I’ll tell you what.  With a commercial real estate transaction, with the nature of the potential liabilities that are involved and usually the financial resources that are involved, I would say absolutely both parties should protect themselves from the outset with an attorney.  And that representation should begin even before the purchase agreement is drafted.  

From a residential standpoint, buyers need an attorney to help review their contracts and also review title to the real estate that they’re planning to purchase to make sure there’s no problems with the title.  

From a seller’s standpoint, if the seller is fortunate enough to be able to sell without having a realtor, an attorney can substantially save costs.  An attorney’s necessary to draft the transfer paperwork, such as the deed.  And that’s relatively inexpensive when compared with, for example, a realtor’s commission.