Real Estate

Allen Matkins continues to build upon its long-standing reputation as one of the leading real estate firms in the United States. Given the depth of experience that our real estate lawyers possess, the range and breadth of our industry contacts, and our understanding of the varied marketplaces in which our clients do business, we are uniquely able to bring a "market-aware," result-oriented approach to our clients' real estate transactions. The value we add to each transaction results in a high level of client satisfaction.

Our Real Estate Department draws upon the resources of at least 15 different subspecialty practice groups. No matter what kind of real estate expertise a client may need, or the product type involved, we have the expertise to enable our clients to obtain optimal results in their real estate matters. The primary subspecialty practice groups affiliated with our Real Estate Department are described below and in other practice area descriptions on this website for Construction, Hotels and Resorts, Land Use and Environmental, and Retail.

Transaction Structuring

One of the firm's fundamental strengths lies in our ability to structure equity, debt and reorganization transactions, as well as structuring the business entities and organizations (such as joint ventures, partnerships, and limited liability companies) that are used to effect the particular transaction. The members of our Transaction Structuring Practice Group strive to find the optimal method in which to join real estate investors (including developers, syndicators, investment and asset managers, and individuals) with sources of capital (both domestic and foreign) for commercial, industrial, retail, resort, and residential real estate projects. Additionally, our real estate attorneys have extensive experience in structuring reorganization and workout transactions.

Acquisitions, Dispositions, Portfolios

Allen Matkins has significant experience in the acquisition and sale of real estate portfolios, including equity investments, as well as performing and non-performing loans and REO assets. The firm has participated in structuring and strategizing acquisitions and sales of numerous portfolios and has been involved in the underwriting of portfolios sold through the bid procedure. The firm's experience includes the financing of portfolio acquisitions through joint ventures with the seller, as well as traditional asset-based financing and securitization of portfolio assets.

Office & Industrial Projects

The attorneys in our Commercial Project Group have unparalleled experience in representing owners, developers, investors, lenders and asset managers in connection with all aspects of office and industrial real estate investment, including purchase and sale transactions, property development, financing, leasing and asset management. Our client list includes many of the best known and most successful companies in the office and industrial real estate industry. Several members of our Commercial Project Group are recognized national experts in formulating, structuring and enforcing credit enhancement devices, including letters of credit, lease bonds, guarantees and other surety arrangements.

Residential

We represent in different transactions all of the participants integral to a wide variety of residential projects including master-planned, mixed-use communities, resorts, and multifamily apartments and condominium projects. Our expertise includes developer/equity participant venture formation and tax planning, merchant builder purchase and sale agreements, and project development documentation. We review each project's entitlements to ensure that conditions and mitigation measures are properly incorporated into each project's development documentation for compliance with governmental project approvals. Our "Master Management Documentation" has been pre-approved by the California Department of Real Estate and provides comprehensive development and home sales documentation for master-planned communities and protective insurance procurement programs. We assist our clients with the help of insurers to develop comprehensive risk management programs.

International Transactions

Although based in California, Allen Matkins' attorneys have represented U.S. subsidiaries of prestigious foreign companies with regard to investments and development and construction projects throughout the world. Since the founding of our firm, we have worked on transactions involving assets in Latin America. In the course of our domestic practice, we have built relationships with many major Asian real estate investors and developers. International projects include the formation of joint ventures with foreign companies, financial institutions and government entities for the acquisition, development, financing and construction of office buildings, hotels, industrial parks, resorts, golf courses, retail, shopping centers, residential and mixed-use developments.

Workouts

The Workouts Practice Group unites lawyers from multiple disciplines who have extensive experience in both transactional and insolvency/restructuring matters, and who are skilled in negotiation, pre-litigation counseling and positioning, as well as debtors' and creditors' rights and remedies. Over the last ten years, the attorneys in this practice group have successfully participated in a broad range of both in- and out-of-court workouts in a variety of industries, including commercial and residential real estate, health care, aerospace, manufacturing, retail and distribution. The Workouts Practice Group's expertise lies in its ability to quickly assess and analyze default situations, outline client options and business opportunities, and then implement the client's strategic choices, all while positioning the client so as to maintain optimum flexibility in future litigation or insolvency proceedings, should the workout fail.