in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tallahassee, or anywhere in between, the search tools are designed for speed and clarity.

Each attorney profile provides:

  • Areas of practice
  • Years of experience
  • Peer-review distinctions
  • Contact information and firm affiliations

This transparency helps you evaluate your options and choose someone with the right background for your specific legal issue. You’re accessing a curated list of professionals with proven reputations in their field.

This is more than a directory—it’s a research tool for making smarter legal decisions. Whether you’re hiring an attorney for the first time or seeking secondary advice on an ongoing matter, the information here helps you avoid guesswork. It’s especially useful for individuals managing high-stakes or emotionally charged issues, like a contested divorce or a business dispute with large financial consequences.

Legal Coverage Throughout Florida

No matter where you live or what kind of legal help you need, chances are we’ve got it covered. Best Lawyers recognizes attorneys in both high-demand and niche areas of practice across all corners of the state. This directory includes lawyers from large metro areas like Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, as well as smaller communities like Gainesville, Pensacola and Sarasota, ensuring you can find representation no matter where you're located.

Some of the most commonly searched legal services in Florida include:

  • Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice: With Florida’s population growth and busy roadways, personal injury and accident attorneys play a major role in helping people recover and rebuild.
  • Family Law and Divorce: Family-related matters—from custody disputes to prenuptial agreements—require attorneys with both skill and sensitivity.
  • Real Estate and Land Use: Florida’s hot real estate markets make it essential to have a qualified attorney for closings, zoning, development and litigation.
  • Business and Corporate Law: From startups in Miami to legacy businesses in the Panhandle, attorneys guide everything from contracts to mergers.
  • Criminal Defense: Experienced defense attorneys help clients navigate Florida’s criminal justice system with insight and integrity.
  • Immigration Law: As a diverse and international state, Florida sees high demand for legal representation in immigration and naturalization matters.
  • Estate Planning and Elder Law: With many retirees and aging residents, Florida has a strong need for attorneys who specialize in wills, trusts, Medicaid planning and probate.

We also include lawyers practicing in emerging or specialized fields, such as cybersecurity law, cannabis regulation, aviation law and education law. With so many attorneys practicing across Florida, it can be difficult to know who truly stands out. That’s where Best Lawyers adds genuine value by showing you not just every practitioner who’s licensed, but qualified attorneys who have earned the respect of their peers through years of dedicated service and proven results.

A Peer-Review Process You Can Trust

Every attorney listed in our Florida page has earned recognition through Best Lawyers’ rigorous annual peer-review process. This is a comprehensive methodology grounded in the insights of the legal community itself.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Nomination: Lawyers are nominated by peers or clients who have observed their work firsthand.
  2. Peer Review: Attorneys in the same practice area assess the nominee’s skill, integrity and results. This is confidential and weighted.
  3. Eligibility and Verification: Nominees must be in good standing with the bar and actively practicing law. We verify their status through state bar associations and other professional channels.
  4. Annual Re-evaluation: Because legal landscapes evolve, our recognitions are not static. Each year, the process begins again to ensure continued excellence.

This process helps ensure the integrity of our listings. If you’re selecting an attorney from our directory, you’re choosing someone who didn’t just claim to be the best—they were recognized by other attorneys as among the best in their field.

Start Your Search for an Attorney in Florida by Practice Area or City

Whether you’re dealing with a landlord dispute, a complicated contract, or a life-changing injury, finding the right attorney can make all the difference. Best Lawyers makes that search faster, clearer and more trustworthy.

Explore our Florida pages to find top-rated attorneys by:

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Your legal matter deserves careful consideration—and the right advocate. With Best Lawyers, you’re not just searching. You’re starting from a foundation of credibility, clarity and peer-backed trust. Browse by practice area or location to get started today and feel confident knowing that every name you see here has been vetted by fellow attorneys who know what it takes to provide outstanding legal service in Florida.

Practice Area Overview

Real estate law refers to the body of laws that govern the buying, selling and leasing of property.

These laws cover a wide range of legal issues related to real estate transactions, including financing transactions, environmental law and title searches. Real estate laws and regulations vary from state to state, with some requiring a real estate license to buy or sell property. Attorneys in real estate law can help with issues that a real estate agent can’t.

Hiring a real estate lawyer or real estate law attorney can be essential for navigating the legal complexities of a home purchase or sale. Law firms specializing in real estate law can assist with legal issues related to real estate transactions, such as reviewing contracts and conducting title searches.

Real estate lawyers or attorneys are also typically involved in representing clients before the real estate commission or title company. Law school courses often cover real estate law, as it is an essential aspect of many legal practices. A full-service real estate law firm should have expertise in these areas:

Sales and Acquisitions

The representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of the various kinds of real estate including office buildings, retail centers, hotels, industrial properties, residential properties and manufactured housing communities.

Real estate attorneys can be equally essential whether the transaction is for residential or commercial property.

Title

The examination of title to real estate, evaluation of title exceptions and negotiation of title insurance policies.

Land Use and Environmental

Land use entitlements, due diligence investigations, Brownfield developments and compliance with Environmental Laws and federal and state Endangered Species Acts.

Development

The negotiation and preparation of development and construction agreements and the other documents required to develop and construct office buildings, shopping centers, mixed-use projects, free-standing units and industrial sites.

Leasing

The negotiation and preparation of office, retail and industrial leases and long-term ground leases. A real estate lawyer may assist with:

  • Drafting and reviewing lease agreements.
  • Negotiating lease terms.
  • Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations.
  • Dispute resolution.
  • Lease modifications and renewals.
  • Handling lease terminations and evictions.
  • Advising on subleasing and assignment.

Finance

The representation of lenders and borrowers in real estate secured loan originations, loan sales and purchases and other debt arrangements, including:

  • Permanent financings.
  • Construction loans.
  • Bridge loans.
  • Conduit loans.
  • Mezzanine loans.
  • Shared appreciation loans.
  • Portfolios of non-performing loans.

Joint Ventures

A very large proportion of real estate transactions involve joint ventures between capital sources and developers. Therefore, a real estate firm must be in a position to structure and negotiate partnership agreements, limited liability company operating agreements, shareholder agreements and other forms of joint venture arrangements and advise on the tax aspects of the transactions.

Restructuring and Workouts

Not all real estate transactions are successful. Real estate lawyers, therefore, must be in a position to advise lenders, borrowers, partners, landlords, tenants and developers when a transaction goes bad.

This type of real estate law may involve transactional, bankruptcy, tax and litigation work. Restructuring and workouts often include:

  • Loan modifications.
  • Foreclosures.
  • Deeds in lieu of foreclosure.
  • Discounted loan payoffs.
  • Loan forbearances.
  • REO sales.
  • Joint venture modifications.
  • Buy/sells.
  • Forced sales.
  • Lease and development modifications.
  • Bankruptcies.
  • Receivership actions.
  • Guarantee actions.

Litigation

Litigation in the real estate area involves the representations of real estate owners, buyers, sellers, lessors, brokers, lenders and developers in, among other things:

  • Contract disputes.
  • Mechanics lien and construction disputes.
  • Eminent domain proceedings.
  • Title disputes.
  • Loan service.
  • Foreclosure issues.
  • Bankruptcy.
2 Profiled Results
Nearby Cities: Jacksonville
Related Practice Areas: Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law
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Our Methodology


Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

The Process

Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.