Michelle Kelban, Global Co-Chair of the Real Estate Practice at Latham, advises on all aspects of commercial real estate law, with a particular concentration on highly structured capital raising and financing, acquisitions, joint venture recapitalizations and workouts and restructurings for both borrowers and lenders. She represents capital providers in a range of real estate transactional structures and is a “skilled and extremely competent” lawyer who is “very knowledgeable and service oriented” according to The Legal 500 US.
Ms. Kelban's practice includes handling:
- Asset and entity level acquisitions and dispositions in respect of real estate based operating businesses
- Single asset and multiple property portfolio financings for a range of property types and performing and non-performing loan assets
- Mezzanine financings, preferred equity structures, equity investments, joint ventures, and equity recapitalizations
- Workouts, restructurings, distressed and performing loan sales
- Foreign investors with respect to all types of in-bound U.S. acquisitions, joint ventures, and financings
In 2020, Ms. Kelban was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, an invitation-only organization comprised of leading real estate lawyers across the US.
Ms. Kelban has significant experience with a range of property types such as:
- Hotels and resorts
- Casinos
- Mixed use projects
- Assisted living facilities and senior housing facilities
- Office buildings
Ms. Kelban’s experience includes advising:
- A private equity fund in the exercise of remedies in connection with a subordinated mezzanine loan secured by a 148 asset hotel portfolio located in 32 states and the transfer of such portfolio to the client, as lender, in lieu of a foreclosure
- Real estate aspects of a preferred equity co-investment in Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US
- An institutional lender in multiple, highly structured loans secured by non-performing loans, performing loans, and portfolios of fee assets
- A Middle Eastern investor in acquiring the Montage Beverly Hills
- A Middle Eastern investor in acquiring the Intercontinental Barclay New York Hotel through a joint venture structure together with acquisition financing and construction financing and structuring for a major hotel renovation
- An institutional lender in connection with a mortgage loan with a future advance component secured by 36 commercial real estate assets and a mezzanine loan secured by the equity interest in mortgage borrowers
- A Middle Eastern investor in the purchase of the retail and hotel condominium components of a to be constructed trophy property in downtown Manhattan
- A foreign investor in connection with the complex development joint venture, acquisition, pre-development and construction financing of One Wall Street, a landmarked office building located in downtown New York City
- A private equity fund as borrower pledging large non-performing loan portfolios as collateral under multiple loan transactions