We are pleased to announce that Goodwin Procter has opened an office in London, strengthening the real estate investment management and hospitality practices.
Brian Smith, the former Managing Partner of Heller Ehrman’s London office, and Robert Asher, a former member of Heller Ehrman’s Real Estate and Hospitality Practice Group, have joined Goodwin Procter as partners and are resident in the London office.
“For many years our Real Estate Practice has represented the nation’s leading real estate investment managers, advisors and institutional investors,” said Regina M. Pisa, Chairman and Managing Partner of Goodwin Procter. “Our attorneys in this area are well integrated with our nationally recognized Real Estate, REITs & Real Estate Capital Markets Practice. They are equipped to anticipate the continuing evolution of the real estate capital markets and to ensure our clients are at the forefront of emerging industry trends.”
Goodwin Procter has one of the nation's largest real estate practices and has handled billions of dollars worth of hotel transactions, including mergers and acquisitions of public and private companies, initial and follow on public offerings for hospitality companies, formation of commingled hospitality funds, construction and forward sales of hospitality assets and representation of some of the leading hospitality owners, operators, managers and investors. In 2008, Chambers USA Awards For Excellence named Goodwin Procter’s Real Estate Leisure and Hospitality Practice as a finalist for its prestigious annual award.
“Goodwin Procter’s real estate platform is a natural fit for the tremendous expertise coming from the long and distinguished careers of Brian and Bob,” Pisa added. “Additionally, the experience in the international hospitality sector that these attorneys bring dovetails nicely with the work we have been doing for our U.S. clients.”
Their work extends to most aspects of commercial real estate, having handled some of the most significant recent hotel transactions in Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Their principal clients include several of the world’s leading international hotel brands, including Four Seasons, Starwood Hotels, the Dorchester Group, and Fairmont Raffles Hotels, as well as investment banks, funds, advisors and investors. They handle management agreements, acquisitions and sales, partnership/joint venture transactions, fund formation, operating company investments, financing and the workout of distressed investments.
Goodwin Procter's interdisciplinary Real Estate Investment Management Practice includes attorneys with real estate, tax, corporate, ERISA and bankruptcy expertise who understand the business objectives and unique legal needs of clients in this dynamic market. The firm's attorneys work with clients to structure collective investment vehicles and to structure, negotiate and close a wide variety of real estate investments.
The firm's long-standing tradition as a real estate industry leader and intimate knowledge of the real estate capital markets are a competitive advantage for clients. For years, Goodwin Procter has been a significant counselor to the REIT industry as well as a major participant in the current consolidation of the real estate industry, having participated in real estate company merger and acquisition transactions involving assets in excess of $25 billion over the past decade. The real estate investment management attorneys are integrated with the REITs & Real Estate Capital Markets and M&A/Corporate Governance Practices in order to provide clients with the widest array of market information and guidance possible.