Latham & Watkins LLP

Client Satisfaction

Latham & Watkins LLP‘s top-tier REIT practice is co-headed by Julian Kleindorfer in Los Angeles and Ana O’Brien in Century City who are both experts in REIT-related matters. The team is praised for being ’subject-matter experts‘ and possessing ’unparalleled expertise‘. It is known for its longstanding experience in REIT roll-up IPOs and M&A transactions. The practice also has a strong presence in debt and equity offerings of REITs. Kleindorfer is regularly mandated by clients to advise on M&A and corporate finance matters. He is well-versed in advising on securities and is located in Los Angeles. In Century City, O’Brien specializes in federal taxation of corporations and REITs, she is the go-to for any tax-related issues that occur during transactions. Capital markets specialist Lewis Kneib acts as counsel to REITs and investment banks, advising on capital markets transactions, equity and debt offerings, and private placements from Century City. William Cernius also serves as corporate and securities counsel from Orange County, while Abigail Smith recently joined from Hogan Lovells and sits in Washington D.C. and represents issuers and underwriters in REIT transactions. Brent Epstein and Craig Garner, who reside in Century City and San Diego respectively, are also noted.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Latham has the country's premier REIT practice, whether in terms of tax practice, M&A or general corporate matters.’
‘Every attorney in Latham's REIT practice is a subject matter expert and delivers practical advice. They are dedicated to providing the highest level of client service.
'Julian Kleindorfer who leads the team is an extraordinary lawyer with an unrivaled combination of substantive knowledge, experience and practical advice. Ana O'Brien brings a wealth of tax expertise and creative problem solving skills to every engagement.’
‘Latham's REIT expertise is unparalleled. They advise the best of the best and are thus able to pull from extensive experience and provide unmatched advice to REIT clients. ’
‘Julian Kleindorfer has advised many of the country's largest REITs for decades on a multitude of challenging issues and throughout multiple real estate cycles - his knowledge and experience is exceptionally unique, and he is able to distill highly complex issues into simple terms for his clients.
'Lewis Kneib came up under Julian's mentorship and is one of the more responsive, reliable and easy to work with partners that I have worked with. He has advised many of the top REITs for years and thus provides invaluable expertise to his clients. ’

Key clients

Extra Space Storage
Realty Income Corporation
Simon Property Group
Digital Realty Trust
Rexford Industrial Realty
Safehold
INDUS Realty Trust
BofA Securities
Dreamscape Companies
UDR
Sunstone Hotel Investors
Peakstone Realty Trust
Healthpeak Properties, Inc.
W.P. Carey
A multinational banking and financial services company
Hersha Hospitality Trust
Hudson Pacific Properties

Work highlights

Advised Extra Space Storage on its $12.4 billion acquisition of Life Storage, a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self-storage facilities.
Advised Realty Income Corporation on its acquisition of Spirit Realty Capital in an all-stock transaction, which, once completed, will result in an enterprise value of approximately $63 billion for the combined company.
Advised W.P. Carey on its spin-off of 59 of its office properties into Net Lease Office Properties, a separate publicly-traded REIT.

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