Real Estate GC Jumps to Phelps Dunbar In Tampa

Law360 published this article on June 8, 2026.

Phelps Dunbar LLP announced Monday that it tapped a former in-house counsel from a real estate private equity company to serve as a partner in the firm's Tampa, Florida, office.

Andy Peluso, who was general counsel for Lafayette Real Estate, jumped to Phelps Dunbar. He now handles complex real estate transactions and development projects for clients.

"I thought that maybe you know my career was going to keep me [in-house], or maybe take me long-term further into the business side, but I had been working with Rob Gidel, who is a real estate partner here in Tampa at Phelps," Peluso said during an interview with Law360 Pulse on Monday. "He was by far, I would say, our best outside counsel relationship when I brought him on, and so I've been working with him on real estate deals for two and a half years directly. And he came to me with this opportunity to join a robust real estate transaction corporate transaction practice here at Phelps in Tampa, and the opportunity was just too good."

Peluso has transactional experience in acquisitions, dispositions, development, leasing, entitlements and commercial finance in multiple real estate asset classes, including single-family, multifamily, office and retail, the firm said. He focuses on build-for-rent and single-family rental space.

"I really enjoy the part of it where you negotiate your agreements with the counterparty, but you approach it from a perspective of what problems not only am I solving for my client, but what problems am I solving, maybe for the counterparty as well, and interacting and presenting at all times, if possible, in a very like friendly and light way," Peluso said.

Outside his everyday work, Peluso is the co-chair of the Florida chapter of the National Rental Home Council, a trade association for owner-operators, investors and vendors in the single-family rental home industry.

In his previous role, Peluso led operations and legal strategy for the vertically integrated real estate manager and investment firm, which develops and manages build-for-rent and single-family communities. His experience also includes working with institutional capital partners, joint ventures and fund- and venture-level financing structures.

"For a while, before I brought Rob on and I found a trustworthy outside counsel to handle my acquisitions, I was doing all of those essentially myself. And on top of that, [I] spread around the company doing everything from internal fundraising work with our joint ventures, fund-level financing work, even corporate governance and [human resources] and all those kind of things. So I think that experience kind of broadened my skill set, and on top of that, it gave me that intangible understanding of what you need on the business side versus what a lawyer might provide to you," Peluso said.

Peluso is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, according to his biography on the firm's website.

He is the third real estate partner and second in Florida to join Phelps Dunbar this year.

"As outside counsel, we have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Andy, and we are delighted to welcome him to the firm," said Jason Pill, managing partner of Phelps' Tampa office, in a statement. "Andy is a versatile business lawyer who adds another dimension of experience to our office and firm. As a former general counsel, he understands our clients' needs and how to address their myriad concerns, from business strategy, corporate governance, and growth to risk and compliance."

Phelps Dunbar is home to more than 450 lawyers and maintains 18 locations in the Gulf South, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and the London market.