Goodwin Procter was recently named 2012 Collaborating Professional of the Year by the Massachusetts Commercial Brokers Association (CBA). Goodwin Procter was the only law firm honored at the CBA’s annual awards ceremony, which was held in Boston on March 7. The award is presented to a professional services firm that has played a significant role in the completion of a real estate transaction involving CBA members. Nominees are evaluated on their leadership, education, service, philanthropy and vision. Alex Randall and Katie Murphy accepted the award on behalf of the firm.
The Collaborating Professional of the Year was awarded to Goodwin Procter largely on the basis of the firm’s dominance in the downtown Boston leasing market. The firm represented the landlords in the three largest office deals in Boston in 2012. All three were nominated for the CBA’s Boston Office Deal of the Year. These transactions included:
- (Winner) Brown Brothers Harriman’s 410,000 sf. headquarters lease at 50 Post Office Square (Commonwealth Ventures and Bentall Kennedy)
- State Street Bank’s 500,000 sf. build-to-suit office building at One Channel Center (Commonwealth Ventures and AREA Property Partners)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ 320,000 sf. lease at 101 Huntington Avenue (Boston Properties).
In addition to receiving the Collaborating Professional award, Goodwin Procter was independently recognized for its role in the following transactions:
- Landlord of the Year (winner) – Represented Commonwealth Ventures.
- Suburban Office Deal of the Year (nominee) – Represented Boston Properties in the lease of nearly 107,000 sf. at Reservoir Place (Waltham) to Constant Contact.
Goodwin Procter’s Real Estate Leasing Practice Area, led by partner Alex Randall and anchored by counsel Michael Litchman and Katie Murphy, handles a broad range of lease transactions across the U.S., including sophisticated ground leases; air rights leases; retail and office leases; industrial, laboratory and biotech leases; build-to-suit leases; and specialty leases involving properties such as wind turbine and solar panel farms. The group also regularly works with the firm’s other practice areas to provide leasing expertise, including in private equity transactions and mergers and acquisitions.