Julia E. Tomec

Partner

215.981.4406

More ways to contact Julia E. Tomec

Additional Languages: Spanish (intermediate)

Julia approaches each client's transaction as the most important deal, leaning on her decade of experience in the commercial real estate space to anticipate challenges and nuances unique to every project.

Overview
Representative Matters
Insights
Awards

Julia concentrates her practice in commercial real estate matters and other corporate business transactions, including the acquisition, sale, development, and financing of industrial, office, and retail properties. She represents both landlords and tenants in the negotiation of retail, restaurant, office, and industrial leases, as well as ground lease and development transactions.

Julia has experience representing lenders in credit tenant lease financings, as well as pharmaceutical companies in connection with acquisition, disposition, and leasing projects. She also collaborates with corporate attorneys on real property matters in business transactions.

  • Representing a restaurant group’s leasing portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-end restaurants in cities across the U.S.
  • Representing a privately held company in its acquisition, development, and leasing of retail restaurant locations throughout the U.S., including ground leases, “curb-in” pad leases and space leases (in-line and street level of urban high-rise).
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $115 million financing and $170 million portfolio purchase of industrial building spaces in Tennessee and North Carolina.
  • Represented a real estate investment company in its $110 million disposition of a multioffice building portfolio.
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $74 million refinancing of a condominium portfolio.
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $50 million permanent loan and $76 million acquisition of Class A office building space.
  • Represented a Chinese real estate investment company in acquisitions, dispositions, and 1031 exchange transactions of mixed-use properties.
  • Represented a real estate company in its aggregate $50 million construction and refinancing of a Class A hotel.
  • Represented a retail tenant in leasing more than 400,000 square feet of space in its national portfolio.
  • Represented a national retail corporation in the leasing of a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse space.
  • Represented a national pharmacy chain in its aggregate $100 million multiproperty sale leaseback program.
  • Representing landlords in the leasing of retail shopping centers and Class A office space.
  • Representing startup companies in varied industries in managing their leasing programs.
  • Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Real Estate Law (2022-2025)
  • Legal 500 United States: Real Estate: Real Estate (2025)
  • Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer (2020-2022) – independently rated lawyers

Julia concentrates her practice in commercial real estate matters and other corporate business transactions, including the acquisition, sale, development, and financing of industrial, office, and retail properties. She represents both landlords and tenants in the negotiation of retail, restaurant, office, and industrial leases, as well as ground lease and development transactions.

Julia has experience representing lenders in credit tenant lease financings, as well as pharmaceutical companies in connection with acquisition, disposition, and leasing projects. She also collaborates with corporate attorneys on real property matters in business transactions.

  • Representing a restaurant group’s leasing portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-end restaurants in cities across the U.S.
  • Representing a privately held company in its acquisition, development, and leasing of retail restaurant locations throughout the U.S., including ground leases, “curb-in” pad leases and space leases (in-line and street level of urban high-rise).
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $115 million financing and $170 million portfolio purchase of industrial building spaces in Tennessee and North Carolina.
  • Represented a real estate investment company in its $110 million disposition of a multioffice building portfolio.
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $74 million refinancing of a condominium portfolio.
  • Represented a real estate development company in its $50 million permanent loan and $76 million acquisition of Class A office building space.
  • Represented a Chinese real estate investment company in acquisitions, dispositions, and 1031 exchange transactions of mixed-use properties.
  • Represented a real estate company in its aggregate $50 million construction and refinancing of a Class A hotel.
  • Represented a retail tenant in leasing more than 400,000 square feet of space in its national portfolio.
  • Represented a national retail corporation in the leasing of a 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse space.
  • Represented a national pharmacy chain in its aggregate $100 million multiproperty sale leaseback program.
  • Representing landlords in the leasing of retail shopping centers and Class A office space.
  • Representing startup companies in varied industries in managing their leasing programs.
  • Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Real Estate Law (2022-2025)
  • Legal 500 United States: Real Estate: Real Estate (2025)
  • Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer (2020-2022) – independently rated lawyers
  • Chair, Emerging Issues and Specialty Leases, American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, 2024-present
  • Chair of Industrial Leasing, American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, 2022-2024; Vice-Chair of Industrial Leasing, 2020-2022

Education

  • University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2009, The John Marshall Law Review
  • New York University, B.A., cum laude, 2006, political science and Spanish

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Pennsylvania

Languages

  • Spanish (intermediate)
  • Speaker, “Real Estate for the Non-Real Estate Attorney: Navigating Leases,” 2025 ACC Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, October 20, 2025.
  • Speaker, “Lease Issues Relating to Insurance and Lenders,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: eCLE Webinar, March 5, 2025.
  • Co-presenter, “Severe Weather Events in Leasing,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: Substantive Webinar, January 30, 2025.
  • Co-presenter, “Gross, Modified Gross, and Net Commercial Leases: Allocating Expenses and Risks Between Landlords and Tenants,” CLE Webinar, Strafford, October 3, 2023.
  • Co-presenter, “Leasing – Use Clauses,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: Nuts and Bolts Webinar, July 27, 2023.
  • Speaker, “Allocating Operating Expenses in Commercial Real Estate Leases: Negotiating Strategies for Landlords and Tenants,” CLE Webinar, Strafford, June 15, 2023.
  • Co-presenter, “Leasing – Premises,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: Nuts and Bolts Webinar, October 26, 2022.
  • Speaker, “Allocating Expenses in Commercial Leases,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: eCLE Webinar, October 6, 2022.
  • Speaker, “Allocating Operating Expenses in Commercial Real Estate Leases: Negotiating Strategies for Landlords and Tenants,” Strafford Publications, Inc., May 5, 2022.
  • Speaker, “Allocating Operating Expenses in Commercial Real Estate Leases: Negotiating Strategies for Landlords and Tenants,” Strafford Publications, Inc., June 10, 2021.
  • Co-presenter, “What Does it Mean to be a Triple Net Lease?,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: Nuts and Bolts Webinar, November 18, 2020.
  • Presenter, “Permitted Use Clauses in Leases,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law: Nuts and Bolts Webinar, September 23, 2020.
  • Speaker, “Allocating Operating Expenses in Commercial Real Estate Leases: Negotiating Strategies for Landlords and Tenants,” Strafford Publications, Inc., May 6, 2020.
  • Speaker, “Non-Disclosure Agreements and Letters of Intent in Real Estate Transactions: Drafting and Negotiating Enforceable NDAs and LOIs,” Strafford Publications, Inc., August 27, 2019.
  • Presenter, “Commercial Real Estate Documents: Negotiating and Drafting for Optimal Results,” PBI, Philadelphia, September 19, 2017.
  • Podcast, “Reopening Commercial Buildings,” COVID-19 Issues, June 16, 2020.
  • Author, “Letters of Intent in Commercial Real Estate Leases,” Pepper Hamilton Client Alert, November 14, 2019.