Paul Hastings Named ‘Real Estate Group of the Year’ by Law360

December 23, 2020

New York – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, has been named to Law360’s prestigious list of “Practice Groups of the Year” in the Real Estate category.

The profile notes the firm’s role on various deals including guiding Morgan Stanley's landmark $3 billion financing of Blackstone’s acquisition of the Bellagio Las Vegas Resort and Casino in November 2019, one of the largest single-asset real estate financings in history; as well as the lateral hires this year of Michael Berman and Michele Williams in the Washington D.C. office, with further growth to come.

Global practice chair Eric Landau is quoted throughout the profile, stating that he believes the group is unique among its competitors because it works with players across every facet of the real estate industry, including institutional lenders, developers, family offices, hotel owners, landlords and tenants. This across-the-board approach, he said, gives Paul Hastings an edge when counseling clients on developments and trends in the industry.

Partner Eric Allendorf commented on the Bellagio deal, noting the deep understanding of back-end loan executions that Paul Hastings brought to the project. This kind of insight, he said, is what makes big-name institutional clients like Morgan Stanley put their trust in the firm for complex deals.

The firm, led by partner Steve Berkman, also represented Facebook in November 2019 lease negotiations for more than 1.4 million square feet of space in three buildings in New York City's Hudson Yards development, which Landau called a game-changing moment. "The Facebook deal created Hudson Yards as a place to be," he noted.

The practice also advised clients on major real estate investments in data centers, including advising private equity firm Colony Capital on its $3.4 billion acquisition of assets from Vantage Data Centers in July (led by partners John Simonis and David Hernand), and real estate development QuadReal in the establishment of a $2 billion data center investment platform (led by partners Philip Feder, Sam Alavi, and Simonis).

The profile also notes that Paul Hastings attorneys including Landau and partners Ted Smith, Rick Kirkbride, Charles Patrizia, Derek Roth, Alan Weakland, and associate Theresa Clark became experts on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and Paycheck Protection Program.

This is the fourth time the firm has been named to this illustrious list for Real Estate, and follows a series of other accolades, including winning “Real Estate Law Firm of the Year” at the China Law Awards 2020.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.