Gardere Partner Cindy Nelson Named Chair of Firm’s Hospitality Industry Team
Partner Cynthia Brotman Nelson has been named chair of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP’s hospitality industry team, effective April 1.
Nelson has more than 25 years of experience representing and consulting institutional and entrepreneurial clients, with an emphasis in the hospitality industry. She represents clients in the development, acquisition, disposition, leasing and financing of commercial enterprises, both domestic and foreign, including hotels and mixed-use developments, shopping centers, multifamily housing developments, office buildings, industrial properties and unimproved land.
Her practice includes senior and mezzanine financing services, complex workout and debt restructuring, joint ventures, management agreements, franchise agreements and buying, selling, developing and ground leasing of all types of real estate products. Nelson consistently has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America© and Chambers USA as one of the nation’s leading leisure and hospitality lawyers.
“Cindy is one of the premier real estate and hospitality attorneys in the country,” says Christopher A. Peckham, Associate General Counsel at Ashford Inc., a provider of asset management and advisory services to companies within the hospitality industry. “Not only does she offer a vast wealth of substantive knowledge and experience, she is also extremely efficient and cost-effective. She is our go-to attorney for all of our transactional matters and has handled billions of dollars in acquisitions, dispositions and financings. We rely heavily on Cindy.”
“Cindy is one of the brightest minds in the hospitality space,” says Leslie Ng, Chief Investment Officer of the global hotel management company Interstate Hotels. “I have worked with her for over 20 years, and during that time she has represented my company’s interests in billions of dollars of hospitality acquisitions, related financings and dispositions. She has that rare ability to quickly focus on those items that are truly important in a transaction while tending to all the necessary details.”
One of Nelson’s responsibilities as the chair of the hospitality industry team will include leading the firm’s efforts with the annual Dallas Hotel Conference, where she has participated as a speaker since 2009. Each year, the Firm-sponsored event attracts a wide range of hospitality industry attendees from across the U.S.
“For more than a decade, our hospitality industry team has represented some of the most recognized names in the hospitality industry in hotel and resort acquisitions, dispositions and financings worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean,” says Nelson. “It is an honor to take over as the group’s chair, and I look forward to leading the team’s ongoing commitment to maximizing value and efficiency for our clients.”
