McDermott Enhances Real Estate Finance Capabilities with Arrival of Group in New York

NEW YORK, March 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- International law firm McDermott Will & Emery today announced the expansion of the Firm's real estate finance capabilities with the arrival of partners Jeffrey Steiner, Scott Weinberg, Dino Fazlibegu and Robert Unger. The group will be based in the Firm's New York office with a focus on complex structured financial and real estate transactions.

Jeffrey Steiner will be the global leader of McDermott's Real Estate Finance Practice and a member of the Firm's Management Committee after most recently serving as Global Co-Chair of DLA Piper's Finance Practice, member of DLA's Executive Committee and former member of its Global Board. He has extensive experience representing Wall Street investment banks, institutional lenders and alternative capital providers in transactions involving fixed and floating rate financings, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, construction lending and mortgage-backed securities transactions.

"Real estate finance is an important component of our corporate platform, and adding Jeffrey and his team will do even more to deepen and extend the services we offer to our global institutional clients," said Firm Chair, Ira Coleman. "This team enriches our ability to partner with our clients across the legal spectrum to support their goals—and that's what we love."

"We are looking forward to integrating our domestic and international experience into the Firm's global platform to help meet the growing needs of clients at the intersection of finance and real estate," said Jeffrey Steiner. "McDermott has such highly-respected transactions and real estate teams, and we are anxious to collaborate with them to grow and cultivate the Firm's real estate finance offerings in the United States, Europe and throughout the world."

Joining Jeffrey is partner Scott Weinberg who brings in-depth experience in all areas of real estate investment and financing transactions. He has represented both foreign and domestic institutional clients in highly complex mortgage and mezzanine loan transactions, as well as large acquisitions and dispositions. Scott is also known for counseling lenders in the origination and securitization of commercial mortgage loans.

Dino Fazlibegu is also an integral part of the team with over twenty years of experience advising on real estate investment and financing transactions. He is known for his ability to handle all types of loan originations, as well as providing strategic advice to clients in restructurings and workouts involving distressed properties.

Rounding out the group is Robert ("Bob") Unger, who concentrates on the corporate components of the group's matters, repurchase, warehouse and other liquidity facilities for its lending clients and other structured real estate transactions and real estate M&A, including for public companies. His clients include financial institutions, private equity firms, mortgage REITs, investment opportunity funds and other institutional investors in real estate. Bob has extensive experience in joint ventures and their financing to acquire, manage and trade performing and non-performing loan portfolios, and regularly counsels clients on an array of matters, including portfolio management, asset acquisitions and dispositions, and all aspects of asset-based finance.

"This team has an impressive background in representing institutions and funds in a wide variety of real estate acquisitions and financings," said Keith Pattiz, head of McDermott's Real Estate Practice. "We are well acquainted with them and we're excited that they are joining us."

McDermott provides clients a complete service offering for their real estate acquisition, operation, leasing, financing and development needs. The team handles matters spanning from the structuring of large, complex acquisitions through development and ultimate disposition. McDermott's real estate client base is diverse and includes developers, lenders, operators, private owners and real estate investment trusts (REITs), and landlords and tenants in all facets of office, commercial, retail and industrial leasing transactions.

About McDermott Will & Emery
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.

SOURCE McDermott Will & Emery

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