Thompson & Knight LLP is pleased to announce Partner Keith Brandofino, Counsel Maximiliano Rinaldi, and Counsel David V. Mignardi have joined the Firm’s New York office in the Real Estate and Banking Group. Together, these real estate litigation attorneys have more than 50 years of expertise on a range of legal matters, including real estate and business finance, real estate capital markets, special servicing, contracts and commercial agreements, distressed debt and workouts, and appellate litigation. The three come to the firm from Kilpatrick Townsend in New York.

“Keith, Max, and David will be invaluable assets to Thompson & Knight and a strong extension of our existing real estate, special servicing and litigation practice. Their expertise across various real estate and banking matters provides clients with a wide array of capabilities to handle complex real estate transactions and disputes,” said Managing Partner Mark M. Sloan. “The addition of these prominent attorneys is a great example of our focus on growth both in New York and of our real estate capabilities.”

Throughout his 19 years of practice, Mr. Brandofino has worked on various real estate and banking matters involving loan servicing and commercial mortgage-backed securities. His vast experience includes representing financial institutions and special servicers in distressed real estate loans, the disposition of commercial properties, and representing creditors in matters involving non-performing commercial loans and lenders’ interest in loans collateralized by various properties. Mr. Brandofino also represents mezzanine lenders whose interests are secured by pledges of personal property. Mr. Brandofino has won numerous significant cases throughout his career, including representing a lender in the recovery of a $189 million-dollar loan secured by eight hotels in six different states, and representing a foreign bank in the recovery of a $30 million dollar credit facility principally secured by an industrial plant in Brazil. In addition to his legal successes, Mr. Brandofino also served as an adjunct professor at New York University where he taught at the Schack Institute of Real Estate Graduate Program. He has been recognized in Super Lawyers magazine for Creditor/Debtor Rights for the past five consecutive years. He earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School and his B.A. from New York University.

Mr. Rinaldi has 28 years of experience as a litigation attorney and has handled numerous matters in real estate, finance and capital markets, distressed debt, title defense, leasing, and commercial litigation. Prior to his time with Kilpatrick Townsend, he was a founding partner of a general practice law firm where he worked for more than 14 years. His specific expertise includes representing creditors in matters related to non-performing commercial loans and leases, handling commercial litigation and business transactions, and conducting real estate closings and transactions. Mr. Rinaldi is an adjunct professor at New York University where he teaches at the Schack Institute of Real Estate Graduate Program. Fluent in both Italian and Spanish, Mr. Rinaldi earned his law degree from St. John’s University School of Law and his B.S. in Accounting from St. John’s University, College of Business Administration.

Mr. Mignardi is an accomplished real estate finance and capital markets litigation attorney, with a particular expertise in litigation and loan servicing matters dealing with commercial mortgage-backed securities. He has represented national financial institutions, mortgage servicers, hedge funds, and distressed investors in matters related to non-performing loans and the exercise of remedies such as judicial foreclosures, receiverships, workouts, litigation, and contested bankruptcy matters. He also has considerable appellate experience as well as experience in the regulated consumer finance industry. In his 10 years of practice, Mr. Mignardi was recognized as a New York Metro “Rising Star” in 2019 and the two years immediately preceding in the area of Business Law by Super Lawyers magazine. Mr. Mignardi earned his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law with a concentration in Corporate Law, and his B.S., magna cum laude, in Economics from Manhattan College.