Though the commercial real estate market continues to founder, The Legal Intelligencer notes that the outlook for real estate work at law firms is not necessarily as grim. Gross revenue from real estate work declined 7.5 percent among large Philadelphia firms from 2008 to 2009, but many firms have refocused their real estate practices and are optimistic about the future. Ballard Spahr partner and chairman of the American Bar Association's Real Property section Roger D. Winston tells the Intelligencer that while traditional real estate work is scarce, "there's new work out there that we're all somewhat novices at." Michael Sklaroff, head of Ballard Spahr's Real Estate Department, adds that the firm has "benefited from not only a diverse geographic platform but diverse practices, so housing and distressed real estate make up in part for less work in the development area."