Danielle Spehar – Agree Realty Corporation

Agree Realty Corporation (NYSE: ADC) has built its reputation by “Rethinking Retail.” A publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), the company specializes in acquiring and developing properties net leased to leading omni-channel retailers. As of June 30, 2025, Agree’s portfolio includes 2,513 properties across all 50 states, totaling more than 52 million square feet of gross leasable space. Its strategy focuses on three growth platforms—acquisitions, development, and its Developer Funding Platform —all aimed at cultivating long-term partnerships with its “sandbox” of approximately 30 to 35 national and super-regional retailers that the Company sees as industry-leading retailers.

Danielle Spehar | Agree Realty Corporation | General Counsel

At the center of this growth strategy is Danielle Spehar, who has served as Agree’s general counsel since 2019. She joined the company in late 2016, after years as one of the company’s outside counsel, and quickly recognized that Agree’s approach to real estate aligned with her business-minded vision of the law. Initially tasked with supporting the Company’s aggressive acquisition activity, she steadily expanded her role to lead legal, due diligence, transaction, and real property tax teams.

Today, her department has evolved from a one-person function into a robust, multi-disciplinary team that does much more than review contracts.

“We don’t think of ourselves as traditional in-house attorneys,” Spehar says. “Our lawyers are business-minded decision makers. We’re not just here to advise on risk—we’re actively involved in executing the Company’s strategy.”

Building the team from the ground up

When Spehar arrived at Agree, the transactions team consisted of a single contract lawyer and a diligence team member who later transitioned into development. Recognizing the pace and complexity of Agree’s deal flow, she began assembling a team tailored to the Company’s needs.

In just a few years, that team has grown to include four lawyers, two paralegals, an assistant, and a real property tax unit. Each member brings not only legal training but also a strong background in commercial real estate and a comfort level with making decisions. That, Spehar explains, is the key distinction.

“In private practice, you’re trained from day one not to make the decision. You present the risks, the options, and leave it to the client,” she says. “Here, we want lawyers who thrive on being the decision maker. It’s a complete reset for many attorneys, and it takes a certain mindset to embrace that accountability.”

Spehar looks for candidates with about eight to ten years of experience—senior enough to have seen a variety of deals but not so entrenched in traditional law firm habits that they resist adapting. She also values people who have dabbled in business, even small ventures, because they’ve already experienced the responsibility of making real-world decisions.

Her intentionality extends into professional development. Through bi-weekly one-on-ones, quarterly reviews, and think tank-style meetings, she encourages her team to shape their own paths within the Company.

“I want people who see themselves as future leaders, even future GCs,” she says. “This isn’t a place for people who just want to maintain. ‘Punch Your Ticket’ is one of our four Core Values at Agree; you either get better, or you get worse—there’s no standing still.”

Driving growth through creative problem-solving

Agree’s legal team isn’t judged on how many contracts they review—it’s on how effectively they help the Company grow its portfolio while protecting its risk position. That means approaching each acquisition or development deal as a puzzle to solve.

Much of the team’s work involves identifying risks at the asset level and crafting solutions in collaboration with sellers and other external partners. These solutions may range from as simple as adjusting a clause in a lease to as complex as negotiating multi-party arrangements that balance competing interests. The unifying factor is creativity.

“We’re not in the business of moving up the risk curve just to get a deal done,” Spehar explains. “Instead, we’re constantly thinking about how to solve problems in ways that keep us protected but also allow us to meet our objectives.”

This approach has earned Agree a reputation for reliability. Transactions signed by the Company almost always close, a rarity in a competitive market where deals can fall apart late in the process. That reputation is a business advantage as much as a legal one—retailers and sellers know that when they work with Agree, the finish line is in sight.

To maintain this consistency at scale, Spehar and her team have invested heavily in building systems and processes. What started as a lean, “skinny” operation now runs on structured frameworks that ensure continuity no matter who is leading a particular transaction.

“If I left tomorrow, the team would still close out the quarter without missing a beat,” she says. “That’s because we’ve built the infrastructure and the discipline to support growth.”

Harnessing technology & preparing for the future

Just as Agree Realty has reimagined retail, Spehar is pushing her department to reimagine what a modern in-house legal team can be. A big part of that is technology.

Her group has been experimenting with advanced tools, including large language models, for tasks like data aggregation and analysis.

“We don’t expect technology to make decisions for us,” she notes, “but we absolutely see the value in how it can accelerate processes and give us better information faster.”

This willingness to test new tools—fearlessly and with an eye toward lessons learned—has positioned Agree’s legal department as an early mover in the real estate legal sector. Some experiments succeed and become part of the team’s workflow; others don’t, but still generate insights. The result is an agile, adaptive function that grows stronger with every iteration.

The team’s motto, “trust but verify,” captures both their philosophy on technology and their overall approach to transactions. It reflects a balance between efficiency and caution, between embracing innovation and safeguarding the Company’s position.

Beyond technology, Spehar places strong emphasis on mentorship. Many of Agree’s analysts and junior staff start their careers at the Company, and she relishes the opportunity to guide them.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone grow, knowing you played a small part in their development,” she says. The energy of young professionals, she adds, also fuels her own motivation.

Spehar’s broader goal is to cement Agree Realty’s status as the preeminent name in the net lease retail space—not only through its portfolio of properties but also through thought leadership and innovation.

“We want to be known as the premier company in the retail sector,” she says. “That means being bold, creative, and willing to lead rather than follow.”

A culture of business-minded leadership

For Spehar, the general counsel role is not about being the final stop for contracts or compliance. It’s about embedding legal expertise directly into the heart of business decision-making. Her team’s evolution reflects that vision: a group of lawyers and professionals who view themselves as strategic partners, not service providers.

That distinction has helped Agree Realty sustain its rapid growth while maintaining a disciplined approach to risk. It has also created a culture where creativity is rewarded, collaboration is expected, and professional development is prioritized.

Looking back, Spehar admits she never would have left private practice if not for this unique opportunity. However, at Agree Realty, she discovered the ideal convergence of law, real estate, and business leadership. Nearly a decade later, she continues to shape a legal department that is as forward-looking as the Company it serves.

“Real estate is an experiential business,” she reflects. “You need the reps, you need to make decisions, and you need to grow with every deal. That’s exactly what we’re doing here—growing as people, as a team, and as a company.”