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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

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United States • Real estate

4

Real estate finance

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP advises blue-chip clients across a broad spectrum of real estate transactions, including acquisitions, major financings, and workouts. The practice is chaired in New York by David Drewes and Carly Glover Saviano, who guide developers, hedge funds, investors, and REITs across multiple asset classes. Also in New York, Daniel Backer, Jennifer Coffey, and Melissa Fischetti focus on transactions involving office, multifamily, hospitality, and healthcare developments, while in Los Angeles, Misty Sanford co-chairs the practice, bringing expertise in loan workouts, public-private partnerships, and data center projects. The Dallas team was strengthened in March 2025 by the arrival of John Bain and Wesley Smith, who joined from Akin with experience in digital infrastructure financing. Christine Murphy and Noah Bilenker departed the firm in November 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘John Bain does a great job for us.’

  • ‘Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP’s real estate finance practice is exceptional in every respect. What truly sets the team apart is the seamless combination of deep technical expertise, commercial awareness, and a consistently solutions‑oriented mindset. They possess an unusually strong command of both the legal intricacies and the business realities that drive modern real estate finance transactions, which enables them to provide advice that is not only legally sound but highly strategic.'

  • 'From a client’s perspective, the team’s greatest strengths are their responsiveness, precision, and ability to anticipate issues before they materialize. They operate with a level of coordination and discipline that is rare even among top‑tier firms; matters are staffed intelligently, communication is crisp, and complex issues are distilled into practical, actionable guidance. Compared with other firms we have engaged, Willkie stands out for its balance of top-quality legal work and an unwavering commitment to client service. They simply feel more invested in achieving an optimal outcome.’

  • ‘The individuals I work with at Willkie stand out for their intelligence, poise, and ability to manage highly complex matters with clarity and confidence. Their partners are exceptional not only in technical mastery but also in judgment, knowing when to push, when to negotiate, and how to craft creative solutions that protect the client while keeping transactions on track.'

  • 'Across the board, the Willkie team demonstrates qualities that are increasingly rare: humility, reliability, intellectual rigor, and a genuine desire to understand and advance the client’s objectives. Their combination of technical strength, commercial understanding, and personal integrity places them well ahead of peers at many other leading firms.’

Key clients

  • Adept Development
  • Breakthrough Properties
  • Brookfield Properties
  • Cain International
  • Carlton Senior Living
  • Caruso
  • Centerbridge Partners
  • Choice Hotels
  • CIM Group
  • Credit Suisse
  • The Davis Companies
  • DiamondRock Hospitality Company
  • DigitalBridge Group (f/k/a Colony Capital)
  • DivCo West
  • Eagle Real Estate Partners
  • Faropoint
  • GI Partners
  • Goldman Sachs
  • Harbor Group International
  • Harel Insurance & Finance

Work highlights

Advised leading luxury retail and real estate company Saks Global on its acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group for a total enterprise value of $2.7 billion.
Represented Carlton Senior Living in (i) the HUD refinancing of its assisted senior living facility located in Orangevale, California, totalling 136 senior living units, and (ii) Fannie Mae refinancing of its assisted senior living facility located in Pleasant Hill, California, totalling 131 senior living units.
Advised King Street Capital Management and Biddle Real Estate Ventures in the financing of Edge-on-Hudson, a transit-oriented mixed-use community spanning 70 acres, and The Daymark, a premier 5-story luxury condominium located within the Edge-on-Hudson development along the Hudson River, in Sleepy Hollow, New York.
Practice head

David Drewes; Carly Glover Saviano; Misty Sanford

Other key lawyers

Daniel Backer; Jennifer Coffey; Melissa Fischetti; John Bain; Wesley Smith