Overview

Deal Oriented Real Estate Expert

Having practiced for over 35 years in the real estate industry, Doug understands the real estate business and knows how to close deals.  He is able to quickly analyze each client's unique circumstances and help the client develop a strategy to meet its goals in a cost effective manner.  Doug takes a practical business approach to his legal advice and integrates into the legal and business team for the client’s transaction.  While Doug is very experienced in the technical side of drafting and reviewing legal documents, due diligence and the like, he will often supervise junior attorneys in these tasks to achieve cost savings for clients.  His most effective role is forward structuring of transactions and managing the challenging legal issues that inevitably arise when the stakes are high and relationships complex.

Representing Commercial Project Stakeholders

Most of Doug's clients are stakeholders in commercial real estate projects, including office buildings, retail centers, industrial buildings, residential projects, or land parcels planned for these uses.  He represents a wide variety of these clients, including institutional investors, operators, developers, lenders and others.  His clients are primarily institutional in nature, but have included parties across the size spectrum including individual entrepreneurs.  Doug is able to adapt his perspective and style to meet the needs of each particular client.  Doug also has strong relationships with various attorneys and law firms outside California that rely on him to guide their clients through their investment activity regarding California real estate projects.

Focused on Pension Fund Equity Capital Providers

In recent years Doug has represented many public pension funds in the formation of joint ventures and separate accounts to provide equity capital to real estate developers and operators, both for individual projects and portfolio commitments.  When these complex arrangements require restructuring or winding up, Doug also handles these subsequent transactions that can involve delicate negotiations.  Doug has become very active representing the investment authority for a group of pension funds located in British Columbia, Canada, which Doug represents on many of its real estate equity and debt investments in the United States.  Representation of this international client on these complex investments requires coordination among various client teams together with outside Canadian and U.S. tax and regulatory counsel, which Doug manages on these transactions.

Experience

  • Represented the real estate investment authority for a group of foreign pension funds in the formation of a “club” investment platform, making a $300 million commitment therein, that will provide the client opportunities to invest in the development of first-class office buildings in major commercial markets throughout the United States. Under this platform arrangement, the sponsor/developer presents potential investments to investors who have the option to participate therein, in which case a separate project joint venture is formed for each investment. At closing, an office building in San Francisco was acquired as the initial investment, for which the firm also represented the client in due diligence matters (closed in 2017).

  • Represented the real estate investment authority for a group of foreign pension funds in the formation of a separate account joint venture, making a $600 million commitment therein, that will acquire, develop and operate student housing projects near major universities throughout the United States, including the acquisition of an initial portfolio of completed and under-development student housing projects owned by the development partner. The client also funded a $105 million corporate loan to the operating company of the development partner (closed in 2017).

  • Represented the real estate investment authority for a group of foreign pension funds in the formation of a joint venture with a real estate operator and its sponsored funds, making a $200 million commitment therein, for the purpose of forming a separate joint venture with a development partner that will develop and operate a group of residential projects (apartment and condominium) located on the U.S. East Coast. The client’s joint venture made its primary investment in these projects by participating in a mezzanine construction loan to the development joint venture. The firm conducted due diligence on the development joint venture and senior construction loans (closed in 2017).

  • Represented a California public pension fund in the formation of a joint venture with the principals of a real estate development and operating company based on the U.S. East Coast. At the time this joint venture was formed, it acquired the primary assets of the development and operating company, and also purchased a portfolio of multi-family projects from an institutional seller that had hired the operating company to manage its projects and was liquidating its position. The new joint venture was formed in 2012 with assets valued at over $800 million. Subsequently in 2013 Doug represented the same client in the formation of separate platform joint venture with the original venture and its developer principals to provide equity capital for additional investments, with an initial commitment of $200 million which was later restructured and increased to $600 million in 2017.

  • Represented a real estate developer and equity partners in obtaining construction financing exceeding $70 million from a bank syndicate for a large mixed use project located in the Ventura Harbor community of Ventura, which project is subject to a complex ground lease with a local governmental agency.

  • Represented a real estate investor in the sale of two large apartment projects located in the Marina del Rey community of Los Angeles to a public company, for a total purchase price exceeding $270 million. These projects are located on land leased to the client by a local governmental agency, and this transaction requires a complex governmental approval process.

  • Represented a real estate company in the acquisition of 9 projects located throughout the desert communities of Southern California with a value of approximately $50 million. These projects were encumbered by loans held by a major bank, and this transaction consisted of the purchase of the loan portfolio from this bank, and subsequent deeds in lieu of foreclosure for each of the projects completed with the prior developer.

  • Represented New York real estate investors that acquired, by corporate merger, a portfolio of real estate assets located in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, coordinating firm resources to provide advice regarding title, entitlements, environmental, property tax assessment and labor issues arising in this portfolio. Subsequent work also addressed environmental issues and sale transactions.

  • Represented a foreign investor providing mezzanine financing for a large historic multi-family project located in San Francisco, coordinating firm resources to provide advice regarding entitlements and development agreements for a renovation plan, property tax assessment issues and other due diligence.

  • Represented a real estate company in the refinancing of twin office towers located in West Los Angeles in the amount of approximately $175 million, which financing was provided by a major life insurance company.

  • Represented a real estate investor in the sale of two large apartment projects on a marina located in the Los Angeles area to a public company, for a total purchase price of exceeding $270 million. These projects are located on land leased to the client by a local governmental agency, and this transaction requires a complex approval process with this governmental agency.

  • Represented a joint venture between a Southern California developer and a New York based investor based in the acquisition of a master planned golf course community that had been partially completed before going into default with its lender. The price paid by the new ownership group was less than $30 million, for a high profile project in which the prior stakeholders had invested in excess of $100 million.

  • Represented a real estate company in the acquisition of 9 projects located throughout the desert communities of Southern California with a value of approximately $50 million. These projects were encumbered by loans held by a major bank, and this transaction consisted of the purchase of the loan portfolio from this bank, and the subsequent deeds in lieu of foreclosure for each of the projects completed with the prior developer.

  • Represented a New York real estate investor that purchased a retail center located in Orange County, for a price of approximately $75 million. This project had significant entitlement and operational issues for the client to resolve, which created the need for sophisticated local real estate counsel for this client.

  • Ongoing representation of a New York based real estate investor in connection with its investments in California real estate projects, working together with the client's lead counsel based in New York. Representations included the purchase of two large office buildings located in San Francisco in 2010 and 2011.

  • Represented a public pension fund in the formation of a platform joint venture with the principals of a real estate development and operating company based on the East Coast. At the time this joint venture was formed, it acquired the primary assets of the development and operating company, and also purchased a portfolio of multi-family projects from an institutional seller that had hired the operating company to manage its projects and was liquidating its position. The new joint venture was formed in 2012 with assets valued at over $800 million.

  • Represented the real estate investment authority for a group of foreign pension funds in the formation of a joint venture with a real estate operator and its sponsored funds, making a $200 million commitment therein, for the purpose of forming a separate joint venture with a development partner that will develop and operate a group of residential projects (apartment and condominium) located on the U.S. East Coast. The client’s joint venture made its primary investment in these projects by participating in a mezzanine construction loan to the development joint venture. The firm conducted due diligence on the development joint venture and senior construction loans (closed in 2017).

Insights

News

Publications

Awards & Affiliations

Honors & Recognitions

Best Lawyers, Real Estate Law, 2024

Professional Affiliations

UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, Board Member, 2012-2013

UCLA Real Estate Alumni Group (REAG)

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT)

Urban Land Institute (ULI)

Bar & Court Admissions

  • State Bar of California

Education

J.D., University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 1981

M.B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management, 1981

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1976

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