Desmond Connall Jr

Desmond D. Connall, Jr.

Senior Counsel
Baltimore
Washington, DC

Desmond Connall leads the Leasing Team in Ballard’s Real Estate Development and Transactions Group, and is real estate counsel to the Firm. A Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and a member of the Advisory Board of the Georgetown Law School Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, Des is recognized for his expertise in commercial real estate transactions. During his four decades of law practice, Des has worked on many of the most significant real estate developments in the Washington, D.C. region on behalf of anchor tenants, landlords, developers and investors.

Des also has an active pro bono practice and received the Leonard E. Lindquist Award for his work on behalf of a transgender ICE detainee.

Experience 

Representative Matters

  • The CoStar Group in leases and acquisitions for offices throughout the United States over the last 20 years, including the purchase, sale, and leaseback of CoStar’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.—transactions that won Deal of the Year honors from the Washington Business Journal in two consecutive years (2011 and 2012)
  • Harris Teeter, Inc. in leases and acquisitions for new stores in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland, including many stores in complex mixed-use developments in Washington
  • The trustee for bondholders (U.S. Bank) in numerous transactions related to the Farms of New Kent residential development in New Kent County, Virginia, including sales of residential building lots to homebuilders
  • NewCourtland in tax credit financing for senior housing in Philadelphia

Professional Highlights

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

The District of Columbia Bar

Maryland State Bar Association

International Council of Shopping Centers

Recognition & Accomplishments

Fellow, the American College of Real Estate Lawyers

The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law (Washington, D.C.) 2019-2024

AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

The Promise of One Award, Susan G. Komen Maryland, 2016

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “Not Now; I’m on a Zoom Call! Multi-Jurisdictional Practice in a Virtual World,” 2021 ICSC Law Conference, San Francisco, CA, November, 2021

Panelist, “Coworking: Should WeLease? Launching SpaceFlex,” Georgetown Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, Washington, D.C., April 2021

Speaker, “Truth or Consequences—Dos and Don’ts of Negotiation Ethics,” 2020 ICSC Law Conference, October, 2020

Board Memberships & Community Service

Advisory Board Member, Georgetown University Law Center Advanced Commercial Leasing Institute, 2015 – present

Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee, 2019 – present

Board of Directors Member, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Maryland Chapter, 2018 – 2020

Publications

Co-author, "Work Letter Landmines," Legal-Ease column BOMA Magazine, November/December 2015

Co-author, "Making the Most of Lease Abstracts," Legal-Ease column BOMA Magazine, September/October 2015

Co-author, "The Do's and Don'ts of Navigating 'Green' Requirements and Commitments," Legal-Ease column for BOMA Magazine, May/June 2015

Credentials 

Education

Stanford Law School (J.D. 1981)

Princeton University (A.B. 1976, with distinction)

Admissions

District of Columbia

Maryland