Sidley is pleased to announce that Bonnie Neuman, Melissa Hinkle, Nick Brandfon, and Molly Lovedale have joined Sidley’s Real Estate practice as partners. In addition, Andrea Weitzman joins as counsel. The group joins from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP along with a team of nine associates. Ms. Neuman was a member of Cadwalader’s Management Committee, co-chair of its Finance Group, and head of the firm’s Real Estate Finance practice. Bonnie joins Sidley’s office in New York and will co-lead the firm’s Real Estate group. Ms. Hinkle, Mr. Brandfon, and Ms. Weitzman also join Sidley’s office in New York. Ms. Lovedale will be part of the Washington, D.C. team.
Ms. Neuman represents lenders in high-value, complex financing transactions, particularly within the real estate and hospitality sectors. Her practice encompasses a wide range of financial instruments, including securitized financings, mortgage and mezzanine loans, construction loans, and revolving credit facilities. Ms. Neuman’s clients are typically major financial institutions acting as lenders and administrative agents involved in substantial transactions, such as the acquisition, refinancing, and restructuring of prominent properties and portfolios. Her work extends to both domestic and cross-border transactions, ensuring comprehensive legal support for clients operating on a global scale.
Ms. Hinkle has extensive experience in various types of commercial lending and finance transactions, focusing on representing investment and national banks, as well as other lenders, in the origination and securitization of commercial mortgage loans. She is adept at handling complex financings and is actively involved in the sale of commercial mortgage and mezzanine loans in the secondary market. Her work encompasses mortgage lending, mezzanine finance, co-lending and participation arrangements, loan workouts, and restructurings, with a particular focus on complex real estate finance for the capital markets.
Mr. Brandfon focuses his practice on real estate and corporate finance. He represents clients across the industry, including office, hotel, condominium, and retail properties. His experience encompasses the origination of mortgage and mezzanine loans, syndication, loan restructuring, and bankruptcy matters.
Ms. Lovedale focuses on real estate finance and primarily represents financial institutions in connection with the origination of mortgage loans secured by commercial office buildings, retail properties, hotels, warehouses, multifamily housing, including many multi-state, multi-property pooled transactions. She also has experience in the origination of mezzanine loans, the servicing and sale of mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and participation interests, and repurchase facilities.
“We are thrilled to welcome this team of 14 real estate lawyers to Sidley. Bonnie, Melissa, Nick, and Molly, were well-known to our clients, as well as our real estate and finance partners. It was a natural fit for us to target this leading team of real estate lawyers to join us,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Sidley’s Management Committee Chair. “Bonnie will co-lead our global real estate practice. The team of 14 joining us will expand our real estate capabilities with existing and new clients and easily integrate with our strong teams in Chicago, Greater Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.”
“Bonnie is well known to our real estate and securitization teams, who praise her business acumen and believe she has the strongest lender loan origination practice in the market,” said Brian Fahrney, Chair-elect of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “We are excited to have her lead the continued growth of our Real Estate group. With Nick, Melissa, Molly, and a team of lawyers also joining, we will be well-equipped to serve clients from our offices in New York and worldwide.”
Sidley’s real estate team is a recognized leader in its field, working across numerous industries, spanning the entire United States and also crossing international borders and markets. Our lawyers are at the forefront of breaking developments in the real estate arena, and are well equipped to anticipate and navigate changes in real estate development and finance that may affect our clients’ businesses. The team works on a wide range of real estate transactions, real estate litigation, bankruptcies, and workouts. This experience encompasses advising on large and sophisticated deals from multiple offices, including Chicago, Greater Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Sidley is an elite global law firm. With 2,300 lawyers, annual revenue of US$3.4 billion, and experience of nearly 160 years, we have established a reputation using Built to Win℠ legal strategies in successfully representing clients in more than 70 countries on complex transactional, restructuring, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.
With 21 offices strategically situated in key commercial and financial hubs across the world, our perspective and our reach are truly global. Our lawyers and business professionals, fluent in more than 80 languages, possess the cultural awareness and cross-border legal acumen needed to bring clarity to a dynamic business landscape.
Source: www.sidley.com
