Group brings broad financing/restructuring practice with strong Mid-Atlantic and New York presence; clients include investment management firms, pension funds, private equity investors, developers, corporations in all aspects of real estate law; new partners based in New York, Washington and Baltimore
Washington DC (November 5, 2010) – Venable LLP announced that a five-attorney real estate group has joined the firm, led by three partners located in Washington DC, New York and Baltimore. The group arrives from WilmerHale with a combined 42 years of experience.
Joining Venable as partners are Thomas E.D. Millspaugh, Brian N. Gurtman, and Patrick W. Lincoln, along with two associates, Kamaal Warren Jones and Joseph W. Creech. They bring a well-diversified practice, counseling on real estate joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, development and financing (including workout and restructuring) transactions. They handle transactions across the full spectrum of property types, including office, industrial, multi-family, retail, senior living, hospitality and mixed-use properties.
The group complements Venable’s prominent national real estate practice, further strengthening its Mid-Atlantic and New York profiles, while serving clients both nationally and outside the U.S. The team has worked on numerous high-profile, multi-state property deals and has been long-time counsel to several of the largest investment management firms in real estate matters. They also advise pension funds and other institutional investors, fund advisors, developers, corporate property owners and private equity investors.
“Our existing practice has set a high bar in handling major transactions and financings, as well as litigation and bankruptcy matters. Ted Millspaugh and his colleagues work on behalf of world-class clients makes them a natural fit for us and significantly enhances our practice. It is no accident that the group has managed to succeed throughout all cycles of the market,” said Kevin Shepherd, co-chair of Venable’s Real Estate Practice Group.
“The last two years have been particularly tumultuous for virtually anyone touching the real estate industry. As a result, our clients have looked to us to provide strategic advice that is more valuable than ever, not only on their existing projects which have been challenged by the recent financial crises, but also on new deals in the ultra-competitive marketplace. Venable provides a terrific platform from which to serve these important players in the business,” said Mr. Millspaugh.
He notes the current strength of the Mid-Atlantic market and the expanded megalopolis from Richmond to New York which appears to be outperforming many of the other large metropolitan regions in the U.S. A recent report by Jones Lang LaSalle shows Washington, D.C. far outpacing all other major commercial hubs, based on occupancy rates, rental rates, and new construction.
“Between the federal government’s need for space as well as the influx of professional firms and companies that do business with the government, Washington remains one of the country’s bright spots in the commercial property business," said Mr. Millspaugh. “Not only does Venable have one of the most robust real estate practices in the District, but its eminence in the field reaches across the U.S.”
Among some of the group’s recent transactions:
- Represented leading international investment management firm as advisor to major state pension funds, in acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and financing transactions, involving multiple property types in more than 30 states.
- Negotiated on behalf of institutional investor joint ventures with a national retail REIT and with a national warehouse developer. Transactions in excess of $500 million in project value covered 10 different states.
- Represented institutional investor in $350 million acquisition from a national multi-family REIT of a portfolio of four apartment projects in three states.
- Represented a state pension fund and its advisor in workouts and restructurings related to 12 loans aggregating $200+ million secured by properties in six states and Washington D.C.
- Responsible for lease and contract negotiation for leading investment management firm properties in 12 countries and on five continents.
- Represented global asset manager in negotiation, leasing and development of a 350,000 square foot global headquarters in Baltimore as well as back-office campus in Owings Mills, MD, as well as in the leasing and subleasing of over 200,000 square feet of office premises in Manhattan.
- Represented national office supplies retailer in acquisition, construction and development of state-of-the-art, multi-state distribution centers in California, Maryland, and Connecticut.
- Represented various hedge funds, investment advisors and other finance companies in multiple lease transactions throughout the U.S.
- Represented major housing fund with the creation and restructuring of single-family home development joint ventures, including a restructuring involving the acquisition of property from a bankrupt debtor in possession and a joint venture with a publicly traded home builder.
- Represented national investment management firm and its real estate subsidiaries in leasing and contract transactions for over a dozen office buildings in the Northern Virginia - Washington, D.C. - Suburban Maryland region.
Mr. Millspaugh received a BA, with Highest Honors, as a Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is admitted to the bars of Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Gurtman received a BS, cum laude, from Yeshiva University and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he was a senior editor with the Journal of Constitutional Law. He is admitted to the bars of New York and Massachusetts.
Mr. Lincoln received a BA, magna cum laude, from George Washington University and a JD, cum laude, from Boston University School of Law. He was a member of the Annual Review of Banking Law at Boston University. He is a member of the bars in Virginia and the District of Columbia.
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Note: An American Lawyer top 100 law firm, 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.