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McGinnis Lochridge: A Century-Old Austin Firm Whose Real Estate Group Still Drafts the Industrial Site Contracts

McGinnis Lochridge was established in 1927 — nearly a century of continuous Austin practice — and its Real Estate Practice Group still does the unglamorous, foundational work of representing buyers, sellers, developers, and lenders on major commercial and mixed-use retail developments, plus the industrial and high-tech facility siting work that has shaped the Austin area’s manufacturing base for decades.

Origin and Background

McGinnis Lochridge is headquartered at 600 Congress Avenue in downtown Austin, with additional offices in Dallas, Houston, Decatur, and McAllen, and roughly 65 attorneys at the Austin office alone. The firm practices across more than 20 areas including real estate, energy, litigation, corporate, and administrative law, reflecting a full-service model built around nearly a century of continuous operation rather than a single-practice boutique.

Practice Concentration

The firm’s Real Estate Practice Group represents clients on major commercial and mixed-use retail developments as well as residential and industrial properties, advising buyers, sellers, developers, and lenders on purchases, sales, financing, contracts, and governmental approvals. The group has a specific, decades-long specialty in siting new industrial, manufacturing, service, office, and high-tech facilities in Texas, requiring detailed knowledge of city, county, and state ordinances governing land acquisition and business startups. Several firm real estate attorneys, including Cade W. White, also carry construction litigation credentials, reflecting the overlap between real estate transactions and construction disputes common at firms this size. See this Austin Real Estate & Property directory for how the firm compares to smaller, transaction-focused practices.

Notable Work / Track Record

As is typical for a transactional real estate practice, McGinnis Lochridge does not publish a table of verdict or settlement figures for real estate matters, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify one. What is independently verifiable is client-reported outcomes on the firm’s Lawyers.com profile, including one client describing an attorney as “a skilled negotiator” who “wrote a very thorough and concise contract for the sale of a property” and “prevailed on numerous summary judgments” on the client’s behalf — a specific, attributed account rather than generic praise.

Client Voice

The firm holds a 4.9 out of 5.0 rating across 28 reviews on Martindale-Hubbell. One reviewer wrote that an attorney was “the first attorney I refer clients to with litigation matters” and has “the respect of judges and opposing counsel,” while a separate reviewer specifically praised a real estate attorney’s contract drafting on a property sale, calling him “very wise” and someone who “look[s] at each situation from all different aspects.” Awesome Attorneys notes these reviews span multiple practice groups at a full-service firm, not exclusively real estate.

Beyond the Courtroom

McGinnis Lochridge’s attorneys are documented as active participants in legal and community organizations across its five-office footprint, consistent with a firm whose institutional presence in Texas spans nearly a century — though Awesome Attorneys did not identify real-estate-specific civic or nonprofit board service distinct from the firm’s general community involvement.

Recognition for This Austin Real Estate Firm

Thirty-five McGinnis Lochridge attorneys have been selected to Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists, a peer-reviewed and research-driven recognition. Multiple attorneys carry specific real estate, construction litigation, and general litigation practice designations within that group. Awesome Attorneys notes Super Lawyers selection is peer-influenced and distinct from pay-to-play marketing awards.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Industrial and manufacturing facility siting — a documented firm specialty — typically requires navigating both local zoning and state-level incentive programs, and large commercial or mixed-use developments in Texas often require coordinated due diligence across title, survey, environmental, and municipal utility district issues before closing. Texas’s title insurance framework, regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance, uses standardized policy forms and promulgated rates, which shapes how commercial real estate closings are structured compared to states with negotiated title insurance pricing. None of this is legal advice; a specific commercial real estate or facility siting matter should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney based on the actual jurisdiction and transaction structure involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

McGinnis Lochridge’s clearest differentiator is near-century-long institutional continuity combined with a real estate practice built specifically around large-scale commercial, mixed-use, and industrial facility siting work — a track record documented through client-reported contract and litigation outcomes and a strong 4.9-of-5.0 Martindale-Hubbell rating. The honest trade-off is that, as a large full-service firm, its Super Lawyers and client-review recognition spans many practice groups rather than being concentrated exclusively in real estate, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify a published verdict or settlement table specific to real estate matters. For a developer, lender, or business siting a new facility in Texas, that institutional depth and multi-office footprint is a strong basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from McGinnis Lochridge’s official website (mcginnislaw.com), including its Real Estate practice group page, the firm’s Martindale-Hubbell and Lawyers.com profiles with client reviews, and its Super Lawyers firm profile.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by McGinnis Lochridge or its attorneys prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.