International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced that real estate and bankruptcy attorney Steven Smith has joined the Firm as a Partner in its Dallas office.
Mr. Smith’s real estate practice includes representation of conduit and other lenders and borrowers involved in the financing of commercial real estate. He handles assumptions, defeasance transactions, loan modifications, real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC), and other servicing issues for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) master servicers. He also handles pooling and servicing agreement compliance and review, real estate workouts, receiverships, foreclosures, bankruptcies, asset dispositions, litigation, and lender remedy enforcement for various types of commercial lenders, including the representation of CMBS special servicers, and for various parties to non-real estate securitizations including trustees, administrative agents and noteholders.
Mr. Smith’s bankruptcy experience includes providing insolvency counsel to investors, assisting with the acquisition of companies through the Chapter 11 process, and representing debtors, secured creditors, and trustees and committees in various commercial and real estate bankruptcy proceedings. He also has experience with bankruptcy litigation matters such as preference and fraudulent transfer actions, automatic stay litigation, lien and priority disputes, contested confirmation proceedings, and bankruptcy appeals.
Mr. Smith represents developers, owners, equity investors and other real estate professionals in every aspect of real estate ownership, development, construction, property management, leasing, acquisition and dispositions. He has handled real estate transactions involving various types of commercial property including retail, multifamily, industrial, hospitality, medical, self-storage, residential community development and mixed-use development.
Before joining Dorsey, Mr. Smith was a member with Frost Brown Todd in the Dallas office. Prior to joining Frost, he opened the Dallas office of Perkins Coie and was managing partner of the Perkins Coie Dallas office for seven years. Mr. Smith received his B.A. in Political Science and B.S. in Accounting (cum laude) from the University of Connecticut and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Commenting on the announcement, Dorsey & Whitney Managing Partner, Bill Stoeri, said, “We are very pleased that Steven has joined Dorsey. He brings a wealth of real estate experience, including expertise in financing and development, and vast experience with distressed asset proceedings and work-outs. Steven is an excellent addition to the Firm’s strong real estate practice and to our fast-growing Dallas office.”