Scott A. Marks has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group in its Austin office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Marks was a director at Coats Rose, P.C.

“Once again, Duane Morris is expanding in Texas, with the addition of a talented real estate partner with extensive national and local experience in affordable housing and community development,” said Duane Morris Chairman and CEO Matthew A. Taylor. “Texas has been a priority Duane Morris region for more than 20 years, and I emphatically say that 2023 will be a terrific year for Duane Morris in Texas. Along with celebrating our five year anniversary in Austin, we will continue to grow our operations locally to support robust client demand.”

“The very business-friendly environment in Texas, particularly in Austin, is an important catalyst for the growth of the local commercial real estate sector, and we are excited to add Scott to our practice group,” said Chester P. Lee, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Real Estate Practice Group.  “We are thrilled to continue to expand the Real Estate Practice Group in key national markets and will continue to seek out talent to join Duane Morris,” added George J. Kroculick, co-chair of Duane Morris’ Real Estate Practice Group.

“Our office is thriving and we’re so pleased that Scott selected Duane Morris for the next phase of his career,” said Bert Greene, managing partner of the firm’s Austin office.

Marks practices in the areas of affordable housing and community development. He represents real estate developers—for-profits, nonprofits and government agencies—in closing various sources of financing. Marks has knowledge in multifamily finance, including low-income housing tax credit equity, gap financing through various governmental grant and loan programs, and conventional construction and permanent loans. He has also worked on property tax exemptions for affordable housing and has extensive Fair Housing Act experience. In Austin, he has closed the financing for many mixed-use and mixed-income developments such as Travis Flats on Airport Boulevard, and in Houston he has represented the state’s leading nonprofit developer of permanent supportive housing for the homeless. Marks served as an appointed member of the Austin Independent School District Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee that proposed more than $1 billion in bonds, which voters approved in 2017, and has served in the past as secretary of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers and as a board member of Preservation Austin.

“What attracted me to Duane Morris was the firm’s national platform, its collaborative culture and clear commitment to growing its real estate team in Texas. This move allows me to continue serving affordable housing clients, but now with a much larger team,” said Marks. “I am very pleased to begin this next phase of my legal career at Duane Morris in Austin.”

Marks is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1994) and Johns Hopkins University (B.A., 1990).