Philip M. Horowitz, a senior real estate partner with Venable LLP, has been elected President of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He assumes the position in January for a calendar-year term.
Considered to be the country’s most prestigious honorary organization for practicing real estate attorneys, ACREL has a total membership of nearly 900. Prospective members are nominated by current ACREL members, thoroughly screened by a selection committee and approved by the ACREL Board of Governors. Members are chosen based on a prospective member’s outstanding professional reputation for excellence and integrity as a distinguished real property law practitioner. Nominees also must have devoted substantial time and effort to create a more informed bar and public in matters pertaining to real estate law and practice and to improve the practice of real estate law.
In keeping with ACREL’s mission, Mr. Horowitz plans to continue its successful educational programs and publications, many of which are available on ACREL’s website (www.acrel.org). He also intends to encourage ACREL’s continuing effort to attract the best of the real estate bar, focusing in particular on member development efforts designed to broaden and diversify ACREL’s membership. To further this goal, Mr. Horowitz will encourage ACREL members to provide opportunities for younger practitioners to gain experience in speaking and writing which may qualify them for future membership in ACREL. Mr. Horowitz also intends to focus on opportunities to partner with other organizations for programs and activities relating to issues of importance to real estate practitioners.
“Having been actively involved with ACREL’s members, committees and programs, it is an honor to serve as president of the College,” said Mr. Horowitz. “I plan to build upon the excellent work that the organization has done and continue to create programs that increase the value that members and their firms gain from the College.”
In addition to Mr. Horowitz, other Venable members are David Belcher, Robert Gottlieb, Jan Guben, Russell Reno, Kevin Shepherd, who also serves on ACREL's Board of Governors, Stefan Tucker and James Wright. Earlier this year, Mr. Shepherd, co-chair of Venable’s Real Estate Practice Group, was elected Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law.
“It is a testament to the caliber of Venable’s real estate practice and to the firm’s commitment to professional development for real estate lawyers that Kevin and I have taken on leadership roles in two of the most prominent organizations in real estate law,” said Mr. Horowitz. “Not only do these positions underscore the high regard that our peers have for our contributions, they also provide opportunities to enhance the practice for the next generation of real estate lawyers.”
Mr. Horowitz, a partner in Venable’s Washington office, has a national practice of property acquisition and development, commercial leasing and real estate financing. Among his most recent notable transactions, he represented Westfield Realty in its disposition of a 12-building, $1.05 billion dollar portfolio in Northern Virginia. In addition, he has provided ongoing counsel to the Louis Dreyfus Property Group in connection with its development of a new headquarters for the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as for 1101 New York Avenue, a new Louis Dreyfus project currently under construction in Washington.
Mr. Horowitz also serves as real estate counsel to the World Bank and to global communications provider Intelsat.
Mr. Horowitz has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for more than 10 years, as well as other leading publications including Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Global Counsel Handbooks Corporate Real Estate, the Washington Business Journal’s “Top Washington Lawyers” list and Washingtonian magazine’s “Top Lawyers” ranking.
Mr. Horowitz has been an adjunct professor teaching Real Estate Planning at Washington College of Law, American University, for more than 15 years. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Georgetown Law Journal.
One of the American Lawyer’s top 100 law firms, Venable LLP has attorneys practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and government affairs. Venable serves corporate, institutional, governmental, nonprofit and individual clients throughout the U.S. and around the world from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and offices in California, Maryland, New York and Virginia.