From CA To NYC: CRE Law Firm Allen Matkins Expands To The East Coast

While the key steps to developing a successful project involve finding the best location, funding the project and then getting it built, that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting a real estate deal done.

Most deals also require careful negotiation and a team to read through the fine print of legal documents. That is why it is important to hire an experienced CRE legal team. 

Allen Matkins, a full-service CRE law firm based in California, is expanding its footprint to New York City. While the company has established itself as a CRE powerhouse on the West Coast since the late 1970s, it now plans to take that experience and reputation to the East Coast. 

The California-based national law firm focused on the CRE industry has expanded its footprint to NYC. Having counseled East Coast clients and worked on countless national real estate transactions for decades, Allen Matkins elected to plant boots on the ground in NYC in an effort to broaden its services to existing clients and put itself in a global center of real estate capital. While the firm is recognized as a national real estate powerhouse, Allen Matkins has practices in litigation, corporate, tax, labor and employment, land use, environmental, bankruptcy and restructuring.

Managing Partner Jeff Patterson said in the 45 years since the firm was founded in Southern California, Allen Matkins has grown to include five California offices with over 230 attorneys, of whom over 140 are pure transactional real estate lawyers, making it one of the largest and most diversified real estate practices in the country.

“One thing that distinguishes Allen Matkins' real estate practice is its sheer breadth, with specialists covering all areas of the real estate life cycle, such as development, land use, JVs, funds, leasing, lending, workouts and CRE litigation, as well as important niche markets like digital infrastructure, life sciences and data centers,” Patterson said. “While Allen Matkins started as a California-focused firm, it long ago became an elite national firm serving its clients on matters throughout the country.”

In addition to its subject matter expertise, Patterson said the firm takes pride in its culture of teamwork, collegiality and best-in-class client service. 

To bring the Allen Matkins culture to the East Coast, two of its longtime real estate partners, Sandy Jacobson and Neil Gluck, relocated to New York. They have been joined by Marshall Brozost and Alykhan “Aly” Shivji, two veteran NYC real estate lawyers who joined from McDermott, Will & Emery.

Brozost said that he has been asked why Allen Matkins opted to open in New York now. His response, he said, is: “Why not now?”

He added that many of the firm's national clients are based in New York, and the firm's strategy has always been to serve its clients where needed.

“The firm has been involved in some of the more noteworthy recent NYC real estate projects, and it increasingly made sense to have a scalable presence here,” he said. “Lastly, this is where our clients, friends and competitors work — it makes sense for us to be here.”

Even with a general slowdown in the volume of U.S. real estate transactions, the firm is positioned to remain busy and serve its clients as the market changes. Jacobson said that Allen Matkins has seen an uptick in clients who want to work with the firm to help reposition their assets to sell or redevelop them to capitalize on market conditions or strategize regarding pending workouts. 

“Allen Matkins is constantly evaluating capital market changes and monitoring real estate trends to be prepared in advance for the types of real estate legal work that evolves,” she said.

Patterson added that the firm has been an active market participant through decades of real estate cycles and brings its experience and expertise to bear in developing creative solutions.

“Unlike our competitors, more than half of our firm's work is real estate transactional,” he said. “We’re able to draw upon our industry-leading interdisciplinary approach — from land use to leasing — to develop holistic solutions to our clients' issues.” 

Perhaps owing to its West Coast origins, Allen Matkins is an industry leader in the real estate growth areas of digital infrastructure, including data center and life sciences. Shivji, who has been involved in the global data center industry for many years, said that the demand for this digital framework continues to grow. 

“With the robust need for data centers, wireless technologies and the growth of artificial intelligence, our clients have been actively developing, leasing and operating the real estate necessary for the developments in digital infrastructure,” he said. “The market's appetite for digital infrastructure continues to grow exponentially, and Allen Matkins is well-positioned to remain at the cutting edge of this growth with its tech-focused clientele.”

He added that the firm is a leader in providing legal services to the life sciences industry as hubs have developed in California, Boston, New York and elsewhere.   

The firm prides itself on its thought leadership and staying on top of developments in the real estate industry. It hosts events like its annual View From the Top event, which brings together industry leaders to provide insight on industry trends, and together with UCLA's Anderson School of Management, it produces CRE surveys covering Western markets. 

Like its California offices, Brozost said the firm's NYC office will endeavor to bring innovation to the practice. To punctuate that, he recalled working with Shivji on one of the first Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing transactions in New York City to provide funds for a building owner's compliance with NYC’s Climate Mobilization Act. 

“With the Local Law 97 deadline taking effect in 2024, the firm is well-positioned to help clients with available financing options,” Brozost said.

Patterson added that the move to NYC is just the beginning of Allen Matkins' evolution for the next few decades. Not only is the company bringing the same innovation and client-focused business from the West Coast, but it is also a stepping stone for a more national presence, he said.

“We’re expanding our reach by branching out to different East Coast markets, such as NYC and Boston, and doing it with the same drive that helped us become successful in our West Coast offices,” Patterson said. “We're really excited to see what the future holds as we take things up another level to create a more national impact with our firm.” 

This article was produced in collaboration Studio B and Allen Matkins. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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