Akerman Expands Real Estate Group with Addition of Four Lawyers in Denver
Akerman LLP announced the the addition of partners Allison Nelson and Lori Albert and associates William Garehime and Kelly Adams from Fennemore Craig to the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group.
In a release, the firm said:
“Growing client needs across the real estate and construction sector continue to drive the expansion of our practice,” said Richard Bezold, chair of Akerman’s Real Estate Practice Group, which is ranked sixth by Law360 among the largest teams of real estate lawyers in the United States. “Allison leads a highly skilled team who operate at the intersection of the real estate and healthcare economies. These lawyers add important depth to our national and local capabilities as shifting federal and state policy agendas produce new opportunities and challenges for our clients.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Allison and her team to the Denver office, where we have diverse practices in the financial services, real estate, healthcare and life sciences sectors,” said Justin Balser, Akerman’s Denver office managing partner. “Their deep experience in complex transactions and compliance investigations will provide immediate value to our clients in Denver and nationwide.”
Nelson focuses her national practice on the representation of public and private healthcare systems in complex real estate transactions and joint-ventures, and in mergers and acquisitions. She partners with clients to construct and improve legal, business, and compliance systems to manage their U.S. healthcare real estate portfolios and navigate through real estate compliance investigations by the U.S. Office of Inspector General. Nelson also regularly represents commercial developers in refinancing and acquisition of Colorado properties.
Prior to Fennemore Craig, Nelson was the chair of the real estate transactions practice group at Polsinelli where she served as lead real estate counsel in the $1.2 billion acquisition of a five-campus hospital system in Houston, Texas.
Albert represents national healthcare organizations, as well as Fortune 500 companies, developers, and investors in acquisition, disposition, and financing transactions involving all types of real estate. She has negotiated numerous leases, subleases, and other lease-related transactions for healthcare providers, and ensures such arrangements are compliant with the Stark Law, Anti-kickback Statute, and other federal and state healthcare regulations. In the community, Albert serves on the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Committee.
Real estate associates Garehime and Adams also principally focus their practice on healthcare real estate transactions. As a group, Nelson, Albert, Garehime and Adams are responsible for closing more than 500 healthcare leasing, development and acquisition projects annually across the United States.
Denver marks the latest growth for the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. Akerman previously welcomed a real estate and land use team in Los Angeles led by partner Ellen Berkowitz from Gresham Savage; real estate litigation partner Michael Weiss from Lewis Brisbois in Los Angeles, hospitality litigation partner Joshua Bernstein from Pryor Cashman in New York and real estate transactional partner Thomas Diorio from Nixon Peabody in New York.
