Commercial

  • August 07, 2024

    Top Illinois Real Estate News In 2024 So Far

    Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Illinois so far this year, from brokerages' market forecasts and a casino deal to a $7 billion mixed-use project and a new stadium.

  • August 07, 2024

    NC Court Tosses Resort's Appeal Over Tree-Cutting Loss

    The North Carolina Court of Appeals threw out a resort owner's appeal arguing that Dominion Energy North Carolina cannot remove trees on its property, holding instead that the resort owner abandoned its arguments when it failed to analyze the trial court's final judgment on appeal. 

  • August 07, 2024

    SEC Accuses Urban Commons REIT Founders Of $70M Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the founders of the Urban Commons real estate investment trust of running a pair of fraud schemes involving investments in U.S.-based hotels that the regulator said collectively cost investors $70 million.

  • August 07, 2024

    Blackstone Buys Majority Stake In Renewable-Focused Firm

    Blackstone Inc.-backed private equity funds have agreed to acquire a majority stake in renewable-energy focused engineering firm Westwood Professional Services Inc., under guidance from Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, marking Blackstone's latest bid to support energy transition, according to a Wednesday announcement. 

  • August 07, 2024

    Fund Seeks Forced Sale Of Long-Stalled Baltimore Project

    A Boston-based investment fund that backs development projects in disadvantaged communities is seeking to recoup $13 million it poured into a stalled mixed-use project in Baltimore, including through a forced sale, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • August 07, 2024

    Nixon Peabody Real Estate Atty Returns To Boston Office

    Nixon Peabody LLP rehired R. Lindsay Wilson II for a counsel position on its affordable housing and real estate team in Boston, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • August 07, 2024

    Venable, Fried Frank Ink Deal Halving Fannie Mae HQ's Space

    Venable LLP and Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP guided Fannie Mae's lease renewal for a Washington, D.C., property, halving its headquarters' footprint at the building following reports it was looking to exit the property altogether.

  • August 07, 2024

    Ahead Of Due Date, Land Use Attorneys Steer NY Casino Bids

    Applicants for three up-for-grabs New York casino licenses are not expected to formally submit for consideration until next year, but real estate developers working on 11 proposals that have been announced are laying the groundwork, including by engaging law firms.

  • August 07, 2024

    Office Buildings Reign Supreme In Terms Of NYC Tax Revenue

    According to a Wednesday report from New York state's fiscal watchdog, ongoing woes in the office sector aren't going to punch a hole in the budget for New York City — which can expect to continue to receive an "outsized" proportion of its tax revenue from office buildings.

  • August 07, 2024

    Texas Last-Resort Insurer Approves 10% Rate Hike

    Texas' windstorm insurer of last resort approved a 10% rate hike subject to state approval following expectations that Hurricane Beryl and other spring storm claims will significantly deplete the insurer's $451 million catastrophe reserve trust fund.

  • August 07, 2024

    Rising Star: Troutman Pepper's Alana T. Sliwinski

    Alana Sliwinski of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP has guided multiple high-profile and climate-focused public-private partnerships in her career, most recently playing a pivotal role in the $7 billion construction of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, earning her a spot among the construction law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 07, 2024

    Rising Star: Skadden's Anoush Sarkissian

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP real estate counsel Anoush Sarkissian's work on major transactions such as advising alternative asset management company The RMR Group in an approximately $4 billion mortgage and mezzanine financing and its $80 million acquisition of multifamily real estate firm Carroll landed her a spot among the real estate attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 07, 2024

    Rising Star: Willkie's Melissa Fischetti

    Melissa Fischetti of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP navigated SL Green's $1.76 billion acquisition of 245 Park Ave, New York, amid contentious bankruptcy proceedings brought without the preferred equity investor's approval, earning her a spot among the real estate practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 07, 2024

    Shumaker Construction Pro Jumps To Carlton Fields In Fla.

    Florida's real estate market and construction law practices are continuing their boom after the height of the pandemic, and Carlton Fields has bolstered its expertise in those areas by adding a former construction law partner from Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP.

  • August 07, 2024

    Eyeing Electrification, Governments Reroute Post-Berkeley

    Before it was struck down by the Ninth Circuit, Berkeley, California's 2019 ban on natural gas hookups in new construction paved the way for municipalities seeking to decarbonize their buildings. Now, municipalities keen on clean construction are walking a delicate line around federal preemption.

  • August 07, 2024

    Goodwin Leader Says Life Sciences Is Overbuilt In Boston

    In the first of a series of Q&A's looking at life sciences real estate in various U.S. markets, one of Goodwin Procter LLP's real estate leaders told Law360 that, after a COVID-19-related surge, demand has recently fallen, leaving the sector in Boston overbuilt. Forthcoming Q&A's this month will look at the sector in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • August 07, 2024

    Logistics Co. CEO Denies Role In NJ Racketeering Scheme

    The chief executive officer of logistics firm NFI Industries on Wednesday denied that he played a role in an alleged scheme led by a New Jersey power broker accused of reaping millions in tax credits by using extortion to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden.

  • August 06, 2024

    Judge OKs Foreclosure, Sale Of Midtown Manhattan Buildings

    A New York state judge awarded Wilmington Trust with more than $140 million while approving the foreclosure and sale of two midtown Manhattan properties at the center of the trustee's suit over a default $105 million loan.

  • August 06, 2024

    Conn. AG Says Utility Misconstrued Power Plant Cleanup Deal

    The Connecticut Attorney General's Office has told a state court that The United Illuminating Co., now part of Avangrid Inc., raised inapplicable defenses to an environmental cleanup lawsuit by misconstruing an earlier consent decree as a "contract" the government could breach as the utility remediated an abandoned New Haven power plant.

  • August 06, 2024

    Hotel's Ch. 11 Plan Nixes San Jose Tax Claim, Judge Says

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday ordered the city of San Jose, California, to dismiss a state court action seeking the payment of taxes and other obligations by the former operator of a luxury hotel, saying the Chapter 11 plan of SC SJ Holdings released the claims.

  • August 06, 2024

    Vornado Lines Up Deal To Lease 15-Floor NYC Office Building

    Vornado Realty Trust has reached a "handshake deal" with an undisclosed company to lease 1.1 million square feet of office space at 770 Broadway once Meta vacates the 15-floor building in Lower Manhattan, the real estate investment trust's CEO revealed Aug. 6.

  • August 06, 2024

    Big Brokers Predict Capital Markets Rebound In Late '24

    Commercial real estate's largest brokers, in announcing second-quarter earnings, said they are expecting capital markets activity to rebound in the second half of the year, in a turn Cushman & Wakefield's CEO called a "waterfall effect."

  • August 06, 2024

    Dentons Names Real Estate Atty As Vancouver Office Leader

    Dentons promoted Canadian real estate partner Scott Wilson to an office managing partner role in its Vancouver office, the firm announced.

  • August 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Rules Russia Is Immune From Suit Over Jewish Texts

    The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal court never had jurisdiction over a Jewish group's decades-old allegations that Russia is illegally holding on to its long-lost sacred texts, finding that the country has sovereign immunity and voiding nearly $200 million in fines levied against Russia.

  • August 06, 2024

    Starwood Eyes Rate Cuts Amid Stormy Quarter

    Starwood Property Trust told investors on Aug. 6 that the real estate investment trust had foreclosed on three properties and downgraded ratings for several others, hinging hopes for the future on expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates soon.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act

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    Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.

  • Best Practices For Lenders To Limit Recourse Liability

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    As projects face loan maturities in a higher interest rate environment, lenders should diligently observe even seemingly innocuous formalities following an event of default in order to minimize potential recourse liability, especially when borrowers have certain covenants, say Ryan Goins and Matthias Kleinsasser at Winstead.

  • The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney

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    Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.

  • Rising Interest Rates Bring Risk For Construction Contractors

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    With rising interest rates causing many construction projects to be slowed or halted, it's important for general contractors to implement safeguard measures against the risk of significant financial losses caused by owner-driven schedule modifications, says Kevin Riexinger at Gfeller Laurie.

  • Keys To Navigating The Post-Pandemic CRE Market

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As the commercial real estate market continues to face repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic, lawyers should use office occupancy and leasing volume numbers to anticipate future trends and help guide clients through an uncertain landscape, says Joseph Calvanico at J2C Valuations.

  • To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation

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    Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.

  • How Rate Exportation Is Shifting Amid Regulatory Trends

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    All banks and their partners, including fintechs, that wish to lend to borrowers in multiple states and charge uniform interest rates should heed regulatory developments across the country and determine how best to mitigate risks in their efforts to offer credit to consumers on a nationwide basis, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • How The Commercial Real Estate Slump May Weigh On Banks

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    The continuing underperformance of the U.S. commercial real estate market has significant implications for the financial performance and disclosure requirements for various banks, especially regional ones with large debt exposures, say Atanu Saha and Yong Xu at StoneTurn.

  • Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts

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    As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.

  • Landlords Should Prep As WeWork Faces Potential Ch. 11

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    After years of financial trouble and the recent announcement that it has substantial doubt that it would be able to continue as a going concern, WeWork may have a bankruptcy filing in its future that would have a significant impact on landlords and other stakeholders who are owed money by the company, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

  • Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure

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    Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.

  • Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

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    While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

  • Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals

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    The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.