Founder
Shanice brings a perspective shaped by experience across the regulatory, transactional, and policy environments that influence real estate in the District.
She spent five years with the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Conversion and Sale Division, commonly referred to as "The TOPA Office", where she worked closely with stakeholders navigating the District’s TOPA process. She later practiced at Ballard Spahr, where her work included real estate transactions and commercial leasing matters for institutional developers and clients.
In addition to her legal practice, Shanice collaborates with industry working groups contributing perspectives and practical insights on proposed legislation affecting the District’s real estate market, including the RENTAL Act.
This combination of regulatory insight, transactional experience, and policy engagement allows Shanice to help clients anticipate challenges and navigate transactions with clarity and confidence.
Special Counsel for TOPA Transactions and Commercial Leasing
1. Alignment: TRELP works with clients who share a commitment to ethical practices, fair dealing, and thoughtful strategy, because the strongest deals are built when integrity and outcomes are aligned.
2. Open Communication: TRELP prioritizes clear, direct communication and strong client relationships. We work closely with clients at every stage of a matter, providing consistent visibility into status, strategy, and next steps, so decisions are made with confidence.
3. Strategic Positioning: Every move is intentional. TRELP approaches each engagement with a forward-looking strategy designed to strengthen your position before challenges arise. By combining legal insight with strategic foresight, clients are positioned to negotiate, operate, and close from a place of strength.
TOPA
Representation
Advising owners, buyers, and stakeholders on matters involving the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), including:
Real Estate Transactions
Providing counsel on a range of real estate transactions across the District, including:
Commercial Leasing
Advising landlords and tenants on commercial leasing matters, including:
Speaking & Advisory
Providing educational and strategic sessions for developers, investors, owners and operators, brokers, and deal teams, including:
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We regularly guide owners and buyers through complex TOPA processes where missteps can derail an entire transaction. In multiple matters, our involvement has helped clients avoid statutory violations, anticipate tenant responses, and move through TOPA phases with clarity and confidence, reducing friction while preserving deal viability.
In commercial leasing and residential transactions alike, we help clients step back from rigid positions and refocus on what actually advances the deal. By identifying leverage points, adjusting strategy midstream, and reframing negotiations when dynamics shift, we’ve helped clients avoid costly dead ends and proceed with stronger, more informed positions.
Clients often come to us mid-transaction, sometimes after issues have already surfaced. Our role is frequently preventative: spotting risks others miss, flagging misaligned assumptions, and course-correcting before a problem becomes irreversible. That foresight has helped clients avoid disputes, delays, and downstream exposure long after our engagement ends.
Providing educational and strategic sessions for developers, investors, owners and operators, brokers, and deal teams, including:
I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Shanice McClelland, and I can confidently say she is one of the most knowledgeable and strategic professionals in the DC TOPA space.
Shanice brings a combination of deep legal insight and practical, transaction-level guidance, helping clients navigate complex TOPA requirements with clarity, confidence, and solutions. She doesn’t just understand the law; she knows how to apply it in a way that moves deals forward.
If you’re working on a tenant-occupied transaction in DC, Shanice is someone you want on your team.
Shanice McClelland is one of the most thoughtful and strategic TOPA attorneys I've had the pleasure of working with. She brings a rare combination of deep legal knowledge and practical judgment that makes even the most complex situations feel manageable. Our collaboration has always been grounded in a shared commitment to treating tenants fairly while keeping processes clear and efficient for all parties.
What sets Shanice apart is her ability to anticipate issues, consider all perspectives, and make deliberate, well-informed decisions. She is never impulsive; she is always calculated. She consistently raises viewpoints I hadn't considered, strengthening both our approach and our outcomes. Beyond her expertise, she is responsive, collaborative, and genuinely invested in the success of every transaction and the people involved.
I would highly recommend Shanice to anyone navigating TOPA or complex real estate matters.
I've had the pleasure of working with Shanice on several commercial real estate matters, and she is someone I trust completely at the table.
On a proposed hospitality lease at a major sports and entertainment venue, Shanice led negotiations and advised first-time operators through a complex LOI and lease structure. She not only handled the legal negotiations with sophistication, but also helped the clients understand market standards, risk allocation, and long-term positioning. Her ability to break down sophisticated lease terms into clear, practical guidance while still negotiating firmly and strategically is amazing.
In another matter involving the potential acquisition of an operating business with an expiring lease, She navigated difficult dynamics, advocated firmly for the client’s interests, and brought the parties to a place where a workable agreement was ready for execution. Although the business transaction ultimately did not proceed for unrelated reasons, Shanice positioned the clients strategically and protected them from potential exposure.
What I value most about working with Shanice is her collaborative mindset. We regularly strategize together on both the legal and business components of transactions. She approaches every deal with clarity, sound judgment, and a deep understanding of how lease structure impacts broader business objectives.
Shanice is thoughtful, practical, and extremely sharp. I look forward to continuing to work with her in the future.
The new construction exemption got the top spot in this RENTAL Act series, but it is not the only change. Read on… The RENTAL Act expands several additional TOPA exemptions under § 42-3404.02b(b), including ownership Read more
In case you missed it, the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords (RENTAL) Act of 2025 is LIVE (effective December 31, 2025)! This legislation made the most significant modifications to the Tenant Opportunity to Read more
On September 17th, the D.C. Council passed the RENTAL Act of 2025, which includes the most significant reforms to the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (“TOPA”) in decades. The full statutory text has not yet been Read more