Real Estate
We help real estate clients move forward with complex transactions, developments, financings, and investments through practical legal strategies grounded in market knowledge, commercial judgment, and cross-disciplinary experience.
Overview
Real estate and finance counsel have defined the firm since 1942 – and remain a cornerstone if our work today. In a market shaped by shifting capital conditions, evolving development priorities, and heightened operational demands, clients need legal counsel that understands both the transaction and the broader business context.
Our Real Estate team brings practical judgment to matters involving major asset classes, sophisticated ownership structures, financing arrangements, leasing strategies, development projects, and distressed situations. We help clients identify issues early, align legal strategy with commercial objectives, and move matters forward with coordinated support across related disciplines.
Our Focus
Our focus is on the issues that drive real estate value and execution: structuring transactions, managing risk, coordinating stakeholders, and resolving legal considerations that can affect timing, economics, and long-term asset performance.
We support clients at key decision points, whether they are acquiring property, negotiating capital structures, advancing development plans, leasing space, forming joint ventures, repositioning assets, or addressing distressed investments. When matters require broader guidance, we work with attorneys in tax, finance, litigation, environmental, and regulatory practices to deliver integrated advice.
What Do We Do
- Transaction strategy: We guide clients through acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, investment structures, and portfolio-level transactions.
- Development and construction: We counsel clients on development projects, construction matters, public-private partnerships, and related project execution issues.
- Capital and finance: We represent lenders and borrowers in senior, mezzanine, structured, and other real estate financing arrangements.
- Leasing and operations: We advise landlords and tenants on leasing matters involving office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, and other commercial properties.
- Investment and ownership structures: We assist clients with private equity real estate transactions, REIT-related matters, and tax-sensitive structuring considerations.
- Distressed assets and disputes: We help clients address workouts, restructurings, distressed debt, litigation risk, and related real estate issues.
Who Do We Help
- Commercial real estate owners and investors
- Real estate developers
- Lenders
- Borrowers
- Private equity real estate investors
- Joint venture participants
- Landlords
- Tenants
- REITs
- Owners and operators of multi-property real estate portfolios
How Can We Help
We help clients make informed decisions at moments when real estate objectives, legal risk, financing terms, commercial priorities, and execution timelines intersect. Our role is to bring clarity to complex matters, coordinate across stakeholders and disciplines, and provide practical guidance that supports each client’s business goals.
Our Experience
Our experience reflects the depth and range of a long-standing real estate practice, with work across individual assets, large-scale portfolios, development projects, financings, leasing programs, investment platforms, and distressed situations. We draw on this experience to help clients anticipate issues, structure transactions effectively, and execute matters efficiently.
- Representing clients in transactions involving commercial assets and multi-property portfolios.
- Supporting development and construction projects, including matters with public-private or multi-stakeholder components.
- Advising lenders, borrowers, investors, landlords, tenants, owners, and operators on business-critical real estate matters.
- Structuring ownership, investment, financing, leasing, and exit strategies to support client objectives.
- Helping clients manage distressed situations, workouts, restructurings, disputes, and related portfolio considerations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of real estate matters does ArentFox Schiff handle?
We advise clients on a broad range of commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions and dispositions, development and construction, financing, leasing, joint ventures, investment structures, REIT-related matters, workouts, restructurings, distressed debt, and real estate disputes. Our work spans both individual assets and complex portfolio-level matters.
Who do you represent in real estate finance matters?
We represent lenders, borrowers and investors in real estate finance transactions, including senior, mezzanine, structured, preferred and other financing arrangements. We help clients assess deal terms, manage risk allocation, and structure financing arrangements that align with their commercial objectives.
How do you support clients through the real estate development process?
We advise clients throughout the development lifecycle, from site acquisition and project structuring through construction, financing, leasing, operations, and disposition. Our team helps clients address legal and business issues that can affect project timing, economics, risk, and execution, drawing on related practices when matters require coordinated tax, environmental, finance, litigation, or regulatory guidance.
What types of properties do you work with?
We work across major commercial asset classes, including office, multifamily, retail, industrial, mixed-use, senior living, healthcare, hospitality, data center, and other real estate properties. Our experience includes single-asset transactions, development projects, leasing programs, financing matters, and broader portfolio strategies.
