NEW YORK, January 22, 2007 -LAWFUEL – Legal News – The international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has made another strategic move and clients see immediate benefits. The 1675-lawyer firm announced that it has recently made a number of important additions to its New York real estate practice and the combined team has closed a major transaction.
Craig H. Solomon, Gary S. Kleinman, Howard R. Shapiro, Joseph D. D’Angelo, Nicole Fenton, Howard Schochet, Dana Gallo and Andrew Kellner, in addition to a number of associates, have joined the Real Estate Department in New York. Bennett I. Deutsch will bolster the firm’s REIT tax practice and Steven Sinatra has joined the litigation practice. Additionally, Cory Gray has joined the New Jersey office in the litigation department. Previously, Solomon was the co-founder and managing partner of a prominent real estate boutique, where Kleinman, Shapiro, D’Angelo, Deutsch and the others also worked. The group consists of approximately 18 lawyers, bringing the New York real estate attorney count at Greenberg Traurig to over 65 and the number of attorneys in the New York office to approximately 350. This move comes on the heels of the New York office’s designation of Bob Dinerstein, former Global General Counsel of UBS, as its head of the Financial Institutions Group, and other significant additions in the corporate and technology areas.
This addition has already proved fruitful. Last week a GT team led by new and existing attorneys represented Gramercy Capital Corporation as lender in connection with a $231 million asset-based loan made to The Kushner Companies to finance the equity component in their $1.8 billion acquisition of 666 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, New York. Greenberg Traurig completed all financial and organizational due diligence on 91 underlying assets, each with its own intricate ownership structure. The asset-based loan also involved a complex future funding component and cross-collateralization among all 91 underlying assets.
“In the face of mass mergers, we retain our discipline, focusing on strategic attorney additions and allowing us to maintain and enhance what is most important to us — quality and culture,” said Richard A. Rosenbaum, Managing Shareholder of the New York office and National Operating Shareholder. “Greenberg Traurig is recognized as having one of the leading real estate practices in the world. These lawyers are extremely high quality and hard working practitioners who have further enhanced and diversified the New York and National practice,” Rosenbaum continued.
“We welcome Craig and his colleagues to the real estate practice at Greenberg Traurig,” said Robert Ivanhoe, Chair of the National Real Estate Practice. “The fit and synergy with these attorneys is distinguished by how well and often we have worked together over many years through various clients our firm and these lawyers have represented. We are delighted to add their skills to our unique global platform while serving our clients together.”
Stephen L. Rabinowitz, New York real estate shareholder added, “We have worked closely with these lawyers for many years – both as adversaries and as co-counsel. We always have been impressed by their work ethic, energy and practical approach to real estate transactions. We are excited to add their deep skills and vast experience to our toolbox. Their arrival has provided a singular opportunity to enhance our ability to serve clients in sophisticated matters requiring creative approaches.”
Marc Holliday, President & CEO of SL Green Realty Corp., commented, “I have known and worked closely with Craig Solomon for more than a decade and I believe he’s one of the outstanding lawyers in this business. At the same time, SL Green and Gramercy Capital have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Rob Ivanhoe and Greenberg Traurig. My associates and I are delighted that they have joined together to form this powerhouse team and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
Mr. Solomon’s list of clients includes SL Green Realty Corp., IXIS Real Estate Capital Inc., Gramercy Capital Corp., Blackacre Capital Management LLC, Taconic Investment Partners, LLC and various real estate opportunity funds. Significant representations have included the representation of SL Green in its recent $6.4 billion merger with Reckson Associates, the $900 million acquisition and redevelopment of One Madison Avenue, the acquisition and subsequent recapitalizations of 111 Eighth Avenue in New York City, and the $750 million first mortgage securitization of Park La Brea Apartments in southern California.
The addition of these high level attorneys follows Greenberg Traurig’s negotiation of some of the largest deals in the history of the real estate industry on behalf of firm clients, including:
The representation of the US arm of Israeli developer El Ad with the acquisition, redevelopment loans, and refinancing of debt for the condominium conversion of The Plaza hotel in New York City.
The representation of the seller in the sale of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, to Tishman Speyer.
The merger of Greenberg Traurig client, CNL Retirement Properties, Inc., the nation’s third largest healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT), with Health Care Property Investors, Inc., the nation’s largest healthcare REIT.
The representation of Credit Suisse First Boston and Lehman Brothers in the Manhattan House transaction, the largest condominium conversion in New York City history.
About Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, full-service law firm with more than 1,600 attorneys and governmental affairs professionals in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The firm is ranked seventh on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 listing of the largest law firms in the U.S., based on number of lawyers.
Greenberg Traurig serves clients from offices in: Albany, NY; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Atlanta, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Morristown, NJ; New York, NY; Orange County, CA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Sacramento, CA; Silicon Valley, CA; Tallahassee, FL; Tampa Bay, FL; Tokyo, Japan; Tysons Corner, VA; Washington, D.C.; West Palm Beach, FL; Wilmington, DE; and Zurich, Switzerland. Additionally, the firm has strategic alliances with the following independent law firms: Olswang, London and Brussels; Studio Santa Maria, Milan and Rome; and Hayabusa Kokusai Law Offices in Tokyo.
