Robert’s practice is concentrated in real estate transfers, finance and development, including retail shopping center and commercial office building construction and leasing, land acquisition and development, and securitized lending transactions. A listing of Robert’s representative transactions is a who’s who of developers and major transactions throughout the U.S.

Representative Transactions

Recent Office Building Acquisitions and Leasing

• Lead Counsel to Guardian Realty Investors, and affiliated private REIT, that owns and manages over 45 primarily Class A office buildings located in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland.  Provide legal services with respect to all aspects of the Company acquisition, disposition, development, leasing and management of its office building portfolio.
• Purchaser's counsel for the $120,000,000 tri-property, multi-county, and eleven (11) office building project located in Harrisburg/Green Hills, PA, which included Penske Trucking's national headquarters.
• Purchaser's counsel for the $70,000,000 Class A office building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
• Purchaser's counsel for the $160,000,000 Class A multi-building Summit Technology Park office project located in the Kansas City, Missouri.
• Purchaser's counsel for the $60,000,000 for the multi-parcel, five (5) office building project located in Northern Virginia.
• Seller's counsel for the $70,000,000 City Crescent office building located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.
• Provide counsel in connection 1031 tax-free exchange strategies and structure.

Shopping Centers

• Counsel to several owners and re-developers of large scale multiple shopping center projects located in the greater Baltimore area, Annapolis, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Western Maryland, including
• Re-development of the Hunt Valley Mall in Baltimore County and
• The acquisition, construction and leasing of the 200,000 square foot Westview Center in Frederick, Maryland
• Negotiate leases for major national and regional tenants for both in-line and ground lease space. 

Apartment Complexes

• Counsel to purchaser for the acquisition of a 550 unit, $70,000,000 apartment complex in Baltimore County, Maryland.
• Counsel to several low income housing developers and re-developers for projects located in Baltimore City and County, Maryland.

Construction

• Construction contract counsel to the owner and developer of the $350,000,000 mixed used Ritz Carlton development in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.   Involved in all aspects of multiple design and construction contracts.
• Provided construction and design contract counsel to the Maryland Stadium Authority in connection with the development of the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Stadium in downtown Baltimore, Maryland.

Lending

• Counsel to regional and national borrowers with respect to all aspects of acquisition and development financing and re-financing for projects ranging from $5,000,000 to $250,000,000+, including securitized lending transactions, industrial development bonds, low income housing tax credits and State and County loans and grants.

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

State of Maryland

State of Oklahoma

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. District Courts:

District Court of Maryland

Northern District Court of Oklahoma

EDUCATION

B.S., Oklahoma State University

M.A., Oklahoma State University

J.D., University of Oklahoma School of Law

Professional Organizations

Maryland State Bar Association

Member of American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, and has served on various of its Commiittees, including:

• Subcommittees of letters of credit as a substitute for surety bonds, owner’s concerns when reviewing design and construction contracts,  
• Subcommitee on the design and construction industry’s response to the 1987 Edition of the General Conditions of the Contract for Construction;
• The Committee on Construction and Design;
• The Committee on Literature and Publications and its Subcommittee on Significant Literature;
• The Committee on Title Insurance, serving as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Transfer and Recording Taxes; and
• The Committee on Mortgages and other Debt Financing and its Subcommittee on Easements.

Legal publications

Robert has authored numerous articles on real estate law, including “A Commercial Lease Summary Form” and “Model Food Court Lease Provisions,” both in The Practical Real Estate Lawyer

Professional Background

Former Adjunct Professor of Law at Oklahoma City University