Valentin G. Aguilar, II

Representative Matters

Purchase and Sale Transactions, Joint Ventures, and Development

• Represented a real estate investment firm in the acquisition, through joint ventures – and in the financing and disposition – of multifamily, office, and retail properties, and the handling of debt instruments across the United States with a collective value in excess of $6.8 billion
• Represented clients in purchase and sale transactions of various Class A “trophy” buildings, including Aon Center in Los Angeles, California (2003 and 2014); Lake Merritt Plaza in Oakland, California (2014); Wells Fargo Center in Seattle, Washington (2013); Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California (1999); and Monument III in Herndon, Virginia (2007)
• Represented a national university in various real estate transactions, including a proposed shared-use stadium agreement with a professional football team, and the development of a large mixed-use and student housing project
• Represented a client in the acquisition of a $150 million+ portfolio of multifamily residential buildings in Los Angeles, California, and the subsequent sale of individual properties from the portfolio
• Represented a client in a “build-to-suit” and sale transaction involving the development of high-end residential apartments in Laguna Niguel, California, with a total consideration in excess of $50 million
• Represented a client in acquiring – through the owner’s bankruptcy case – a stalled condominium project located in San Rafael, California. Acquisition involved gaining control of the senior mortgage, positioning the client as the “stalking horse” bidder in a Section 363 sale, negotiating with numerous mechanics’ lienholders and a committee of unsecured creditors, negotiating and documenting the joint venture and management agreements, and negotiating the acquisition financing
• Represented  an opportunity fund in the sale of commercial and residential real estate owned  properties located in the southwestern United States
• Served as lead counsel to the Los Angeles Lakers in the sale of the Forum – the Lakers’ historic home venue – in connection with the team’s move to the Staples Center
• Represented a government-sponsored enterprise in a series of purchase and sale transactions involving a portfolio of eight multifamily communities located in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, for a total consideration of approximately $168 million

Workouts, Enforcement of Lender Remedies, and Finance

• On behalf of an institutional lender, handled a workout and enforcement of $260 million in direct and syndicated loans secured by large tracts of land, finished lots, and residential properties in Colorado, Arizona, and California
• Served in an ex parte appointment of a receiver and subsequent foreclosure on the $1 million+ SF Hilltop Mall in Northern California
• Structured and closed an “industry-first” acquisition of a distressed commercial mixed-use building in Santa Monica, California, involving the purchase of a defaulted commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan and the subsequent completion of the acquisition through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure with the owner; transaction is reputed to have been the first successful closing of a real estate acquisition structured through the purchase of a defaulted loan from a CMBS pool via an assignment of the special servicer’s right to purchase the defaulted loan
• Represented a lender in a workout of a $35 million credit facility secured by senior and mezzanine interests in a portfolio of motels in California
• Structured a discounted payoff on a $68 million mortgage loan secured by a portfolio of medical office buildings in California, Arizona, and Florida, and represented the owner in the subsequent sale of individual properties from the portfolio
• Represented a federal savings bank and other financial institutions in numerous foreclosures on commercial properties

Leasing

• On behalf of the landlord, completed a year-long negotiation with one of the leading art galleries in the world, to close on a complex long-term lease, involving the redevelopment of a sprawling historic flour mill that occupies several buildings on an entire city block in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles; venue is anticipated to be the largest art gallery in the world, offering world-class exhibitions, museum-caliber amenities, and a variety of programs for the public
• Represented a tenant in negotiating a lease of a 100,000+ square foot office building in Playa del Rey, California
• Leases and options involving the development of wind energy farms
• Represented one of the largest shopping center real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States in various retail leasing matters across the country
• On behalf of various commercial property owners, negotiated and documented move-out or lease termination agreements involving the use of confessions of judgment or stipulated judgments as a means of expediting evictions

Structured Settlements

• On behalf of a plaintiff, reached a settlement in a decade-long lawsuit against the city of Half Moon Bay, California, after the plaintiff obtained a judgment for an amount that would have forced the city into bankruptcy; the lawsuit was brought against the city for disapproving entitlements in connection with the development of the client’s 24-acre residential project
• On behalf of a Fortune 500 healthcare services company, completed a complex restructuring of hospital ground leases, in settlement of litigation against the company’s healthcare REIT
• Structured and negotiated a master agreement for Menlo College. The lease involves the physical, operational, and legal separation between the college and Menlo School, the college’s associated middle and high schools. The master separation agreement brought to its definitive conclusion a saga involving more than 35 years of effort by the parties to become completely separate institutions

Education

• J.D. University of Southern California, Gould School of Law 1996
• • Member, Interdisciplinary Law Journal
• B.S. University of California, Riverside 1991

Bar Admissions

• California

• Legal 500, Real Estate, 2013
• Real Estate Southern California, Top 40 Under 40, 2008
• Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, Southern California, 2006