At Latham & Watkins, the real estate practice group benefits from ‘lots of hard-working people’ and a wealth of expertise in data centre development, joint ventures, share acquisitions, and mortgage financing mandates. The team, which is jointly spearheaded by Douglas Heitner and Rachel K. Bates, is a go-to advisor for technology corporations, hospitality groups, and real estate developers. In Chicago, Heitner is praised for his ability to ’read people and situations extremely well’ while Bates excels in high-value acquisitions and sales, demonstrated by her involvement in the recent sale of Bridge Investment Group to Apollo Global Management. Gary Axelrod strengthens the firm’s offering in Illinois, bringing with him expertise in mortgage-backed security loans and preferred equity investments. On the West Coast, LA-based Meghan Cocci boasts a proven track record in hospitality mandates, while Hilary Shalla Strong was instrumental in Meta’s joint venture with Blue Owl Capital in the development of a hyper scale data center campus out of the firm’s Orange County office. In 2025, Michael Rechtin and Rebecca (Becky) Landau joined the firm from DLA Piper LLP (US) and Haynes and Boone, L.L.P., respectively. Michelle Kelban and Matthew Friedrich left the firm this year.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Client satisfaction: NPS ®
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Justin Elliot is an excellent attorney! He is thoughtful, focused, creative, and holds his own with any opposing legal counsel. There is diversity among the team; all seem extremely comfortable with technology, and they all seem to work very well together.
- Justin Elliot is one of the most hardworking, dedicated lawyers I have ever worked with. He has an excellent moral compass and knows when to push back in a strong but effective way. I have never felt better represented. He is available, accountable, focused, and extremely productive. He has the respect of the team he works with, and he takes every opportunity to better the deal, protect his client, and most of the time, even when opposing counsel doesn't like what he is saying, they respect him.
- 'Douglas Heitner is honest and straightforward, doesn't have an ego problem, has great business accumen, is always friendly, and reads people and situations extremely well.'
- 'Douglas Heitner is accessible, brilliant, and a deal-maker, not a deal-breaker.'
- 'Highest caliber professionals. Deep bench, strong responsiveness. Set a very high standard.'
- 'Extremely strong team atmosphere, lots of hard-working people and tons of grit.'
Key clients
- Bridge Investment Group
- Brookfield Asset Management
- Deutsche Bank
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
- Energy Capital Partners
- Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- Invitation Homes
- King Street Capital Management LP
- Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Paramount Group
- Sixth Street Partners
- Vacatia, Inc.
Work highlights
Advised Meta in its US$27 billion joint venture with Blue Owl Capital to develop, own and operate the Hyperion data center campus in Louisiana.
Advised Hyatt Hotels Corporation in its US$2.6 billion acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. and the real estate portfolio sale to Tortuga Resorts, a joint venture between KSL Capital Partners and Rodina for US$2 billion.
Advised Brookfield Asset Management in its US$1 billion acquisition of Divvy Homes’ property portfolio and platform.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Douglas Heitner; Rachel K. Bates
Other key lawyers
Gary Axelrod; Meghan Cocci; Michael Haas; Hilary Shalla Strong; Justin Eliott; Mark Semotiuk