NEW YORK – July 11, 2018 – Renowned real estate lawyer Joel H. Rothstein has joined global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP as chair of Asia Real Estate Practice. Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Rothstein was a partner at several international law firms, spending nearly two decades in Asia in leadership roles in one firm’s Tokyo and Beijing offices and launching and expanding that firm’s Asia Real Estate Practice.
“At Greenberg Traurig, I will continue to focus on representing private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, real estate developers, investment banks, financial institutions, and investors in a broad array of real estate debt, equity, and capital markets transactions across the Asian markets, including, among others, Japan, China, and South Korea,” Rothstein said. “I will also lead the firm’s efforts in representing Asia-based investors and institutions in outbound cross border real estate investment transactions into the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.”
“Joel’s work and reputation are without peer, and we are excited to have him work with our U.S.- and Asia-based clients. At the same time, we are proud of what our department has to offer to his clients in a wide range of markets, including the U.S. and Europe. His is a very special talent, and we look forward to growing our practice in Asia with him at the helm of that effort,” noted the firm’s Real Estate Practice Co-Chairs Robert J. Ivanhoe, Corey E. Light, and Richard J. Giusto in a statement.
Greenberg Traurig’s Real Estate Practice has grown significantly over the past few years outside of the United States, including strategic growth in London, Berlin, Warsaw, and Mexico City. As the real estate industry becomes increasingly interconnected in the global marketplace, Rothstein’s addition brings new market capabilities for clients in the Asia Pacific region and a true global offering.
“The firm already has a robust and top-rate Real Estate Practice on a global scale, however, having Joel choose to join us to lead our efforts in Asia Real Estate is a great win for us and for our clients who require a firm with an ever-increasing and dynamic real estate presence,” Richard A. Rosenbaum, Executive Chairman of Greenberg Traurig, said. “Also, having him select our firm is a testament to our commitment to strategic growth and excellence in client service. Joel is an innovator and a leader and it is an honor to have him here.”
In addition to practicing law, Rothstein is an urban designer whose work includes numerous architecture and urban design projects around the world, including South America and the United States. In 1990, he received his J.D. from New York University Law School where he was the editor of the New York University Review of Law and Social Change. He received an M.S. in Architecture from Columbia University in 1987, and in 1985 received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of California Los Angeles, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Rothstein will initially be based in New York and will spend time in the firm’s Asian offices; in the near future, he expects to be seconded to the firm’s Tokyo office and work in both Shanghai and Seoul. He will also be working closely with Greenberg Traurig’s U.S. Real Estate Practice in New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, and elsewhere, as well as with practices in London, across Europe, Israel, and Mexico.
Rothstein is admitted to practice in New York, California, the District of Columbia, and as a Hong Kong Registered Foreign Lawyer (California).
About Greenberg Traurig’s Global Real Estate Practice: Greenberg Traurig’s award-winning Real Estate Practice is one of the firm’s core practices, with a multi-disciplinary team of more than 400 attorneys in all major real estate industry sectors worldwide, including Asia, the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. The team’s experience comprehensively covers the legal aspects of the real estate industry from property acquisition and investment, to complex joint ventures, to fund formation and management, to development, to management and leasing, to senior and mezzanine debt, to preferred equity, to securitization and secondary trading of loan assets, to hotels and hospitality, to real estate regulatory matters, to non-performing loans and distressed debt, to restructuring and real estate disputes.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices around the globe in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT was named the largest law firm in the U.S. by attorney headcount by Law360, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.