Lori Lustberg Smith
Partner
Lori's practice focuses on all facets of commercial real estate transactions, including the representation of clients in the acquisition and disposition of office, multifamily, hotels, multi-use, retail and industrial properties, and all financing in connection therewith. Her experience includes the representation of hospitality clients in connection with not only traditional management agreements and purchases and sales but also bond-financed hotel and convention center projects. She also has experience in negotiating (for both tenants and landlords) leases for office buildings, options to buy, retail space and industrial space, as well as easements, licenses and all other real property-related matters. Lori regularly represents lenders in connection with origination and securitization as well as workouts, forbearance, modifications and exercise of remedies (including foreclosure), and generally advises clients on issues relative to the servicing of CMBS and non-CMBS loans and compliance with related pooling and servicing agreements (including REMIC issues). Lori regularly counsels clients in the drafting and negotiating of complex multi-tiered project and investor-level limited partnership agreements and assists with the exercise of rights and remedies thereunder, including exit strategies, withdrawal negotiations and removals. Many of such projects are multifamily low-income housing developments with tax credits.
Representative Experience
- Serving as national workout counsel to the leading provider of integrated products and services for the low-income multifamily housing industry, working with a variety of products, from tax credit equity products to low-income housing tax credit funds. Representation includes regularly counseling such client in the drafting and negotiating of complex multi-tiered project and investor-level limited partnership agreements and assisting with the exercise of rights and remedies thereunder, including exit strategies, withdrawal negotiations and removals.
- Representation of a multi-brand international hotel chain in connection with construction, design/build, pre-opening services, technical services and management of public, tax-exempt, bond-financed convention center hotel projects in Austin, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Vancouver, Washington; Blacksburg, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Columbus, Ohio.
- Serving as outside real estate counsel to a Fortune 500, leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $8 billion. Its operating companies have premier brands and leading market positions in distilled spirits, home and hardware, and golf products. Representation includes handling nationwide leasing, acquisitions, dispositions and construction document negotiation, together with sundry real property-related issues.
- Representation of equity investors in the disposition of interests in multi-family projects ranging from $15 million to $50 million in purchase price.
- Serving as exclusive counsel for leading secondary mortgage lender in connection with its contributions to community development investment funds, which has included transactions involving over $600 million in multifamily assets
- Representation of leading secondary mortgage lender in its $410 million loan pool purchase, secured by multifamily properties in various states and of varied sizes. Representation included extensive due diligence review and analysis, negotiation of sale and servicing agreements and advising client in areas spanning credit, underwriting and legal departments.
Professional Recognition
- Texas Rising Star, Texas Monthly (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011)
- Finalist for the Project for Attorney Retention (PAR) Award (2009)
