Adler & Stachenfeld LLP

Managing Partner: Terri L. Adler

Chairman: Bruce Stachenfeld

Number of partners: 22

Number of lawyers: 45

Languages: English

Firm Overview:

Duval & Stachenfeld LLP is known for regularly handling the most complex and sophisticated real estate transactions throughout the United States as well as globally. The firm distinguishes itself with its pure play focus on real estate law and has one of the largest corporate real estate law practices in New York City.

Contact: Terri L. Adler

Email: [email protected]

Main Areas of Practice:

-Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights & Business Reorganizations

-International

-Corporate Real Estate (Join Ventures, Programmatic and Platform Investments, Fund Formation)

-Land Use

-Litigation

-Opportunity Zones

-Real Estate

-Tax

Pure Play in Real Estate Law:

The most critical and distinguishing characteristic of the firm is that, unlike the major law firms, it has decided to focus on what it is best at. Accordingly, the firm has branded itself as the “Pure Play in Real Estate Law” and has focused all areas of the firm, primarily on real estate. For example, its corporate practice focuses on corporate real estate – its litigators are real estate litigators – its tax lawyers are specialists in real estate tax – and so on. Everything at Duval & Stachenfeld is built around real estate.

Clients:

The firm's client base includes private equity funds (of all types), sovereign wealth funds, family offices, lenders, developers, REITs, insurance companies, servicers, and other players. They include one of the largest middle-eastern sovereign wealth funds; Albanese Organization; Almanac Realty Investors LLC; Angelo, Gordon & Co.; Ares Management; Barings; Blackstone; Cain International; Cerberus Capital Management; CIM Group; Clarion Partners; Cross Lake Partners; Crown Acquisitions; Crunch; Dune Real Estate Partners; EQ Office (a division of Blackstone); Faropoint; Fisher Brothers; Highgate Hotels; Invesco; Island Capital; Jadian Capital; Jamestown; JDS Development; Lightstone Group; Madison Realty Capital; Montgomery Street Partners; a major life insurance company (name withheld); Olmstead Properties; Post Brothers; Related Debt Strategies; Reliant Real Estate Management; Revantage Corporate Services (a division of Blackstone); RXR Realty; Savanna Fund; Sculptor Capital Management; Silver Point Capital; Silverstein Properties; Spitzer Engineering; Toll Brothers; Tribeca; U.S. Realty Advisors; Westcore Properties; and White Oak Real Estate Capital.

Joint Venture Expertise:

The firm is well regarded for its expertise in joint ventures. Indeed, the firm is one of the top players in the real estate world in this area. Since the firm’s inception in 1997, D&S has worked on over 3,000 transactions, the great majority of which took place in a co-venture structure. Most of these transactions had complex structuring issues and negotiations with intricate documentation.

Platforms, Joint Ventures and Corporate Real Estate Expertise:

Partners in the firm are well known for their expertise in platforms, joint ventures, programmatic relationships, club transactions, recapitalizations, restructurings, and other so-called “Corporate Real Estate.” Indeed this is an area in which the firm is truly the best of the best – it is the firm's sweetest sweet spot. Over the past 25 years, D&S has worked on well over 2000 different transactions, almost all of which took place in a corporate real estate type structure. Although there are no formal statistics, the firm suspects that they are the top firm in the United States in terms of their expertise in this area.

Finance Expertise:

The firm regularly handles major finance transactions throughout the real estate capital stack – including everything from recapitalizing and restructuring properties, to originating first mortgage and mezzanine debt, to buying distressed debt at all levels of the capital stack, workouts, restructurings, litigations (often among creditors – e.g., tranche warfare, put-back/take-back cases), recapitalizations, etc.

Tax Expertise:

The firm’s tax group is led by two exceptional partners: Jessica Millett (chair), Stephen Land (former chair), plus a team of associates. The firm's expertise includes all tax issues pertaining to the real estate industry, with different practitioners focusing on such critical areas as Opportunity Zones, Cross-Border Investments (in-bound and out-bound), 1031 transactions, and structures involving REITs.

Opportunity Zone Expertise:

The firm is the industry leader in the opportunity zone space. Ms. Millett is leading this initiative with managing partner and real estate chair, Terri Adler. The firm is handling cutting edge issues in major opportunity zone transactions, representing clients in setting up Qualified Opportunity Fund structures, and advising numerous clients in determining their Opportunity Zone strategies. In addition to being in touch with the U.S. Treasury Department on a consistent basis and speaking at various conferences and other trade organizations, Ms. Millett was named as one of the Top 50 People Shaping the Future of Opportunity Zones in Opportunity Zone Magazine.

Helping Clients Grow Their Businesses:

D&S spends a great deal of time focused on its core mission “to help our clients grow their businesses”. This is a unique value proposition that distinguishes D&S from other law firms. Instead of focusing only on providing legal services to clients, the firm also spends a lot of time on what clients often need more than anything else; namely, assistance in growing their real estate businesses successfully. This includes, by way of example, helping clients find transactions, financial partners and other counterparties.

Real Estate Capital Smorgasbord

As an example of its mission to "Help Our Clients Grow Their Businesses" , D&S created 'The Real Estate Capital Smorgasbord', which is, well, a smorgasbord of non-traditional ways for sponsors, developers, and similar parties to source capital. To effectuate this, D&S combines: creativity in structuring transactions with skill in being first to recognize valuable real estate trends with a vast network of clients and friends of the firm. Current examples include PACE financing, ground lease financing, sponsor capital funds, crowdfunding, and more bespoke structures.