Financial Crisis Leads to New Ventures Between Law Firms, Bankers

"Financial Crisis Leads to New Ventures Between Law Firms, Bankers"
FinCri Advisor 

July 19, 2009 – Manatt’s collaboration with George Smith Partners to provide legal and financial advisory services to borrowers with securitized commercial real estate loans (CMBS), announced earlier this month, is the centerpiece of an article in the July 19, 2009, FinCri Advisor entitled “Financial Crisis Leads to New Ventures Between Law Firms, Bankers.”  The article characterizes the integrated legal and financial advisory program as an example of “innovative initiatives for tackling the financial crisis.” 

“Bank problems with commercial real estate loans,” the article says, “led the Manatt law firm to create its joint venture with George Smith Partners. The law firm's distressed asset practice, which was formed in 2008, realized that the real estate community was stymied by the never-ending wave of maturities in CMBS [commercial mortgage backed securities] loans, with no refinancing opportunities.” 

The firm teamed with George Smith Partners to come up with sophisticated solutions that "convince the servicers that a restructuring makes sense," said Manatt partner Clayton B. Gantz, cochair of the firmwide distressed asset practice group.  

Adam R. Salis, a Manatt real estate partner helping to lead the effort, says in the article that lenders should welcome the sophisticated knowledge that borrowers who participate in this collaborative offering will bring to the workout process.  "You can't just get it done with a narrow set of skills," he notes.  "Doing a CMBS restructuring now needs proper level analysis, knowledge of the submarket, legal analysis of loan documents, tax and bankruptcy analysis . . . This brings the level of conversations to a much higher level."  

To read the full article, please click here.