Jay Epstien represents local and national owners, developers and users in all aspects of real estate transactions involving urban office buildings, shopping centers and multifamily residential projects. He has been the lead lawyer on many of the largest downtown office leases in Washington, DC, representing both landlords and tenants, including numerous law firms that have sought his counsel. He has represented major corporations, including the Bureau of National Affairs and Verizon, in corporate real estate facilities matters throughout the United States, involving major corporate relocations and disposition of significant existing facilities. Mr. Epstien is also an active practitioner in the shopping center industry.

Mr. Epstien is a member of the DLA Piper's US Executive Committee, chairs the US Real Estate practice and is co-chair of the Global Real Estate practice, the largest real estate practice in the world. In addition, he is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, serving on its Board of Governors from 2001 to 2007, a member of the Anglo American Real Property Institute; and a member of the ICSC Law Conference Program Committee, where he served as co-chair of the 2009 ICSC Law Conference.

Mr. Epstien is a nationally recognized real estate lawyer. In Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Mr. Epstien has been ranked in the first tier of real estate lawyers in every edition. In 2004, Chambers listed him as one of only two "star" real estate lawyers in the United States. In 2008, Chambers acknowledged him as a "spectacular deal-maker"; in 2009 it stated his reputation in Washington, DC is "absolutely huge" and noted that clients says he combines "great business sense with incredible judgment"; and in 2010, it quotes clients saying that he is "at the top of his game – he combines a huge amount of legal know-how with excellent counseling." Legal 500 recognized that "…he effectively applies real strategies to complex deals" and in 2011 called him a "terrific lawyer."

In 2011, Mr. Epstien was the recipient of a Champions and Visionaries: The Legal Times Award, named in a Washington-based special report of The National Law Journal. He was selected as a Visionary Leader, one whose business or legal acumen has been key to expanding his firm, improving government or advancing the law. Mr. Epstien is also listed in the PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2009, which recommends him as a "Leading" lawyer in real estate; in The Best Lawyers in America (2012), the Guide to the World's Leading Real Estate Lawyers 2008 and 2010, An International Who's Who of Real Estate Lawyers, PLC's Global Counsel Handbook of Corporate Real Estate and Who's Who Legal: The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers. In 2007, Lawdragon named him among the Lawdragon 500 Dealmakers in America, and in both 2007 and 2008, Lawdragon named him among the 500 Leading Lawyers in America. In addition, Mr. Epstien was recognized as one of the top 25 real estate lawyers in the world in the Best of the Best 2009 Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers.

Mr. Epstien is consistently recognized as one of the leading real estate lawyers in Washington, DC. In 2011, Washingtonian magazine named him one of Washington's top lawyers. He has been named as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Washington, DC and among the Top 10 Super Lawyers in Washington, DC. The Legal Times named him one of 13 leading real estate lawyers and the Washington Business Journal ranked him as the Top Real Estate Lawyer in Washington, DC in 2004.