Jay L. Bernstein is Chairman of the Firm’s US Corporate Finance Group. He represents, in both domestic and international markets, sponsors, investors, investment banks, specialty finance companies, REITs and other real estate, finance and hotel companies in their capital raising and merger and acquisition activities. He is also the Co-Head of the Americas Region's Financial Institutions Group, which assists a range of financial institutions, including insurance companies, specialty finance companies, asset management firms, business development companies, banks and investment banks, in their capital raising and merger and acquisition transactions. Jay's clients include leading specialty finance companies, REITs, investment banking firms, private equity and other institutional investors providing equity and debt capital to real estate, finance and hotel companies. He also advises institutional clients in the formation of private equity funds dedicated to real estate and hotel investments and represents several of these private equity funds in their investment activities. Since 1997, Jay has participated in more than US$25 billion of capital raising and mergers and acquisitions transactions involving real estate, finance and hotel companies primarily in but also outside of the US. These transactions include a variety of IPO transactions, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, strategic investments and mergers and acquisitions. Jay also represents issuers and underwriters in public and private and equity and debt offerings in a variety of other industries, including industrial manufacturing.
North America - United States • Real estate
Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance‘s REITs offering sits as part of its larger global financial markets practice and is led by finance experts Andrew Epstein, Jason Myers, and Kathleen Werner. Jay Bernstein is a well-respected REIT specialist focusing on the creation of innovative permeant capital vehicles and currently acts as senior counsel for the practice. Werner represents the firm’s bank clientele in M&A, while Epstein represents issuers, underwriters, and initial purchasers with public and private capital market transactions. Myers excels in advising public companies on corporate finance matters. The firm is also noted for its cross-border capabilities, with Jake Farquharson advising on domestic and international capital market transactions, M&A, and joint ventures. Lawyers are based in New York.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Expertise in Real Estate and REITs, also very good knowledge of FIBRAs structure in Mexico. Cross-discipline help from other areas complements the practice. ’
‘Jake Farquharson is an amazing resource. He has strong knowledge about real estate, structuring, and finance, among others. But what stands out is his client relationships and service, he is always looking to provide sound advice, go the extra mile, and solve problems. ’
'Flexible and genuinely concerned about our issues.'
'Jeanne Roig-Irwin is attentive to our needs, in addition to being very knowledgeable about both the law and the market. She and her team are consistently responsive and eager to help us explore our goals and plans.'
Key clients
- Apollo Global Management, Inc.
- Goldman Sachs
- Morgan Stanley
- Cantor Silverstein Opportunity Zone Trust II, Inc.
- Hannon Armstrong
- Roc360 Real Estate Investment Trust
- Corporate Property Associates 18 Incorporated
- National Storage Affiliates (NSA)
- Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO)
- Dream Asset Management
- Grubb Properties
- iStar inc.
- Watermark Lodging Trust, Inc.
- Kite Realty Group Trust
- Bank of America
- ReNew REIT LLC
- Terravet Real Estate Solutions
- CION Investment Corporation
- Montecito Medical Real Estate
- Claros Mortgage Trust Inc
Work highlights
- Advising Apollo on a public continuous offering of shares of common stock of Apollo Realty Income Solutions ("ARIS"), a public non-traded REIT.
- Represented Watermark Lodging Trust, Inc. a public hotel REIT, in the $3.8 billion sale of the company for cash to funds managed by Brookfield Asset management.
- Advising Cantor on private continuous offering of shares of common stock (and restructuring) of Cantor Silverstein Opportunity Zone Trust II, Inc., a private REIT.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading lawyers
Kathleen L. Werner is a Partner in the Capital Markets practice of Clifford Chance. Kathleen primarily represents companies and investment banks in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Kathleen's clients include public and private companies in the financial services, real estate and media industries. She acts as regular outside corporate and SEC counsel to many of her clients. In addition, Kathleen frequently represents investment banking firms acting as underwriters and initial purchasers in public and private securities offerings. Kathleen is a trustee of The New York Foundling.
Next Generation Partners
Jake Farquharson focuses primarily on domestic and international capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other corporate finance and general corporate transactions. Jake represents sponsors, issuers and investment banks in their public and private capital raising activities. He advises clients across a range of industries, including real estate and real estate investment trusts (REITs), FIBRAs, specialty finance, energy, infrastructure and hospitality. Since 2010, Jake has participated in more than US$8 billion of capital raising transactions, including IPOs, follow-on equity and debt offerings, pre-IPO financings, 144A and Regulation S offerings and other private placements.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Andrew Epstein, Jason Myers, Kathleen Werner