John Sullivan > DLA Piper LLP (US) > Boston, United States > Lawyer Profile
DLA Piper LLP (US) Offices
33 ARCH STREET
26TH FLOOR
BOSTON MA 02110-1447
MASSACHUSETTS
United States
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John Sullivan
Work Department
Real Estate; Finance; Real Estate Finance; Life Sciences; Construction and Engineering; Development, Land Use and Zoning, Real Estate Disputes and Restructuring
Position
Partner; Chair, US Real Estate Practice; Co-Chair, US Real Estate Sector; Co-Chair, Global Real Estate Sector
Career
John Sullivan has a broad-ranging practice that encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate. His clients include institutional real estate investment advisors, US and non-US pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, real estate investment funds, and family offices.
In particular, John represents public and private pension plans, opportunity funds, investment advisors and non-US investors in equity, debt, hybrid and joint venture transactions throughout North America. He is very familiar with UBTI, VCOC and REOC issues faced by tax exempt and benefit plan investors and with the tax and regulatory issues faced by non-US investors.
A significant portion of John’s practice involves representing institutional investors in real estate joint ventures, including development and strategic or platform joint ventures. He is recognized as a thought leader with respect to real estate joint ventures, and he is a guest lecturer on that topic at the MIT Real Estate Center and Columbia Business School. He also has substantial experience representing both lenders and borrowers in complex real estate loan workouts and restructurings throughout the US.
In addition to being Chair of the US Real Estate practice and Co-Chair of the Global Real Estate Practice, John is a member of DLA Piper’s US Executive Committee and Policy Committee.
Memberships
The Real Estate Round Table; Real Estate Finance Association; Pension Real Estate Association; Advisory Board Member, ULI Boston/New England; American College of Real Estate Lawyers; Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate
Education
J.D., Cornell Law School; B.A., College of the Holy Cross
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Real estate > Real estate
(Leading lawyers)‘Strong on knowledge, timeliness, and being business friendly in finding ways to accomplish the end goal’, DLA Piper LLP (US)
fields a comprehensive real estate team with capabilities covering a wide range of zoning and development matters as well as transactions, workouts, restructuring, and refinancings, to name a few. The practice is well-versed advising major creditors, private equity investors, and real estate funds, alongside a number of large property owners, developers, and household companies, culminating in a diverse client roster. Equally diverse is the firm’s coverage of asset classes, with recent large engagements encompassing transactions and joint ventures in self-storage, logistics, and data centers, as well as several in the life science space. US real estate chair John Sullivan and co-vice chair Barbara Trachtenberg lead from the firm’s Boston office, while co-head Richard Klawiter takes the lead on land-use matters out of Chicago. Amy Carbins leads the Washington DC real estate practice, with partners Frederick Klein and Lauren Rico also being key names from this office. Meanwhile, Cara Nelson, noted for her experience advising foreign pension funds, heads the Boston real estate team; here, managing partner Bryan Connolly is commended for his full-cycle development expertise. In New York, partner Michael Haworth is highlighted for his cross-border expertise, notably between the US and Asia. Widely praised by clients, ‘extremely knowledgeable’ associate Oriana Montani is another name of note from the firm’s Boston office.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Tax > International tax
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: middle-market (Up to $500m)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- International trade > CFIUS
- Government > State attorneys general
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: transactional and regulatory
- Insurance > Advice to insurers
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Tax > Financial products
- Finance > Fintech
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Intellectual property > Patents: prosecution (including re-examination and post-grant proceedings)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Government > Government contracts
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Finance > Project finance
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- International trade > CFIUS
- Transport > Rail and road: litigation and regulation