Litigation Department of the Year, Real Estate: Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson

What are some of the department’s most satisfying successes of the past year and why? As one of the country’s leading real estate litigation practices, Fried Frank’s real estate litigation practice has been fortunate to have had several satisfying successes during this challenging past year. Consistently solving complex “bet the company” disputes, we work closely with the firm’s real estate department to resolve issues without resorting to litigation and develop innovative solutions in a variety of matters. One of our most notable successes was for a group of property owners in separate article 78-declaratory judgment proceedings that challenge the City Planning Commission’s approvals of land-use applications for three proposed developments in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan. This year, the Appellate Division, First Department issued decisions in our clients’ favor, which had far-reaching implications beyond the success for our client in that it was critical to ensuring compliance with the legislatively enacted land use framework designed to advance the city’s future growth and continued vitality. Additionally, we obtained significant victories on behalf of a real estate investment manager in its lawsuit relating to its purchase of a portfolio of logistics and distribution properties from a commercial real estate credit REIT; a mezzanine lender in connection with summary judgment in lieu of a complaint filed against its guarantor for breaches of guarantees; and a group of lenders in foreclosure proceedings relating to a luxury 43-story condominium tower in Manhattan.

As our real estate litigation practice has remained extremely busy over the last year, we’ve continued to broaden our offerings to clients by routinely drawing upon the expertise of our land use practice to expand our land use litigation, along with recently welcoming real estate and litigation partner Emilie Cooper to the firm. Ms. Cooper’s specific industry knowledge and experience with hotel-related litigation and leasing disputes has only further diversified the practice’s offerings and provides value-add, practical counsel on the team’s most complex matters. Our team’s breadth of experience has proved to be instrumental amid the height of COVID-19; as the pandemic introduced unprecedented hurdles, it provided us with a unique opportunity to find creative solutions and draw from our expertise to navigate clients through their most complex transactions and litigations.