Our firm is home to one of the nation’s leading real estate investment trusts (REIT) practices, according to Chambers USA, which has recognized the firm as a leading law firm in representing REITs.
We accomplish successful transactions of all types for both public and private REITs, including a number of the largest public REITs. Our REIT clients hail from multiple industries, including retail, office, residential and industrial. The practice combines resources from all of the firm’s practice groups, including Corporate & Securities, Real Estate, Tax, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Labor & Employment, Environmental and Intellectual Property. Services we offer our REIT clients include:
- REIT Formation: We help form public and private REITs, including crafting operating partnerships to facilitate the tax-efficient acquisition of properties, both at a REIT’s formation and as it acquires properties.
- Mergers, Acquisitions & Dispositions: The firm represents REITs in merger, acquisition and disposition transactions, including large corporate acquisitions and mergers, portfolio acquisitions, as well as the acquisition and disposition of individual properties.
- Securities: We assist REIT clients in public and private securities offerings, including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, offerings of preferred and common units of limited partnership, debt offerings, securitizations and securities registrations in connection with merger and acquisition transactions.
- Joint Ventures: The firm represents its REIT clients in the formation of joint ventures and strategic alliances with institutional investors, developers and others and assists with tax planning and implementing appropriate governance provisions and exit strategies.
- Tax: Our lawyers help REIT clients in all aspects of federal, state and local tax planning, including representation in connection with REIT formation, merger, acquisition and disposition transactions, like-kind exchanges and joint venture transactions, as well as managing REIT qualification tests and implementing REIT-specific tax strategies.
- Financing: We represent REIT clients in nearly all their financing transactions, in addition to equity financings, including pooled and stand-alone securitized financings, traditional mortgage financings, construction financings, mezzanine financings and unsecured term and revolving loan financings.