Real Estate

Glaser Weil’s real estate team delivers a blend of technical excellence and innovative, nimble thinking essential for effectively navigating the dynamic challenges of today’s real estate market. Our unwavering commitment is to help our clients achieve their overarching real estate objectives.

We understand the complexities of the real estate landscape, and our real estate lawyers bring a wealth of experience and a comprehensive, strategic approach to each client engagement.

Glaser Weil’s real estate team boasts extensive experience across a broad spectrum of real estate specialties and has earned the trust of a dedicated client roster, including the California market’s leading retail, office and leisure space investors and developers, whom we represent in large, sophisticated projects involving sales, acquisitions, leases and market repositioning. In addition to our vibrant transactional practice, we represent clients in complex real estate litigation. Leveraging our legal acumen and substantial experience, we seamlessly collaborate across various practice areas intricately linked to real estate issues. This collaborative approach ensures that our clients receive insightful counsel and best-in-class service.

Who We Represent

• Developers
• Investors
• Lenders
• Public authorities

What We Do

Acquisitions and dispositions

Our real estate attorneys provide comprehensive guidance across the entire spectrum of acquisitions and dispositions. From the initial negotiation phase to meticulous due diligence, advising on financing alternatives, offering structuring insights and forming acquisition entities, our team is dedicated to ensuring a seamless and strategic process.

We have successfully represented both institutional and individual clients. We specialize in a diverse range of transactions involving industrial and commercial projects, office buildings, retail and mixed-use developments, hotels, resort hotel casino complexes, as well as apartment buildings and other multifamily housing. Our real estate lawyers collaborate seamlessly with our tax and corporate teams to ensure that our clients receive holistic advice. We go beyond transactional support to empower our clients with tailored solutions that best suit their immediate interests and long-range goals.

Construction

Glaser Weil’s Construction Litigation Practice has significant experience in all aspects of construction law. Our attorneys have counseled numerous clients in matters involving mechanic’s lien litigation, construction closeout and defect litigation, first- and third-party insurance litigation for construction-related claims, and other disputes in state and federal courts as well as in arbitration venues in California, Nevada and other jurisdictions. Learn more. 

Corporate structuring

We specialize in providing comprehensive support to investors, joint venture partners, lenders and developers by employing sophisticated corporate structuring techniques for their real estate transactions. Our dedicated team takes the time to deeply understand each client’s requirements, enabling us to customize investment structures that not only meet their needs but also optimize the value of their assets, while mitigating risks. We meticulously consider our clients’ business and tax objectives, investment criteria, and risk assessments to ensure the implementation of the most effective and strategic structures.

Financing and investment vehicles, including secured lending

Having represented both lenders and borrowers in financing their acquisitions, construction and operations, our lawyers are aware of borrowers’ needs for operational flexibility as well as the realistic limitations of institutional lending. Our real estate attorneys also assist with financially troubled assets and often advise clients in restructuring existing financing, loan workouts and related litigation. From negotiating forbearance agreements to amending existing credit facilities to obtaining new financing from alternative debt and equity sources, our attorneys draw upon their extensive experience in addressing every facet of a complex financing.

Land use and government regulations

Navigating the complex web of land use regulations and zoning restrictions is essential for completing real estate projects successfully. We specialize in obtaining entitlements, permits and approvals to ensure that projects are completed efficiently. With a deep understanding of the political and administrative processes, we maintain strong relationships with government officials to facilitate the navigation of local rules and regulations. Our comprehensive services encompass land use, entitlement, permitting and environmental aspects, catering to the diverse needs of real estate developers. Learn more.

Leasing

Glaser Weil’s real estate attorneys have represented both landlords and tenants in all facets and types of real estate leasing — from retail and office to industrial and ground properties. Our lawyers have negotiated and closed numerous leasing transactions of all sizes — from single tenant to corporate world headquarters — for real estate owners and end user clients alike. Attorneys in the practice are involved in all aspects of each lease transaction, from documenting and negotiating to conducting due diligence and coordinating the fulfillment of the various conditions related to the lease.

Restructuring and loan workouts

Glaser Weil’s restructuring and loan workouts team represents and works with borrowers, guarantors, developers, investors and lenders to provide comprehensive representation in all aspects of loan workouts, extensions, modifications, forbearances, refinancings, deed-in-lieu transactions, foreclosures, recapitalizations and reorganizations. Learn more.

Real estate litigation

Over the years, the litigation attorneys at Glaser Weil have earned countless victories for a broad range of real estate clients. We have extensive litigation experience in adverse possession disputes, affordable housing disputes, bankruptcy, breach-of-lease litigation, co-owner and partnership disputes, commercial evictions, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, commercial loan workout disputes, construction litigation, easement disputes, eminent domain, environmental disputes, foreclosure, fraud, homeowner conflicts, insurance claim denial, inverse condemnation, land use, promissory note/personal guaranty litigation, property damage, quiet title litigation, and title insurance.

Transactional

Our attorneys' experience includes their representation of:

• Balboa Retail Partners in its acquisition of El Monte Plaza, a retail shopping center in El Monte, California.
• Brookfield Properties Management (CA) Inc. in the ground floor retail leasing of The Village at San Antonio Center.
• Chartwell Properties and El Paseo Promenade LLC in finalizing a contentious lease with fraught negotiations at The Shops on El Paseo, the unique shopping district located on the west end of and entrance to Palm Desert’s coveted El Paseo. We also advise Chartwell Properties on several of their retail and leisure industry leases and market repositioning in key upmarket regions in California.
• Merlone Geier Partners (MGP) in connection with the trading of several of its retail properties in Washington state and California, including:
  • The sale to TA Realty of its land parcels in The Village at San Antonio Center, a shopping mall in Mountain View, California.
  • The sale of Town Center at Lake Forest Park, a grocery-anchored shopping center.
  • The sale of the 118,582-square-foot Sunset Square shopping center in Federal Way to a real estate fund.
  • The sale of the 140,020-square-foot shopping center Burien Town Plaza to a local investor and real estate agent.
  • A portfolio transaction involving the sale of two of its shopping centers to Retail Opportunities Investments Corporation (ROIC), and the concurrent acquisition from ROIC of a third property that is situated in a shopping center owned and being redeveloped by MGP. Glaser Weil led the negotiation, documentation and closing of all three transactions concurrently.
• Ocean West Capital Partners in:
  • Its acquisition of four properties in the Inland Empire, a metropolitan area in California.
  • Drafting and negotiating a joint venture agreement with Farallon Capital Management for the purchase of a 1 million-square-foot electric vehicle plant leased by Faraday Future.
• Tourmaline Capital in:
  • Its acquisition of a retail shopping center known as Sunset Square, one of the largest shopping centers in Skagit County, Washington.
  • Its acquisition of a retail shopping center in Long Beach, California.

Litigation

Our attorneys' experience includes their representation of:

• A subsidiary of a public real estate company and its founder in high-stakes fraud and civil conspiracy litigation over an Orange County commercial transaction. Our clients were named as defendants in the lawsuit three years into the dispute. After several months of litigation, Glaser Weil filed a sanctions motion under CCP § 128.7, prompting a favorable settlement that included dismissal with prejudice and recovery of attorneys’ fees—despite the absence of a prevailing party fee provision.

• The managing 50% investor in a multiproject real estate partnership in preparing a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty and to foreclose the interest of the other 50% non-managing member based on that member’s bad-faith conduct and repudiation of key terms of the partnership. The funds invested in the partnership’s projects exceed $50 million.

• Post Investment Group in a nine-figure dispute concerning an alleged oral partnership agreement relating to various real estate holdings, which resulted in a successful settlement.
• CoreVest, a leading residential investment lender, in a breach of contract and fraud dispute that resulted in a complete summary judgment victory and a $900,000 fee award in CoreVest’s favor.
• A national mortgage association and nationwide mortgage lender in two putative class-actions-turned-mass-actions filed by hundreds of Puerto Rico residents against numerous banks and mortgage servicers. We defeated class certification and obtained the dismissal of hundreds of borrowers’ claims related to their mortgages, successfully defending both judgments on appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
• An international developer and its receivers, owners of both residential and commercial properties, in a high-profile lawsuit brought by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office.
• A corporate client/landlord in prevailing on a demurrer without leave to amend based on a tenant’s claims to invalidate certain provisions of the lease agreements.
• A corporate client/seller in a week-long arbitration defeating claims by a buyer for specific performance and a breach of contract related to the sale of commercial real estate in Los Angeles, obtaining prevailing party attorneys’ fees.
• An individual client in a week-long bench trial defeating claims for breach of CC&Rs and nuisance concerning residential real estate in San Diego and obtaining prevailing party attorneys’ fees.

Results

• Balboa Retail Partners
• Brookfield Properties Management (CA) Inc.
• Chartwell Properties
• Merlone Geier Partners
• Ocean West Capital Partners
• Tourmaline Capital

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