‘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.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘DLA is a very easy counsel to work with. They break down complex legal issues into understandable pieces, which makes it easy to walk through loan documents. They are deal focused - don't let legal nitty gritty get in the way of getting the deal done.’
‘The DLA team is very strong on knowledge, timeliness, and being business friendly in finding ways to accomplish the end goal. They consistently seek solutions to problems versus putting up roadblocks. Their deep history with us allows them to have the knowledge to know what we will accept and will not, and therefore to act as an extension of our firm and allow for efficiencies on all sides.’
‘I have complete trust in the real estate team of Primo Fontana and Matthew Kinell. Their long history of servicing our firm allows us to collectively be nimble, quick, and decisive when working through complex issues. The speed in a changing market outcome has provided numerous results of outperformance by being able to out-race changing market conditions.’
‘I’ve been working in commercial real estate for nearly 20 years. I can confidently say that DLA is the best law firm I have worked with during my time in the real estate industry. They consistently excel at quality of work, attention to detail, responsiveness, and efficiency. They are a great partner and my first choice when it comes to real estate law.’
‘A great blend of smart people, who know the real estate sector inside and out, and who understand and balance the complexities of deals with the necessity to get deals done efficiently. Geographic scope of team is significant, as its ability to work together to ensure that a U.S. firm is able to transact in many countries with the same legal standards.’
‘Highly enjoyable people that are a pleasure to work with, and who are similarly extremely bright, efficient, and up on everything real estate related. They both manage deals and are the conduit to other DLA offices in various countries, and provide a fine blend of knowledge and management, allowing our firm to maintain similar stances on transactions across many countries.’
‘I work most closely with John Rattigan and Oriana Montani. And as far as a partner/associate duo goes, they are the best I've worked with in my career. They know their business extremely well, are creative, know how to project manage, and can help negotiate, problem solve and have become an integral part of our team. We could not operate as effectively without their work and guidance and advice. This is a stellar duo.’
- 'Oriana Montani is the best associate lawyer I've ever worked with. She is extremely knowledgeable in her space, knows how to assist the partners she works with, and importantly can assist project manage the legal side of any transaction making sure no balls are dropped in crunch time. Importantly, she is cool under pressure and a pleasure to work with in any circumstance. As a client we feel very lucky to have her staffed on our project and know we are getting expert advice and steady management for any of our deals.’
Key clients
- AEW Capital Management LP
- Allstate Insurance Company
- Ares Management Corporation
- Artemis Real Estate Partners
- ASB Capital Management LLC
- AXA
- BioMed Realty
- Blackstone Real Estate Advisors LP
- The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
- Boston Properties, Inc.
Work highlights
- Represented GI Partners in its acquisition of a 65% interest in two hyperscale data center properties in Elk Grove, Illinois.
- Advised Artemis on the acquisition of a 19-property, 1.5 million square foot Class A self-storage development portfolio from BestBox Storage.
- Represented Harrison Street in connection with an acquisition/joint venture (US $1.225 billion enterprise valuation) with American Campus Communities for a portfolio of public-private partnership student housing facilities located on Arizona State University’s campus.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next generation partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
John Sullivan; Barbara Trachtenberg; Richard Klawiter
Other key lawyers
Amy Carbins; Primo Fontana; Frederick Klein; Lauren Rico; Cara Nelson; Bryan Connolly; Michael Haworth; John Rattigan; Oriana Montani; Matthew Kinell