Fiona Kelly > Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Offices

ONE NEW YORK PLAZA
NEW YORK, NY 10004
NEW YORK
United States
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Fiona Kelly

Work Department
Corporate Real Estate
Position
Fiona J. Kelly is a corporate partner resident in Fried Frank’s New York and London offices and is co-head of the Firm’s Corporate Real Estate Transactions Practice. Ms. Kelly advises private equity funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, developers and investors on joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions of interests in private real estate companies and other transactions relating to the real estate industry. Her practice is largely international in nature and she regularly represents clients investing in overseas markets and international clients investing in the United States.
Career
Ms. Kelly joined Fried Frank as partner in 2011. Ms. Kelly was previously a partner in the London office of a Magic Circle law firm. Prior to that, she was a partner at an international law firm in New York and Toronto, and Senior Vice President, Corporate, of TrizecHahn Europe.
Memberships
Ms. Kelly is a member of Fried Frank’s Finance and Audit Committee, and the Women’s Forum Planning Committee, a representative group directing Fried Frank’s firm-wide women’s affinity group. Ms. Kelly was previously a member of the Firm’s Governance Committee. She is also on the Steering Committee of the US Chapter of the 30% Club, a global campaign to increase gender diversity at board and senior management levels, and a member of the Board of Directors of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.
Education
Ms. Kelly received her LLB (Hons.) from the University of Toronto and her BA from the University of British Columbia.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Real estate > Real estate finance
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP separates its offering into real estate finance and corporate real estate practices, enabling the firm to give specialized advice to clients on transactions within both spheres. On the real estate finance side, the team represents borrowers and lenders in development projects. The practice is historically known for its borrower-side practice but is also strong in lender-side representation. The corporate real estate practice handles joint ventures, preferred equity transactions, acquisitions and dispositions involving real estate owners and operators as well as portfolio transactions and restructurings. The team has been particularly active in representing clients in complex joint ventures, while the real estate finance team has assisted with a number of large loans, including mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, and construction financing. The corporate real estate practice is led by Fiona Kelly and Lee Parks, while Michael Barker and Michael Vines lead the real estate finance group. Barker and Vines are both real estate specialists, representing clients in commercial real estate finance matters such as origination of commercial loans for capital markets, syndicate, and balance sheet lenders as well as on other key finance transactions. Real estate specialist Kelly focuses on high-value corporate real estate transactions and joint venture acquisitions and dispositions of interests in real estate portfolios and private real estate companies. Steven Rudgayzer is well-versed in complex joint venture transactions, Patrick Dowd handles joint venture agreements for investment in commercial real estate largely representing private equity funds, and Kabaye Liku represents lenders and institutional investors in origination and restructuring of mortgage and mezzanine loans for capital markets. Suzanne Decker left the firm in June 2023. All lawyers mentioned are in New York.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Investment fund formation and management > Alternative/hedge funds
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Government > Government contracts
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense