TOP REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT LAWYERS 2025
ARIEL B. ROBINSON HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP CENTURY CITY A riel Robinson has built a practice centered on commercial real estate transactions spanning retail, office, multifamily, industrial, hospitality and residential development properties. She handles deals across multiple property types, working with buyers and sellers to structure acquisitions and dispositions. “I love the process of putting together a deal that works for a buyer and seller, and seeing a buyer’s plans to improve or operate the property come to fruition,” Robinson said. Her recent work has concentrated on multifamily investments, with transactions typically ranging from $100 million to $200 million. These projects span urban and suburban markets, with concentrations in California, Massachusetts, Florida and the Midwest. Robinson has also developed expertise in office building dispositions, particularly properties being converted for residential and data center use. These transactions require extended planning periods and coordination between multiple parties. “These deals involve a lot of creativity and often require long escrow periods and cooperation among parties to accommodate entitlements and even demolition of office buildings before the purchaser takes title,” Robinson said. Current market conditions have created obstacles for property acquisitions, she said. Financing remains a primary hurdle, prompting clients to explore alternative structures, including loan assumptions and seller financing arrangements. Insurance availability has emerged as another challenge, though Robinson notes that clients who self-insure have gained advantages in competitive bidding situations. The market has also seen an increase in distressed asset transactions. Robinson is handling acquisitions structured through note purchases and deed-in-lieu arrangements, requiring collaboration between lenders, borrowers and buyers. “We’re seeing more acquisitions accomplished via a note purchase and deed in lieu structure with lenders, borrowers and buyers working together to make the most of distressed assets,” Robinson said. These market dynamics have created new opportunities for creative deal structures. Robinson’s clients have adapted by developing financing solutions that work around traditional
SIGRID WAGGENER MANATT, PHELPS & PHILLIPS, LLP SAN FRANCISCO S igrid Waggener has built her practice around some of the most complex projects reshaping California and Texas — from carbon capture facilities that will sequester millions of tons of CO2 annually to distribution centers that serve as supply chain hubs for national retailers. Waggener specializes in large-scale infrastructure projects, multi-modal transit-oriented development and both conventional and non-conventional energy ventures including carbon capture and sequestration, geothermal power, desalination and distributed generation energy projects. Her recent work includes representing Aera Energy in permitting and constructing a major carbon capture and storage project in California. “When completed, the project is slated to sequester several million tons of carbon dioxide annually at a major oil field in California,” Waggener said. She also secured a settlement with Ventura County that protects Aera’s right to operate oil and gas production facilities valued at more than $190 million. For AutoZone, the national automotive parts retailer, Waggener handled entitlements for a 550,000–750,000-square-foot logistics and distribution facility in Northern California. The facility, which opened in 2024, functions as a supply chain hub for the West Coast. Waggener has also represented Columbia Property Trust in developing a fourth Class A office tower and redeveloping an office campus into biotech facilities on the San Francisco Bay Peninsula. Her work with Penske spans statewide California operations, covering siting and redevelopment of rental, maintenance and leasing facilities while serving as California Environmental Quality Act counsel. Her practice extends to battery storage installations and real property litigation, including challenges to Los Angeles County zoning ordinances that clients argue constitute unconstitutional takings under federal and California constitutions. Waggener traces part of her expertise to her mentor Timothy Taylor, former California managing partner of Stoel Rives LLP. “He was my 2L land use law professor at UC Davis and recruited me to Stoel. He is an amazing land use and California Environmental Quality Act practitioner,” she said. Waggener noted escalating tensions in her field. “Conflicts between perceived incompatible land
MISTY M. SANFORD WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGER LLP LOS ANGELES M isty Sanford, West Coast chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP’s real estate practice, has built her career navigating the full lifecycle of development projects, from initial financing to ground-breaking and beyond. Her approach positions her to guide clients through market volatility and complex deal structures that have become the norm in today’s real estate environment. Sanford describes herself as a generalist with comprehensive project experience. “I’m a generalist who enjoys working on all aspects of a project from pulling together the capital to putting a shovel in the ground and working through how the asset will be operated,” she said. This broad perspective allows her to identify potential issues early and help clients make strategic decisions across market cycles. The current high-interest-rate environment has reshaped how development deals come together, particularly for large-scale public- private partnerships focused on mixed-use urban redevelopment. These projects now require multiple capital sources working in coordination, including public subsidies, institutional limited partners, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, senior mortgage loans and CPACE lending structures. “During these difficult times, development projects require a lot more sources of capital to bring a deal to fruition,” Sanford said. The complexity creates challenges in structuring deals that satisfy all stakeholders in the capital stack, each seeking adequate risk-adjusted returns in an uncertain market, she added. Sanford has found success by maintaining detailed knowledge of each asset and remaining flexible on deal structures. Traditional market terms have given way to more creative arrangements as participants adapt to current conditions. “We’ve overcome these difficulties by staying on top of all of the issues, understanding the asset inside and out, being flexible and open to creative structuring that falls outside what we used to all see as ‘market,’” Sanford said. The challenging market conditions have created pressure on multiple fronts, she continued. Property values remain in flux while financing costs have increased significantly, making profitability more difficult to achieve. Simultaneously, clients are scrutinizing legal expenses more closely while recognizing the importance of thorough legal work
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PAGE 24 | DAILY JOURNAL SUPPLEMENT | JUNE 18, 2025
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