Bob is nationally recognized in all aspects of commercial real estate development, acquisitions and financing, with over 30 years of experience representing a wide variety of companies, large and small, in diverse industries, as well as major real estate developers, syndicators and REITs. Bob's clients have included many Fortune 500 companies; national real estate companies; international shipping companies; major health care institutions; not-for-profit organizations; large retail, hotel and restaurant chains; one of the world's leading telecommunications companies; numerous financial institutions; waste management companies; and a Congressionally chartered U.S. Government lending institution.
Bob has guided Fortune 100 companies in developing major corporate facilities throughout the U.S., and has led specialized facilities development in the media, retail, petroleum and shipping/port industries. He has significant experience in international shipping and port development. For 15 years he represented Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV), one of the world's largest global shipping companies, as its North American Counsel in port-related and other matters throughout the United States. Bob served as Managing Director of China Infrastructure Investment Partners LLC, where he negotiated and structured the development of an 11-berth container facility of the Fuzhou Marine Terminal port project in China.
He lectures and writes extensively on such subjects as commercial leasing, zoning and land use, boundary law, real estate taxation, real estate development and the negotiation and structuring of international transactions.
Bob has been named a "Leading US Attorney" by Chambers and Partners in the real estate category of its 2003, 2004 and 2005 Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers directory. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2004 through 2012 by being selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth. In a 1999 Philadelphia magazine survey, he was recognized as one of the best real estate lawyers in Philadelphia. Bob has been an elected Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) since 1995.
Bob also has been an active and visible leader in a broad variety of professional and civic organizations and is active in CoreNet, ICSC and the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Bob has been an adjunct professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania since 2008.
Education:
University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1977
Brown University, A.B., with honors, 1973
Bar Admissions:
Pennsylvania
Court Admissions:
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of PA
Representative Transactions:
- Represented Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) as its North American Counsel in port-related and other matters throughout the United States
-
Represent a major Pennsylvania city in the public/private development of its waterfront
-
Represented one of the world’s largest global shipping companies, as its North American Counsel, in port-related and other matters throughout the United States
-
Represented one of the world’s largest multi-national telecommunications companies in the build-out of its PCS Wireless Phone Network
-
Represented one of the world’s largest petroleum companies in the development of its portfolio of gasoline and service centers
-
Represented several of the largest U.S. energy companies in the development of their respective power plant and other facilities
-
Represented a large multi-national entertainment company in the development of a major interactive theme park
-
Represented a Federally chartered, publicly traded national financial institution in the financing and partnership development of multifamily projects
-
Represented a global water company in its attempted privatization of a major U.S. City’s public water department
-
Represented one of the largest multi-national gaming companies in the development of a casino
-
Represented many major U.S. real estate companies in the development and financing of substantial single- and multi-use projects including large residential projects, shopping centers and malls, office buildings and office parks, industrial facilities and industrial parks, marine facilities, hotels, hospitals, and other specialty properties
-
Represented a regional airport in the expansion and development of new fields, terminals and related facilities
-
Represented one of the largest U.S. Cities in the development and financing of its Central Library
-
Represented Fortune 500 Companies and other public and private companies in the development and financing of a myriad of corporate facilities
Selected Publications:
-
"Lease Renegotiations in a Down Market Offer Opportunities for both Landlords & Tenants," Business Industry Real Estate News, co-authored with Barbara Ellis-Racic, SIOR and Amy Hawley, SIOR, Summer 2009, Vol. 47
-
“Mortgage Lending in the 21st Century,” CREF Chapter, co-authored with Gary S. Smuckler and Henry Liu, January 2003
-
“Wired Buildings: Extending the Last Mile of Internet Access to Commercial Tenants,” co-authored with Ajay Raju, August 2000
-
"Negotiating Leases - With Reason," co-authored with Basil Donnelly, Commercial Realty Review, January/February 1999
-
"Keeping Corporate Site Acquisition Programs on Course," Corporate Real Estate Executive Magazine, May 1998
-
"Managing Corporate Site Acquisition Programs," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, April 1998
-
Chapter -- A Primer on Commercial Mortgage Loan Documents, co authored with Gary S. Smuckler and Karl F. Schmuck, Handbook of Commercial Mortgage Real Estate Finance, 1994
-
Development & Construction in the United States, Chapter 28 of Business Opportunities in the United States, co authored with Robert F. Cushman, 1992
-
"Real Property Securities in Western Countries and Eastern European Countries," Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats, 1991
-
"Benefits Are Real, But So Are Risks For Tenants Leasing Space In An Overbuilt Market," Legal Intelligencer, 1991
-
"Beyond Rental Rates," Focus Magazine, 1991
-
"Boundary Law," National Business Institute, 1991
Selected Speaking Engagements :
-
"Workouts, Restructuring and Rescue Capital," Panelist, NAIOP Senior Executive Economics Conference, co-sponsored by Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton, Philadelphia, PA, June 7-8, 2011
-
"Anatomy of a Green Lease," Model Green Lease Workshop, Corporate Realty, Design & Management Institute, Bristol, PA, May 12, 2010
-
Keynote Speaker, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Philadelphia Chapter, annual conference, 2009
-
Speaker, “Real Estate and Infrastructure Development Projects,” KPMG Real Estate Executive Forum, Philadelphia, 2007
-
Speaker, “Real Estate and Infrastructure Development Projects,” Opportunities and Challenges in China Symposium, Monte Jade, Philadelphia, 2007
-
Speaker, “Real Estate and Infrastructure Development Projects,” Fourth Annual Summit on Legal and Financial Strategies for Doing Business in China, Atlas Seminars, New York, 2006
-
Guest Lecturer “Commercial Real Estate Leasing,” Temple University Law School, 2005
-
Lecturer, “Did We Give Away The Store? 2004’s Major Corporate Lease Deals,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2004
-
Lecturer, “Who Ya’ Gonna Call? – Lease Busters!” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2003
-
Mock Board Chair, Dynamic Leadership Training for Nonprofit Superheroes, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, 2001
-
Guest Lecturer, Real Estate Transactions course, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2001
-
Speaker, Wired Buildings: Extending the Last Mile of Internet Access to Commercial Tenants, ACREL Fall Meeting, 2000
-
Speaker, Technology in Action, Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) Program: “The Internet and Professional Services Firms,” 2000
-
Speaker, Themed Entertainment Destinations and Resorts, ABA Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section – 2000 Spring Symposium and Committee Meeting, 2000
-
Guest Lecturer, Real Estate Transactions course, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2000
Professional Associations/Civic Affiliations:
American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Philadelphia Bar Foundation, Board of Trustees; Chair, 2005-2006; Chair, Bar Home Project
Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC), Chairman
Center City District, Board of Directors
Institute on Aging, External Advisory Board Member
Philadelphia Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association
American Bar Association
|
